Author: John Holbrook Jr

Was the Ark’s landfall in Turkey or Tadzikistan?

by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #009 posted September 12, 2016, edited March 9, 2021.

Most readers of the Bible and many people who have never read the Bible believe that they know where Noah’s ark is supposed to hand landed after the flood – Mount Ararat in Turkey. The problem here is that they have missed two important clues in the Biblical text and thus misplaced the ark’s landfall. The point is important because the position of the landfall governed the nature of the post-flood migrations via which mankind dispersed across the globe.

Voyage of the Ark (2321-2320 BC)

The Flood started when Noah was 600 years old, on the 17th day of the 2nd month of the year.

In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened (KJV Genesis 7:11).

The Flood ended when Noah was 601 years old, on the 27th day of the 2nd month of the year – that is, just 1 year and 10 days after it began (or 360 + 10 = 370 days later).

According to my chronology, Noah was 600 years old in 1656 AM = 2321 BC, and thus the voyage of the Ark lasted just over a year, from 2321 BC to 2320 BC.

The Ark’s Landfall (2320 BC)

Genesis 8:4 states, “And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.” Genesis 11:2 states, “And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found the plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there.” There are two problems here.

First, the ark’s landfall was east of the Land of Shinar. Shinar is another name for Mesopotamia, which includes the lands of Assyria, Babylonia, and Sumer. Yet the Mount Ararat that we know today is in eastern Turkey, at the conjunction of the Turkish, Armenian, and Iranian borders. It is therefore west of Shinar. To travel from Mount Ararat to Shinar is to travel eastward, not westward as Genesis 11:2 maintains.

Second, the text does not say that the ark rested upon the mountain (singular) of Ararat, but rather upon the mountains (plural) of Ararat. Ararat must have been, not a singular peak, but a mountainous region.

Thus, the ark must have landed in a mountainous region east of Shinar.

Samuel Shuckford points out that a number of scholars have sought to identify this region in which the Ark landed.[1] For instance, Portius Cato placed it “in the same latitude with Bactria (now eastern Afghanistan), between the Caspian Sea and Imaus (now the Tian Shan Mountains on the western border of Sinkiang, the westernmost province of China), north of Mount Paraponisus.”[2] Shuckford himself placed it “on the hills beyond Bactria, north of India,”[3] between the headwaters of the Oxus River (now Amu-Darya) to the northwest and the Indus River to the southeast.

These “hills beyond Bactria,” would be the mountains at the northern end of the Hindu Kush. From there, Noah’s descendants would have traveled westward to Shinar (Mesopotamia), as Genesis 11:2 maintains. In my opinion, the three likeliest candidates for the mountain on which the Ark landed are Kungur (25,825 ft.) and Mustagh-Ata (24,400 ft.) to the east (just over the border with China), and Pik Komminizma (24,590ft.) to the north, but there are also two lesser possibilities: Khan Tengri (22,949 ft.) further to the north and K2 (28,250 ft.) to the southeast, although neither can be regarded as between the Oxus and Indus rivers.

Initial Settlement (c. 2320-2295 BC)

Now I speculate: After being submerged for over a year and then being scoured by runoff from high-ground to low-ground, the land must have been a sea of mud, and the Ark’s inhabitants must have lived initially in the Ark and local caves. With the return of grass, shrubs, and trees to the land and the re-population of the local territory with animals and birds, they probably left the Ark and caves and created a settlement in the vicinity of the Ark’s landfall consisting of buildings, barns, water reservoirs, gardens, grain fields, etc. It probably took about 25 years (2320-2295 BC) to construct. There Noah, who was roughly 625 years old and therefore not fit for the rigors of traveling through virgin territory, probably remained for the rest of his life. His sons, who were roughly 125 years old, may have done so as well, although I believe that Seth probably migrated as far as Mesopotamia. Staying in the Initial Settlement would not have been an option for most of Noah’s grandchildren, some of whom would have been in their early twenties by 2295 BC. They would have been restless and ready to explore the unknown lands that lay over the horizon. Thus, although Noah remained mankind’s titular leader until his death in 1971 BC, he and his sons must have increasingly taken on the aura of legend, and leadership in practice must have passed to the leaders of the migrating groups.

Initial Migrations (c. 2295-2220 BC)

The initial, post-flood migrations occurred over the next 75 years (2295-2220 BC).

Although I am deeply indebted to Henry Morris[4] for his discussion of the Table of the Nations, I differ with him on the geographic origin of the initial, post-flood migrations. As I have just explained, I believe these migrations originated in eastern Tadzikistan, not eastern Turkey. Thus the paths that Morris and I trace for these migrations differ. The destinations, however, remain the same.

I speculate that, once the initial settlement was built and fully functioning circa 2295 BC, Noah’s grandchildren began migrating to the four points of the compass:

Northward into the great Siberian Plain between the Enisej River to the east and the Ural Mountains to the west, and from there fanning out in all directions.

Eastward into Sinkiang (northwest China), and from there to the Pacific coast from Siberia and the Koreas in the north to Indochina in the south.

Southward into the Indus Valley (Pakistan and India), from the Punjab in the north to Mohenjo-Daro in the south, and from thence across India to Bengal in the east and Tamil Nadu in the south.

Westward through Afghanistan and Iran into Iraq (ancient Mesopotamia), and from there north into Georgia, south through Palestine and into Egypt, and west across Asia Minor to the Balkans.

© 2016 John Holbrook Jr.

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[1] Samuel Shuckford, The Sacred and Profane History of the World Connected, Volume 1, 5th edition (1819), Tolle Lege Press, Whitehall WV, 2009, pages 87-92.

[2] Shuckford, Volume 1, page 89. The Paropamisus Mountains extend from the southwestern end of the Hindu Kush across northern Afghanistan to the border of Iran in the west, but modern maps do not show a Mount Paraponisus. It may have one of the peaks at the northeastern end of the Hindu Kush. Only the area north of there (eastern Tadzikistan) lies north of India, between the Oxus River and the Indus Rivers.

[3] Shuckford, Volume 1, page 92.

[4] Morris, Henry, The Genesis Record (1976), Baker Book House, Grand Rapids MI, 1980.

Will the guy get the girl?

by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #008 posted September 5, 2016, edited March 9, 2021.

Although few people view the Bible as a script or libretto, it is such and it tells a dramatic and romantic story which has been unfolding for almost 6,000 years now. Moreover, the theme of the story is a familiar one to readers and theater-goers alike.

Any exciting drama requires a protagonist and an antagonist. It is the struggle between the protagonist and the antagonist that gives the drama its meaning and consequence. Moreover, the excitement of the drama is enhanced if the object of contention between the protagonist and the antagonist is a maiden. It is enhanced even further if the maiden is in peril due to the attentions of the antagonist. Then the men in the audience identify with the protagonist, who is struggling to save the maiden from the grasp of the antagonist and win her hand, and the women in the audience identify with the maiden, who fears the antagonist, wants to be delivered from his grasp, and loves the protagonist. Then, when the protagonist personifies all that is good and benevolent, the antagonist personifies all that is evil and malevolent, and the maiden is beautiful and full of grace, the stakes are high and the audience is held spellbound – on the edge of its seats, so to speak. It wants to know, “Will the guy get the girl?”

Now let us consider the drama of Creation as it is described in the Bible.

The main characters in the cast are the following: God is the author of the script, designer and builder of the stage (Universe), and producer and director of the play. God’s Son is the protagonist. Satan is the antagonist. The identity of the maiden will be revealed in due course. As for the remainder of the cast, all men, women, and children play bit parts.

The drama starts with a wedding. God puts Adam to sleep, takes flesh and bone from his side, and creates a woman. He then presents her to Adam to be his bride. Adam calls her Eve. The marriage is spoiled, however, when Satan beguiles Eve into disobeying God and eating the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. (I am not saying here that Satan seduced Eve in the sexual sense.[1] He wanted Eve to subordinate herself to him as her lord, not to her husband, whom God had given to her to protect her, to provide for her, and to be her lord. Satan calculated that, once he obtained Eve’s allegiance, her guilty feelings would cause her to want some company in her fallen state and press Adam to follow her example, and that Adam’s uxoriousness would cause him to listen to her and follow her example, rather than repudiate what she had done, as was his duty and ability to do.) As a result of their disobedience, Adam and Eve break the relationship between God and themselves and put the earth under the dominion of Satan.

God immediately sets about taking steps to repair the breach between himself and mankind. He indicates that he will send “the seed of the woman” to set things right.

Four millennia later, God enters his Creation in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, who is identified as God-the-Son. He is born to a virgin, lives a sinless life, dies on the cross to atone for the sins of all men, women, and children who acknowledge Him as their Savior and Lord, rises from the grave, and ascends into heaven, where He sits on the Throne of God and rules heaven and earth as “King of kings and Lord of lords.”

Note that, just as God puts Adam to sleep, takes flesh and bone from his side, with which he forms Eve, and then presents Eve to Adam to be his bride, so God puts Jesus to sleep on the cross, takes blood and water from His side,[2] from which he is forming the “Bride of Christ,” who consists of all the men, women, and children who acknowledge Him as their Savior and Lord, and will present her to his Son[3] to be His bride at the Wedding of the Lamb.

Note that the Bible starts with a wedding between the First Adam and his bride[4] and ends with a wedding between the Second Adam and His bride.[5] These weddings are like bookends to the drama. Moreover note that, just as Satan tried to spoil the marriage of the First Adam, which he was able to do, so now he is trying to spoil the marriage of the Second Adam, which, according to the Scriptures, he will not be able to do.

Yes! The Guy will get the Girl! Nevertheless, the tension of the drama for God’s people in the audience derives from the fact that Satan seems to be succeeding in his efforts and only faith in the trustworthiness of the Word of God will sustain her through the trials which Satan has in store for her.

© 2016 John Holbrook Jr.

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[1] Many psychiatrists maintain that sexual seduction is at the root of the Biblical story of Eve’s seduction in the Garden, because psychiatry itself is a derivative of Sigmund Freud’s infatuation with sex and seeks to explain almost all human behavior in psychosexual terms.

[2] God’s tool was a Roman soldier’s lance.

[3] The Lamb of God. (John 1:36).

[4] See Genesis 2:18-25.

[5] See Revelation 19:6 and following.

Is the Bible just another book?

by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #007 posted August 29, 2016, edited March 9, 2021.

I will argue that the Bible is not just another book, that, in fact, it is unique because it is God-breathed. I shall marshal three main arguments to make my case: the internal evidence, the external evidence, and presumption.

THE INTERNAL EVIDENCE

First, the Bible’s attributes reveal its divine nature.

Its self-description – It claims to be divine revelation and refers to itself as the Word of God, the Oracles of God, and the Sword of the Spirit.

Its honesty – It presents a realistic and unflattering view of the people whom it chronicles. What Gentile king would have permitted a chronicler to describe his murderous and adulterous behavior as did the revered Hebrew King David?

Its unique teaching –

God: It presents God as eternal, infinite, sovereign, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, immutable, flexibly just, and absolutely holy. No other god in all of human history compares with him. Moreover, unlike other gods, the God of the Hebrews does not indulge his people. Rather he blesses them if they are obedient and curses them if they are disobedient. In consequence of the latter case, he has caused them to be subjugated, massacred, and plundered by their enemies and then dispersed throughout the world.

The World: It condemns the world as an evil thing because it hates and opposes God.

Mankind: It also presents man and all his doings as inherently evil – a picture that had to have had a divine rather than human origin.

Sin: Man regards sin as a mistake or a misfortune and seeks to minimize its severity and significance. The Bible describes sin as lawlessness and open defiance against the Creator of Universe, and it strips man of all excuses and emphasizes his culpability.

Punishment of Sin: Just as he minimizes the importance of sin, so man attempts to minimize the punishment for sin – witness the objections to capital punishment for murderers, rapists, etc. But God asserts that, from his point of view, eternal punishment for sin is just, and he will judge the world according to the prescriptions and proscriptions in his Word (e.g. the Ten Commandments).

Salvation: Just as he wants to minimize the importance and consequences of sin, so man wants control over the expiation of sin: he will counterbalance the vice of his sins with the virtue of his good intentions and good works. But God asserts that “There is none that doeth good, no, not one.”[1] Every man is depraved and cannot save himself. He can only accept salvation as a free gift from a God of mercy and grace.

 Saviour: The person, character, and work of the Lord Yeshua (Jesus in English) is without parallel in the whole realm of man’s literature.

Its significance – It deals with the character and fate of the world and all its inhabitants in both time and eternity.

Its omniscience – It reveals the end from the beginning. It contains countless prophecies that were made centuries and even millennia prior to their fulfillment.

Its unity is astonishing in view of the fact that it consists of 66 books written in three languages by at least 44 writers over thousands of years.[2]

Its completeness – It tells us everything we need to know. Nothing is left out.

Its adapability – It can be translated into any language and yet retain its power to enthrall, convict, convert, sanctify, etc.

Its hidden attributes – It contains a startling phenomenon, of which most of its readers are unaware. Neither the Hebrews nor the Greeks had numerals. Instead, each letter of their alphabets carried a numerical value. As a result, not only every letter, but every word, phrase, sentence, paragraph, chapter, and book in the Bible carries a numerical value. Over the millenia, the study of these numerical values has been called by various names. In ancient times, it was called gematria by the Jewish rabbis. In modern times, it was called Bible numerics by Christians such as E.W. Bullinger (1837-1913), an Anglican theologian, and Ivan Panin (1855-1942), a Russian mathematician. It is called theomatics by Del Washburn, an American architect who took the investigation into numbers in the Bible to a new level by using the computer. In addition, it is called the Bible code by Dr. Eliyahu Rips, an Israeli mathematician who discovered patterns of letters which form names and sentences that describe current and possibly future events thousands of years after they were put down on paper. Regardless of the nomenclature or nature of the investigation, these studies have revealed that extraordinary numerical patterns and their associated meanings are running throughout the Bible – from Genesis to Revelation. Of course this phenomenon has generated much controversy among scientists and scholars; to admit that it exists identifies God as the author of the Bible, because the chance of the phenomenon occurring without divine direction is zero.

THE EXTERNAL EVIDENCE

Second, the Bible’s effects reveal its divine nature

Its universal appeal – It touches people of all races, all cultural backgrounds, all geographical areas,

Its freshness – No matter how often one reads it, one experiences familiar delights and new insights.

Its inexhaustible depth – If approached with appropriate reverence and prayerful expectations, each reading plumbs new depths.

Its prophecies fulfilled – Again, it reveals the end from the beginning. For instance, there are at least 44 prophecies regarding the Messiah (Christ in Greek) recorded in the Tenakh (Old Testament) which Yeshua fulfilled during His life. That is how His disciples, who were familiar with the Tenakh, knew that He was, is, and ever will be the Messiah, the Holy One of Israel.

Its power to change lives – It stimulates conviction, conversion, and sanctification through doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness.

Its influence – on individuals, families, churches, and states, as well as on the arts, such as literature, painting, sculpture, music, etc., and on sciences and technology, where its has inspired and guided countless scientists and engineers in the search for understanding

Its indestructibility – It has been ridiculed, banned, and burned by countless opponents through the centuries, but it is now more widely translated, transmitted, taught, trusted and treasured than ever before in history. This indestructibility is nicely captured in a poem entitled The Anvil – God’s Word by Anonymous.

Last eve I passed by a blacksmith’s door,
And heard the anvil ring the vesper chime;
Then, looking in, I saw upon the floor
Old hammers, worn with beating years of time.

“How many anvils have you had,” said I,
“To wear and batter all these hammers so?”
“Just one,” he said, and then, with twinkling eye,
“The anvil wears the hammers out, you know.”

And so, thought I, the anvil of God’s Word,
For ages skeptic blows have beat upon;
Yet, though the noise of falling blows was heard,
The anvil is unharmed – the hammers gone.

PRESUMPTION

Lastly, the Bible has presumption in its favor. In assessing the Bible, one cannot ignore the testimony of literally billions of people whose lives have been transformed by what lies between its covers. Surely common sense must tell you that something unique lies there. Surely curiosity must prompt you to ask, why do so many people regard the Bible as Holy Writ, as divinely inspired, as bearing the authority of God? Consider the testimony of just seven of them:[3]

Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727), one of history’s greatest investigators into the mysteries of both Bible and Universe, said, “There are more sure marks of authenticity in the Bible than in any profane history.”

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), one of history’s greatest thinkers, said, “The existence of the Bible, as a book for the people, is the greatest benefit which the human race has ever experienced. Every attempt to belittle it is a crime against humanity.”

George Washington (1732-1799), one of history’s greatest statesmen, said: “It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.”

Sir Frederick William Herschel (1738-1822), one of history’s greatest scientists, said, “All human discoveries seem to be made only for the purpose of confirming more and more strongly the truths contained in the Sacred Scriptures.”

Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881), one of history’s greatest social commentators, said, “The Bible is the truest utterance that ever came by alphabetic letters from the soul of man, through which, as though a window divinely opened, all men can look into the stillness of eternity, and discern in glimpses their far-distant, long-forgotten home.”

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), another of history’s greatest statesmen, said, “I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man. All the good from the Saviour of the world is communicated to us through this book.”

Henry Jackson Van Dyke (1852-1933), a gifted writer, teacher, and diplomat, said with heart-warming and poetic eloquence, “Born in the East and clothed in Oriental form and imagery, the Bible walks the ways of all the world with familiar feet and enters land after land to find its own everywhere. It has learned to speak in hundreds of languages to the heart of man. Children listen to its stories with wonder and delight, and wise men ponder them as parables of life. The wicked and the proud tremble at its warnings, but to the wounded and the penitent it has a mother’s voice. It has woven itself into our dearest dreams; so that Love, Friendship, Sympathy, Devotion, Memory, Hope, put on the garments of its treasured speech. No man is poor or desolate who has this treasure for his own. When the landscape darkens, and the trembling pilgrim comes to the Valley of the Shadow, he is not afraid to enter; he takes the rod and staff of Scripture in his hand; he says to friend and comrade, ‘Goodbye; We Shall Meet Again’; and, confronted by that support, he goes toward the lonely pass as one who walks through darkness into light.”

*     *     *

Given the internal evidence, the external evidence, and presumption based on the testimony of billions of your fellow men and women, you must allow for the possibility that the Bible is the Word of God written, of which the Savior said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My Word shall not pass away” (emphasis mine).[4]

 © 2016 John Holbrook Jr.

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[1] Romans 3:12.

[2] Forty-four books of the Bible were written by known authors; twenty-two, by unknown authors.

[3] See “Notable Sayings About the Bible” in Halley’s Bible Handbook (1927), Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids MI, 1965, pp. 18-19.

[4] Mathew 24:35, Mark 13:31, and Luke 21:33.

To what nation does Jeremiah 50-51 refer?

by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #006 posted August 22, 2016, edited December 26, 2022.

Preamble

Jeremiah has been called “the prophet to the nations.” In the Book of Jeremiah, he devotes the first forty-five chapters to Israel (Judah & Jerusalem). In chapters forty-six through fifty-one, however, he focuses on Israel’s neighbors – Egypt, Gaza (Phillistia), Jordan (Moab, Ammon, & Edom), Syria (Damascus), Saudi Arabia (Arabia), Iran, (Elam), and Iraq (Babylon) – and prophesies concerning what will befall them in the future. The United States of America does not seem to be among them – or is it?  (In trying to answer this question, I owe much to S. Franklin Logsdon’s Is the U.S.A. in Prophecy?, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI, 1968.)

Section 1 -= The United States of America (USA)

The original explorers and settlers of America were European Christians. Christopher Columbus, whose name means “Christ bearer,” sailed westward with the belief that he had been given a divine mission to extend Christendom to a new world. Spanish Franciscan and Dominican friars moved into the southwest and French Jesuits moved into the northeast with the common mission of bringing the gospel of Christ to the natives, often suffering gruesome deaths at the hands of demon possessed savages.[1] Their sacrificial lives and martyr deaths planted the seeds for the spiritual phenomenon to come.  A lust for gold motivated the first settlers of Virginia, but the mission to build a New Jerusalem impelled the Pilgrim Separatists who left Holland aboard the Mayflower – the latter entered into a covenant with God and one another to establish a new society that would honor the biblical God and live according to biblical principles. They were followed by the Puritan Separatists led by John Winthrop, whose vision of this society as “a city on a hill” captured the imagination of countless of his followers in the next four centuries.

The founders of the new nation, most of whom were Christians, but all of whom were serious students of the Bible, took care to craft the foundational documents of the new nation according to biblical principles. The powers of the federal government would be limited to protecting society from outside invasion (using a citizens’ militia) and inside criminality (using an appeals court judicial system), punishing evil-doers, maintaining just commercial standards (particularly money, weights, and measures), regulating interstate commerce, and exercising stewardship over the public infrastructure.

In the 19th Century, America’s citizens set about building local communities from the Atlantic to the Pacific that were most notable for the number of their churches, which were filled with God-fearing and Bible-believing worshipers each Sunday. As a result, God blessed and protected the nation as he promises to do for a nation that honors him and his commandments in Deuteronomy 28:1-14, and it became that “city on a hill” of which John Winthrop spoke: the freest, richest, most powerful nation ever to exist – and the envy of the world.

In the last 100 years, the nation has undergone such a startling transformation that it would be unrecognizable to its pioneers, founders, and early citizens. The federal government has become a leviathan. Both its bureaucracy[2] and its budget[3] have become bloated beyond belief. Its currency has been debauched.[4] It has inexorably extended its control over the lives of its citizens. Its professional military forces consume more money than the military forces of all other nations combined, maintain posts in 146 other countries, and engage in aggressive violent actions that extend its hegemony over peoples who do not welcome the presence of either its soldiers and its merchants on their soil or the cultural pollution that inexorably follows from that presence. Worst of all, it has purged the honoring of the biblical God from its public spaces and institutions and extended legal protection to behavior that is abhorrent to God: the worship of false gods and idols; blasphemy; the neglect of parents; abortion and euthanasia; fornication, adultery, and homosexuality and the destruction of the family that follows there from; gambling and theft; and covetousness. State and municipal governments are no better, having merely followed in the federal government’s wake and emulated all its sins.

Not surprisingly, God has begun withdrawing his blessings and protection from the country,[5] For example, on January 28, 1986, hundreds of millions of people watched America’s space shuttle Challenger blow up with seven persons aboard, including a teacher. Yet few understood the lesson. At the time, the space shuttle was the pinnacle of American managerial, industrial, and technological achievement and represented America’s attempt, in President Reagan’s words, “to reach for the stars.” A similar attempt was made over four thousand years ago in Babylon when they said, “Let us build us a city and a tower whose top may reach unto heaven” (Genesis 11:4). But “…the heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s: but the earth hath he given to the children of men” (Psalm 115:16). He “…hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and hath determined the bounds of their habitation” (Acts 17:26). And “…though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down” (Amos 9:2).

Section 2 – Babylon-the-Great

In Jeremiah 50-51, “the prophet to the nations” wrote about the fate that awaits Babylon. I have often wondered about the identity of the nation which Jeremiah is describing. There may be two lands involved. While many of the references to Babylon obviously refer to the Ancient Babylon of the 1st millennium BC, a significant number do not, but they do fit the United States of America of the 21st century AD.

Ancient Babylon did not have a mother that was “sore confounded” (Jeremiah 50:12), whereas the USA’s mother, England, has been “sore confounded” ever since the end of World War II.

Ancient Babylon was not “the hindermost of the nations” (Jeremiah 50:12) – it was the first – whereas the USA is the hindermost (last or most recent) of the great nations.

Ancient Babylon was not “the hammer of the whole earth” (Jeremiah 50:23), whereas at the start of the 21st century the USA is – to quote Madeleine Albright and many others after her, including President Obama – “the indispensable nation.”

Ancient Babylon was not inhabited by “mingled peoples” (Jeremiah 50:37), whereas the USA is a mixture of immigrants from every other nation in the world.

Although Ancient Babylon enjoyed a measure of wealth and power, she was not “a golden cup in the Lord’s hand” (Jeremiah 51:7), whereas the USA is far and away the richest and most powerful nation the world has ever seen.

Ancient Babylon did not make “all the earth drunken…[and]…mad” (Jeremiah 51:7), whereas the USA has exported its commercialism and debased culture to every nation on the globe.

Ancient Babylon did not ‘dwell on many waters’ (Jeremiah 51:13) – only a small portion of it touched the Persian Gulf – whereas the USA sits amidst the Great Lakes to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west.

In my opinion, Jeremiah may have been addressing the USA of the 21st Century. If he was, the USA will be destroyed suddenly and utterly in an hour.[6]

Section 3 – Important Caveat

In conclusion, I should add that there are some problems involved in identifying the nation of Babylon in the Book of Jeremiah with modern America (the USA).

First, if Babylon-the-Great refers to the USA, then ancient Babylon is missing from Jeremiah’s list of nations, which would be strange because it was the first nation and dominated the ancient world for about 339 years (2297-1958 BC).

Second, Babylon-the-Great is mentioned in both (1) the Book of Jeremiah, where it clearly symbolizes a nation, and (2) the Book of Revelation, where it clearly symbolizes a horse and its rider. It seems strange to me that the same name would refer to two such different entities.

Third, if the horse and its rider refer to Romanism and the antichrist (the papacy), which is maintained by the Historicist School and by me, it might refer to Vatican City, which is regarded by many as a separate nation within Italy. If so, it could not be the nation to which Babylon-the-Great in Jeremiah refers, because, like Ancient Babylon, it does not fit what Jeremiah says about Babylon-the-Great.

Nonetheless, even if Babylon-the-Great in the Book of Jeremiah is not a reference to the USA today, it still serves as a warning: the USA is following in the footsteps of ancient Babylon and will probably suffer the same fate as Babylon-the-Great.

© 2016, 2022 John Holbrook Jr. _____________________________________________________

[1] The myth of the noble savage is just that – a myth.

[2] By 2006, national, state, and municipal governments employed over 40% of workers in the country, most of whom earned more and possessed better pensions than their counterparts in the private sector.

[3] Over $2.5 trillion a year and growing.

[4] The dollar is worth 1% of what it was worth in 1913  when congress delivered it into the hands of the Federal Reserve, a private corporation owned and operated for the benefit of the country’s largest banks.

[5] Compare the curses in Deuteronomy 28:15-68 with what is happening in the U.S. today.

[6] Jeremiah 51:8.

What issue is missing from the 2016 election debates?

by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #005 posted August 15, 2016, edited March 9, 2021.

The Bible indicates that God holds nations responsible for the collective behavior of their citizens. Moreover, because they will not survive into eternity, nations are judged by God in the here and now. The Bible also describes the criteria by which nations will be judged in simple, easy to understand terms. When judgment comes, no one can claim to be surprised.

The American people know that something in the United States of America (USA) is very wrong, and the tenor of the election debates of both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party reflect it. The presidential candidates are arguing about how to fix an overweening executive, a paralyzed congress, a legislating judiciary, a weakening military, an inept foreign policy, a disintegrating infrastructure,  a broken health care system, illegal immigration, incompetent schools, extreme income inequality, the ubiquitous use of drugs, overflowing prisons, racism, the debasement of our currency and the consequent escalation of prices, exploding student debt, the exportation of jobs, political corruption, business corruption, polluted water sources, climate change, the size and incompetence of the federal government, and its engagement in a seemingly endless series of wars – to name just a few.

Unfortunately, while all of the above are real problems, they are symptoms of a lethal malady, not the malady itself. The candidates can argue about these symptoms week after week, but they will not serve the nation by doing so. They need to address the malady itself.

The malady is an integrated combination of apostasy and moral degeneracy.

First, let’s look at apostasy. This nation was initiated by Christians who took their faith in God seriously. That faith was clearly expressed in Christopher Columbus’s diary (1492), the Mayflower Contract (1620), Governor John Winthrop’s sermon on the Arabella (1630), the proclamations of national fastdays by presidents John Adams (1798), James Madison (1812), and Abraham Lincoln (1863), President Franklin Roosevelt’s D-Day prayer (1944), and countless other national and state documents. As recently as 1956, the U.S. Congress voted to put “In God We Trust” on the country’s currency. Moreover, our legislative sessions, public events, and school days started with prayer and ended with invocations of God’s blessings on America. Since then we have banned prayer at public events and in our schools and tolerated the endless attempts by an atheistic minority to purge the public square of all mention of or indications of our allegiance to God.

Second, let’s look at moral degeneracy.

Let’s start with the Federal Government. The founders of the USA recognized the Biblical truth that men are depraved and unable to resist the temptation to exercise dominion over others, and consequently they crafted a constitution that was designed to thwart the agglomeration of power by the federal government and to prevent the concentration of its power in the hands of a few. The founders knew, however, that the future of their experiment was uncertain. When he was leaving Independence Hall and was asked by a lady what kind of government the Constitutional Convention had produced, Ben Franklin answered, “A republic, if you can keep it.”[1]  For 175 years, we managed to keep it, but then things began to go awry. The nation’s leaders (presidents, congressmen, and justices alike) increasingly disregarded the U.S. Constitution, which they had sworn to uphold, and began transforming the U.S. Government into the largest, most profligate, and most aggressive bureaucracy the world has ever seen. Now the USA is the epitome of a juggernaut that rolls over, not only its own citizens, but the people of other nations under the arrogant misperception that (a) its political structure, which is largely disregarded by its leaders, is appropriate for all peoples, regardless of their national history, and (b) its commercialism, which is transmuting the planet’s resources into an ugly heap of cheap[2] consumer products, and (c) its culture, which exhibits all the characteristics of a cesspool, must be imposed on the entire globe.

Do you think I exaggerate calling our culture a cesspool? I invite you to look in the mirror at ourselves. We now engage in behavior that would have horrified the vast majority of our county’s early settlers:

1 – We are inattentive to the triune God of the Bible. Read commandment #1 of the Decalogue in Exodus 20:2-3.

2 – We worship other gods, such as Mammon and the god of Convenience. Read commandment #2 of the Decalogue in Exodus 20:4-6.

3 – We engage in profanity,[3] blasphemy,[4] and obscenity,[5] all of which are abhorrent to God. This torrent of filth emerges from the mouths of our presidents, congressmen, justices, military commanders, corporate executives, professional athletes, etc., as well as ordinary men, women, and children. It can be heard in our homes, schools, workplaces, streets, theaters, etc. and on our radios and TV sets. It is ubiquitous in the land. Read commandment #3 of the Decalogue in Exodus 20:7.

4 – We ignore the Sabbath. Instead of honoring the Lord on His day, we engage in both work and every form of play. Read commandment #4 of the Decalogue in Exodus 20:8-11.

5 – We warehouse our elderly parents in old-age homes and have even legalized and promoted their euthanasia. Moreover teachers in our government schools advise children to disregard what their parents tell them and adopt politically correct attitudes and behavior. Read commandment #5 of the Decalogue in Exodus 20:12.

6 – We murder our babies in their mothers’ wombs, and we have even legalized and promoted their murder both here and abroad. Read commandment #6 of the Decalogue in Exodus 20:13.

7 – We engage in fornication, adultery, homosexuality, and even bestiality[6] without fear of corrective censure, let alone legal penalty. Read commandment #7 of the Decalogue in Exodus 20:14, substituting “sexual impurity” for “adultery,” because all of the foregoing are abhorrent to God.

8 – We steal from one another in every form imaginable. For instance, we cheat on our tax returns; we take home supplies from our workplaces; we refuse to pay our employees living wages, let alone compensate them for working overtime; we inflate our working hours; we pad our expense accounts; we loot stores during rowdy demonstrations; and we steal from one another at the point of a gun. Read commandment #8 of the Decalogue in Exodus 20:15.

9 – We bear false witness against one another by gossiping and by issuing false reports of every kind. Read commandment #9 of the Decalogue in Exodus 20: 16.

10 – We are covetous, always wanting more, and we promote covetousness in others with advertising that is designed to render them discontent with what they have and to buy things that they don’t need. The worst offenders here are the federal and state governments (e.g. the lotto) and big businesses, which spend tens of billions of dollars each year on advertising. Read commandment #10 of the Decalogue in Exodus 20: 17.

Some of our leaders have issued warnings to us, but we have failed to heed them.

Consider what President Abraham Lincoln wrote in his call for a national day of prayer in 1863:

…it is the duty of nations, as well as of men, to owe their dependence upon the overruling power of God; to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.

We have been the recipients of the choicest blessings of heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown; but we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us:

It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.

Even more important, God has issued warnings in his Word, the Bible, but we have failed to heed him, in whose almighty hands lies our destiny. In Deuteronomy 28, God issued a charge to the nation of Israel, which was chosen by God to be an example to all other nations. If you read the chapter in its entirety, you will note that Israel’s fate will be determined solely by its people’s faithfulness to God and their obedience to God’s commandments – not by any attributes of their own, such as effective governance, sound money management, quality education, military might, efficient production, successful marketing, or creative art and architecture. God governs the fate of a nation by manipulating every aspect of its life that affects its health and prosperity, such as the harmony or disharmony among its people, the amity or belligerence of its neighbors, and the weather to which it is subject. Nothing lies outside his control. The first two verses state:

And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.

The next twelve verses tell how God will bless their faithfulness. I find verse 6 the most poignant: “Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.” That means that God will bless the nation regardless of what its people do or how well they do it.

Then comes verse 15:

But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee.

The next 52 verses tell how God will curse their unfaithfulness: Again I find verse 19 the most poignant: “Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out.” That means that God will curse the nation regardless of what its people do or how well they do it. If you read down the list of the ways in which God will curse the nation, you will find the USA suffering from almost every one of them. That should serve as an alarm bell to us; it is the sound of the Tocsin of Doom.

The presidential candidates are neglecting the only topic that will affect the USA’s future – its apostasy and moral degeneracy. They need to stop talking about ameliorating the symptoms of these maladies and start talking about the need for repentance and prayer. The hour is very, very, very late.

I leave you with a final thought. The author of Hebrews wrote: “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” [7]

© 2016 John Holbrook Jr.

                                                                                               

[1] Franklin’s remark was overheard and recorded by Dr. James McHenry, one of Maryland’s delegates to the convention.

[2] Cheap in every sense of the word.

[3] Profanity is the misuse of God’s name.

[4] Blasphemy is the willful degradation of God’s name, either by word or by deed (e.g. the creation in 1987 of “Piss Christ” by Andre Serrano, its funding in 1986 by the National Endowment for the Arts, its citation in 1987 by the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Arts, accompanied by an award of $15,000, and its display in 1989 by the Brooklyn Museum in New York City).

[5] Obscenity is the misuse of references to bodily parts, functions, and excrement with the purpose of being shocking and repulsive.

[7] KJV Hebrews 10:31.

Is everyone a sinner?

by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #003 posted August 1, 2016, edited March 9, 2021.

Yes. With the exception of Jesus of Nazareth, everyone ever born of a woman is a sinner – whether male or female, young or old, Jew or Gentile. (Adam and Eve were created sinless, but they soon sinned.)

The Lord looked down from Heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They have all turned aside; they are all together become filthy. There is none that doeth good; no, not one (KJ21 Psalm 14:2-3).

God looked down from Heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any that understood, that had sought God. Every one of them has turned back; they have altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one (KJ21 Psalm 53:2-3).

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it (KJ21 Jeremiah 17:9)?

As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth; there is none that seeketh after God. They have all gone from the way; they have together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one” (KJ21 Romans 3:10-12).

 …all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (KJ21 Romans 3:23).

…we know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do, I approve not. For what I would do, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing; for to will is present within me; but how to perform that which is good, I find not. For the good that I would do, I do not; but the evil which I would not do, that I do. Now if I do that which I would not do, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me (KJ21 Romans 7:14-20).

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us….If we say that we have not sinned, we make [Christ] a liar, and His Word is not in us (KJ21 1 John 1:8, 10).

So, you are a sinner.

If you persist in believing that you are not a sinner, however, you are lying to yourself. That we are born sinners – the Christian doctrine of original sin – is the most empirically evident fact of life. Start with children. Watch a newborn baby shriek for what he or she wants – more food, more attention, more comfort, more, more, more, etc. Watch a two-year old snatch a toy from his or her playmate or even deliver a pinch or blow. Mothers spend most of their time trying to teach their children to be good, to be civil, to be generous, to curb their self-centeredness and selfishness – let alone to be loving and caring. They don’t have to spend a minute teaching their children to be bad. Now consider yourself. How often do you do something that you knew was wrong, that you didn’t want to do, but you did anyway? That’s sinfulness.

Every person is incapable of avoiding sinning – no matter how hard he or she tries. He or she is born into sin, and his or her sinful nature affects everything he or she thinks, says, or does. Listen to Paul on the matter:

…I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If  then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death (KJV Romans 7:14-24)?

Every person is doomed. A person’s sins condemn him or her to suffer the wrath of God, which is manifested in both temporal calamities and eternal separation from God.

Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping His commandments and His judgments and His statutes which I command thee this day, lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses and dwelt therein, and when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied, then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, …; and thou say in thine heart, “My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.” But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God; for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth, that He may establish his covenant which He sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. And it shall be, if thou ever forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them and worship them, I  testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish. As the nations which the LORD destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish, because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the LORD your God (KJ21 Deuteronomy 8:11-20).

…the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness, because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God hath shewed it unto them. For from the creation of the world the invisible things of Him are clearly seen, being understood through the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. For when they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God,  nor were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man, and to birds and fourfooted beasts and creeping things (KJ21 Romans 1:18-23).

…the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).

…when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death (James 1:15).

God hates unrepentant sinners (see Psalm 5:5, Psalm 7:11, Psalm 11:5, and Psalm 34:16). The mantra, “God hates the sin, but loves the sinner,” which one often hears from evangelicals, is sentimental nonsense. He has sentenced every man, woman, and child who was, has been or, will be born to die because of their sinfulness. God destroyed the entire world with the flood because of its inhabitants’ unrestrained evil-doing and later Sodom and Gomorrah with a blast from heaven because of their inhabitants’ unrestrained evil-doing.

God loves repentant sinners – those sinners whose names God-the-Father wrote into the Book of Life before creation began. They are the past, present, and future sinners (a) who acknowledge their sinfulness, rue their sins, and resolve to turn away from further sinning to the extent that, with God’s help, they can, and (b) who throw themselves into the merciful hands of God-the-Son, who died on the cross at Calvary to pay the price for their sinfulness and their sins. They are the redeemed of all ages. Even they, however, will die because of their sinfulness, but they will be resurrected to eternal glory (the lot of the redeemed) rather than to eternal punishment (the lot of the unredeemed).

Pray that you are one of the redeemed. If you have not yet done so, hurry to your knees and kiss the Son, begging Him to forgive your sins and thanking Him for His suffering on your behalf. Don’t put off doing so; you may have less time than you think.

© 2016 John Holbrook Jr.
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Click here to purchase my book, My Search for the Truth – a prolegomenon, on Amazon.com.

To whom in the Bible does the word “love” point?

by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #002 posted July 25, 2016, edited March 9, 2021.

Preamble

One of the intriguing aspects of the Scriptures is their use of a word for the first time – first in the Bible as a whole and then in a particular book of the Bible. The word’s first use invariably points to someone or something important. There is no more important word in the Bible than “love,” for it is identified with God himself, as in “God is love” (John 1:8,14). To whom in the Bible do the first uses of the word “love” point?

Genesis

The first use of the word love in the Old Testament occurs when God addresses Abraham: “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of” (KJV Genesis 18:2).

Here God is asking Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son to serve God’s purposes, which God will later do with his own Son. Abraham the father is a prefigurement of God, and Isaac the son is a prefigurement of Jesus.

Gospel of Matthew

The first use of the word love in the New Testament and in Matthew’s Gospel occurs during Jesus’ baptism: “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (KJV Matthew 3:16-17).

Later in Matthew’s Gospel, when Jesus, Peter, John, and James are up on the Mount of Transfiguration, God again identifies Jesus as his Son: “While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him” (KJV Matt 17:5).

On both occasions, God is identifying Jesus as his beloved son, who will be sacrificed to serve God’s purpose – the redemption of the faithful.

Gospel of Mark

The first use of the word love in Mark’s Gospel occurs during Jesus’ baptism: “And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” KJV Mark 1:10-11).

Later in Mark’s Gospel, when Jesus, Peter, John, and James are up on the Mount of Transfiguration, God again identifies Jesus as his Son: “And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him” (KJV Mark 9:7).

Again, on both occasions, God is identifying Jesus as his beloved son, who will be sacrificed to serve God’s purpose – the redemption of the faithful.

Gospel of Luke

 The first use of the word love in Luke’s Gospel occurs during Jesus’ baptism: “Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, 22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased” (KJV Luke 3:21-22).

Later in Luke’s Gospel, when Jesus, Peter, John, and James are up on the Mount of Transfiguration, God again identifies Jesus as his Son: “While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud. 35 And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him” (KJV Luke 9:34-35).

Again, on both occasions, God identifies Jesus as his beloved son, who will be sacrificed to serve God’s purpose – the redemption of the faithful.

Gospel of John

The first use of the word love in John’s Gospel occurs when Jesus says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved (KJV John 3:16-17).

Conclusion

Clearly, the first use of the word “love” in the Bible as a whole and in particular books of the Bible is being used to point us toward Jesus, God-the-Son, who went to the cross to pay for the sins of all those who would acknowledge him as their Savior and Lord.

Moreover, here is a profound indication of God’s authorship of the Bible. The first use of the word love in Genesis 22:2 is located in Genesis’s Chronicle 7 – The Generations of Isaac (see the Appendix below). Thus the six persons who wrote Genesis’s chronicles 1-6 during the 4th and 3rd millenniums BC avoided using the word “love” entirely. Then Isaac, who wrote his chronicle c. 1695 BC, used it first in connection with a father sacrificing his beloved son. Moses then incorporated Isaac’s chronicle in Genesis, which he wrote c. 1435 BC. Then Matthew (the tax collector), Mark (probably the young son of a Jerusalem woman in whose house Christians met for prayer), Luke (a physician), and John (probably a fisherman) wrote their Gospels between 33 and 70 AD. What possessed these 12 men, from different backgrounds and professions, writing in different times over nearly 4,000 years [1] to either avoid the use of the word “love” altogether or use it first to describe the love of a father for a son whom he was going to sacrifice to God? The only reasonable answer to these two questions is, the Holy Spirit.

I hope that you will agree: the Bible is truly God-breathed.

APPENDIX: THE DIVISIONS OF GENESIS

Genesis is the first book of the Bible. It is an historical account of the first two and a half millennia of world and human history, commencing with Creation in 0 AM = 3977 BC and ending with the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt in 2513 AM = 1464 BC.

Genesis is divided into twelve segments, which I call chronicles because of their historical nature, by eleven toledoths, which are verses that contain the phrase “…the generations of….”

For many years, I regarded and taught that toledoths mark the ends of the chronicles – that they are like signatures. In this I was following the arguments of Henry Morris in his commentary on Genesis,[2] as well as the arguments of many others. I surmise that this view arose naturally because the first toledoth – “these are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens” (Genesis 2:4) – so neatly summarizes the chronicle that precedes it (Genesis 1:1-2:3), which I call the Creation Chronicle.

Despite the foregoing, I was never entirely comfortable with the idea that toledoths are signatures. First, viewing Genesis 2:4 as a signature makes no sense to me. The Creation Chronicle should be signed by God, because he is the only person who knows what happened before the first human was created. Second, in a number of cases, the so-called signature falls in the chapter following the chronicle and the final signature even falls in the next book (Exodus). Third, this last case does not use the phrase “…the generations of….” Fourth, regarding toledoths as signatures results in attributing lengthy and important chronicles to minor figures – e.g. attributing Genesis 11:27-25:11 to Ishmael rather than to Terah – which makes little sense to me.

Recently I encountered the idea that toledoths mark the beginnings of chronicles – that they are like titles. It was proposed by Jonathan D. Sarfati in his commentary on Genesis.[3]  That makes sense to me. Moreover Sarfati persuaded me to follow him in giving the number zero to the Creation Chronicle because it lacks a toledoth. In its place is Genesis 1:1, which let us know that God created everything – seen and unseen.

Here are the twelve chronicles with my comments on them:

    • Chronicle 0 – The Creation Chronicle – – It starts in Genesis 1:1 and ends in Genesis 2:3. It describes the entire Creation Week (0 AM = 3977 BC). It must have been dictated to Adam by God. 
    • Chronicle 1 – The generations of the heavens and the earth – It starts with the toledoth in Genesis 2:4 and ends in Genesis 4:26. It describes (a) the entire Edenic Era in 0 AM = 3977 BC and (b) the Antediluvian Era from its beginning in AM 0 = 3977 BC to Enos’s birth in 235 AM = 3742 BC. It was probably written by Adam (0-930 AM = 3977-3047 BC).
    • Chronicle 2 – The generations of Adam – It starts with the toledoth in Genesis 5:1 and ends in Genesis 6:8 – It describes the period from Enos’s birth in 235 AM = 3742 BC to Noah at age 500 in 1556 AM = 2421 BC. It was probably written by Adam (0-930 AM = 3977-3047 BC).
    • Chronicle 3 – The generations of Noah – It starts with the toledoth in Genesis 6:9 and ends in Genesis 9:29 – It describes the period from Noah at age 500 in 1556 AM = 2421 BC to the ark’s landfall in 1657 AM = 2320 BC, when (a) Noah offered a sacrifice to the Lord, (b) the Lord issued the Noahic Covenant, and (c) Noah prophesied concerning his sons and their descendents. It was probably written by Noah (1056-2006 AM = 2921-1971 BC).
    • Chronicle 4 – The generations of the Sons of Noah – It starts with the toledoth in Genesis 10:1 and ends in Genesis 11:9. It describes the period from the ark’s landfall in 1657 AM = 2320 BC to the destruction of Babel and its tower c.1907 AM = 2070 BC. It was probably written by Noah (1056-2006 AM = 2921-1971 BC) or Shem (1558-2158 AM = 2419-1819 BC).[4]
    • Chronicle 5 – The generations of Shem – It starts with the toledoth in Genesis 11:10 and ends in Genesis 11:26 – It describes Shem’s descendents from Arphaxad’s birth in 1658 AM = 2319 BC to Terah at age 70 in 1948 AM = 2029 BC. It was probably written by Noah (1056-2006 AM = 2921-1971 BC) or Shem (1558-2058 AM = 2419-1819 BC).
    • Chronicle 6 – The generations of Terah – It starts with the toledoth in Genesis 11:27 and ends in Genesis 25:11. It describes the period from Terah at age 70 in 1948 AM = 2029 BC to Abraham’s death in 2183 AM = 1794 BC. It was probably written by Isaac (2048-2288 AM = 1929-1689 BC).[5]
    • Chronicle 7 – The generations of Ishmael – It starts with the toledoth in Genesis 25:12 and ends in Genesis 25:18. It describes Ishmael’s descendents from Ishmael’s birth in 2094 AM = 1883 BC to Ishmael’s death in 2231 AM = 1746 BC. It was probably written by one of Ishmael’s sons.
    • Chronicle 8 – The generations of Isaac – – It starts with the toledoth in Genesis 25:19 and ends in Genesis 35:29. It describes the period from Isaac’s birth in 2048 AM = 1929 BC to Jacob’s death in 2315 AM = 1662 BC. It was probably written by Jacob (2168-2315 AM = 1809-1662 BC) or Joseph (2259-2369 AM = 1718-1608 BC).
    • Chronicle 9 – The generations of Esau “who is Edom” – It starts with the toledoth in Genesis 36:1 and ends in Genesis 36:8. It describes the period during which Esau moved his tribe from Canaan to Mount Seir in Edom sometime after Isaac’s death in 2288 AM = 1689 BC. It was probably written by Esau (b. 2168 AM = 1809 BC) or one of his descendents.
    • Chronicle 10 – The generations of Esau as “the father of the Edomites” – It starts with the toledoth in Genesis 36:9 and ends in Genesis 37:1. It describes Esau’s descendents for several generations c. 2200-2300 AM = 1777-1677 BC. It was probably written by Esau (b. 2168 AM = 1809 BC) or one of his descendents.
    • Chronicle 11 – The generations of Jacob – It starts with the toledoth in Genesis 37:2 and ends in Genesis 50:26. It describes the period from Joseph at age 17 in 2276 AM = 1701 BC to Joseph’s death in 2369 AM = 1608 BC. It was probably written by Joseph (2259-2369 AM = 1718-1608 BC) or one of his descendents.[6]

© 2016 John Holbrook Jr.
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[1] i.e. from Adam’s later years to the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple.

[2] Morris, Henry, The Genesis Record, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids MI, 1976.

[3] Sarfati, Jonathan D., The Genesis Account, Creation Book Publishers, Powder Springs GA.

[4] The period described by this chronicle contains an importance event, the Division of the Land into continents, which probably occurred in 1756 AM = 2221 BC, when Peleg was in his mother’s womb.

[5] The period described by this chronicle contains an important event, the Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, which probably occurred in 2107 AM = 1870 BC.

[6] The period described by this chronicle contains an important event, the First Trial of Job, which probably occurred in 2310 AM = 1667 BC.

 

 

Do you know the God of the Bible?

by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #001 posted July 18, 2016, edited August 7, 2017 [1] and March 9, 2021.

Because God is “alpha and omega, the beginning and the ending”[2] of all things, I will start my blogs by examining what we know about him.

God exists, but he is beyond human perception or comprehension.[3] Our only clues to his existence and to his greatness, goodness, and glory lie in the testimony of his works (creation) and his words (the Bible).

God’s works, from the limits of the macrocosm to the limits of the microcosm, testify to his omniscience and omnipotence. No one can miss Universe’s stunning beauty, complexity, functionality, and immensity.[4] Indeed, the Bible indicates that they are so obvious that anyone who denies their implications – that Universe was designed and constructed and is now being managed by an omniscient and omnipotent God – are “without excuse.”[5] Consider also the titanic forces which bind astronomical objects together and to one another throughout vast, interstellar space; they cannot match the power of their Creator.

God’s words testify to some of his traits. He is fair and just.[6] He is generous[7] with his gifts. He is discriminating, but also impartial.[8] He is kind,[9] but not indulgent. He is loving, but not sentimental. He is merciful – that is, he is forgiving of the penitent[10] – but he does not minimize the gravity of transgression.[11] He is patient and even long-suffering,[12] but he is not neglectful. Moreover, he is reliable – that is, he always keeps his word.[13]

God’s words also testify to some of his attributes. He is omniscient – that is, he is all-knowing; he perceives and comprehends everything.[14] He is omnipotent – that is, he is all powerful and can do anything[15] – and limitless – that is, nothing is impossible for Him.[16] He is omnipresent or immanent – that is, he is everywhere at once.[17] He is also eternal – that is, he always was, is now, and ever shall be.[18] He is holy – that is, he is both completely and perfectly good[19] – and he is transcendent – that is, he is inside and outside, above, below, and beyond, and wholly distinct or separate from his creation (his holiness and his transcendence are related). He is immutable[20] – that is, he never changes.[21] He is perfect – that is, he is without flaws or defects – and he is infallible – that is, he does not make mistakes. He is self-sufficient – that is, he does not need anyone or anything outside of himself. He is also unquestionable – that is, he never explains his thoughts and actions or answers man’s questions.[22]  Finally, he is triune – that is, he is both a unity and a trinity which consists of three distinct persons: God-the-Father, God-the-Son, and God-the-Holy Spirit.[23]

Consider what each person[24] of the triune Godhead has done, is doing, or will do and how we can identify the offices which each person of the Trinity holds by his activities.

God-the-Father is the creative mind of God – he conceived Universe.

He is the divine ARCHITECT who designed everything that would exist in Universe.

He is the divine AUTHOR who determined every thing that would happen in Universe, from its first day to its last day. [25]

Together his design and his script make up the Decrees of God that are contained in the book which he holds in his right hand as he sits on his throne in heaven.[26]

Thus the Scriptures report him saying, “…I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.”[27]

God-the-Son is the creative body of God[28] – he actualizes Universe.

He is “the Lamb as it had been slain,” who is worthy to take the book out of God-the-Father’s right hand, open the book, and implement the Decrees of God.[29]

He is the divine BUILDER who constructs Universe according to the Father’s plans.[30]

He is the divine SUSTAINER, who holds all things together by the power of His Word.[31]

He is the divine DIRECTOR who ensures that Universe’s drama follows the Father’s script.[32]

He is the divine LAWGIVER, who has given all men the Father’s moral laws which they must obey,[33] and He ensures that Universe responds to mankind’s obedience or disobedience to those laws.

He is the divine REDEEMER, who repairs and restores Universe’s brokenness.[34] He atones for the sins of all men, women, and children who accept Him as their Savior and Lord,[35] thereby clothing them in His righteousness and assuring them of eternal life in God’s presence.

He is the divine JUDGE, who will judge all men[36] according to the Father’s moral laws.[37]

He holds three critical offices among His Chosen People: He is the PROPHET of His people and of His creation[38] – that is, He has foretold the end from the beginning and explained much between those two extremities. He is the High PRIEST of His people and His creation[39] – that is, He is the only mediator between God and mankind.[40] He is the KING of His people and His creation[41] – that is, He rules by right of His person, His creative work, His sustaining work, His directive work, and His redemptive work on the cross at Golgotha. In a reflection of this office, He is called the “King of kings and Lord of lords”[42] – or just “LORD.” [43]

Lastly, although He is co-equal with the Father, He voluntarily defers to him in all things – that is, He proceeds from the Father.[44]

God-the-Holy Spirit is the creative spirit of God – he gives life to Universe and its creatures.

He is the divine ENERGIZER who set Universe in motion.[45]

He is the divine QUICKENER who animates its flora and fauna.[46]

Lastly, although he is co-equal with the Father and the Son, he voluntarily defers to them in all things – that is, he proceeds from the Father and the Son.[47] He is “the Seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth” by the Father and the Son.[48]

There is far more to say about God than the foregoing, but time and space preclude my doing so here.

© 2016, 2017 John Holbrook Jr.
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[1] Yesterday a friend urged me to add more footnotes to this blog to make clear that my description of God is firmly based in Scripture. I have done so, but be advised that the references which appear here are but a small sampling of what is available – the Bible is replete with descriptions of the Godhead and its three persons, God-the-Father, God-the-Son, and God-the Holy Spirit.

[2] Revelation 1:8, 1:11, 21:6, and 22:13.

[3] His incomprehensibility: Isaiah 55:8-9, Psalms 147:4-5, Romans 11:33-34, and particularly Genesis 1, which records that God spoke Universe into existence ex nihilo – that is, out of nothing. Now he exercises absolute sovereignty over Universe and everything which it contains, including earth’s creatures

[4] “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork” (KJV Psalms 19:1). See also Job 38-41, in which God confronts Job with questions concerning the wonders of his creation. Job could only respond by prostrating himself before God, repenting of his sins, particularly the sin of questioning God concerning the fairness of his treatment, and begging God for forgiveness.

[5] Romans 1:20.

[6] His fairness and justness – that is his judgments are dispassionate, equitable, even-handed, impartial, legitimate, unbiased, and unprejudiced: Deuteronomy 10:17, 2 Chronicles 19:7, Job 8:3, 34:12, 37:23, Psalms 19:9 and 119:137, Jeremiah 32:19,

[7] His generosity: Genesis 1:29-30, Leviticus 26:4, Deuteronomy 7:13-15 and 28:1-14, Ezra 8:22, Psalms 23, 65:9,-13, 147:8, Matthew 6:26-33, and 1 Corinthians 2:9. The gist of the foregoing is that God is prepared to pour out his blessing on individuals, families, and nations if they will just honor him and obey his commandments.

[8] His impartiality: Deuteronomy 10:17, Job 34:19, Acts 10:34, Romans 2:6, Colossians 3:25, and 1 Peter 1:17.

[9] His kindness: “With everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord, thy Redeemer” to Israel (KJV Isaiah 54:8).

[10] His mercy and forgiveness: Exodus 20:2, Exodus 33:19, Numbers 14:18, Deuteronomy 4:31, 7:9, and 32:42, 1 Kings 8:23, 1 Chronicles 16:34, 2 Chronicles 5:13, 30:39, Nehemiah 9:17 and 9:31, Psalms 25:6, 30:5, 31:7, 57:10, 62:12, 78:38, 85:2, 86:5, 100:5, 106:1, 108:4, 111:4, 116:5, 119:64, and 145:8, Isaiah 12:1,  Jeremiah 9:24 and 33:11, Lamentations 3:22, Ezekiel 33:11, Daniel 9:9, Joel 2:13, Jonah 4:2, Micah 7:18, Nahum 1:3,Luke 1:50,  2 Corinthians 1:3, Titus 3:5, Hebrews 4:16 and 8:12, James 2:13 and 5:11, and 1 Peter 1:3; it is captured in his willingness to become incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth and die on the cross at Golgotha to atone for the sins of all who will acknowledge Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

[11] Romans 11:22; also John 8:11, where Jesus forgives the adulterous woman while identifying her behavior as sin: “Neither do I condemn thee; go and sin no more.”

[12] His patience: Exodus 34:6, Numbers 14:18, and Psalm 86:15.

[13] His reliability: “I will not fail thee or forsake thee” (Joshua 1:5) and “…scripture cannot be broken (John 10:35).

[14] His omniscience: 2 Chronicles 16:9, Job 28:10, 34:21, and 42:2, Psalms 33:13, 44:21, 139:1, and 147:4, Proverbs 15:3, Isaiah 29:15, 40:28, 46:10, 48:5, and 66:18,Jeremiah 23:24, Ezekiel 11:5, Daniel 2:20, Matthew 10:29-30, Luke 16:15, Acts 15:18, Romans 8:27Hebrews 4:13, and particularly KJV 1 John 3:20, which states: “God…knoweth all things.”

[15] His omnipotence: Deuteronomy 3:24, 1 Chronicles 29:11, Revelation 19:6; it is captured in one of his names, the “LORD God Almighty,” which appears in KJV Revelation 4:8, 11:17, 15:3, 16:7, and 21:22.

[16] His limitlessness: Genesis 18:14, 1 Samuel 14:16, Job 42:2, Matthew 19:26, Mark 10:27, and Luke 1:37.

[17] His omnipresence: 1 Kings 8:27, Psalm 139:3, Jeremiah 23:23, and Acts 17:27-28.

[18] His eternity: Genesis 1:23, Exodus 3:15, Deuteronomy 32:40, 33:27,Psalms 9:7, 41:13, 90:1 and 102:27; it is captured in the name by which he identified himself to Moses, “I AM.” (KJV Exodus 3:14).

[19] His goodness: Exodus 33:19, 2 Chronicles 5:13, Psalms 25:8, 33:5, 34:8, 52:1, 86:5, 100:5, 106:1, 107:8, 118:29, 119:68, and 145:7, Nahum 1:7, Matthew 19:17, Mark 10:18, and Luke 18:19.

[20] His immutability: Psalms 33:11 and 119:89, Proverbs 19:21, Ecclesiastes 3:14, and particularly KJV Malachi 3:6, in which God states: “I am the LORD, I change not….”

[21] Although the Bible records a few instances in which God appears to change his mind, a careful examination of the situation reveals that he only postponed doing what he had decided to do in order to allow a test of the individual(s) involved. When the individual(s) failed the test, God went ahead with his original plan. One example of this is God’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah; when Abraham argued in favor of leniency in order to spare the faithful men in those cities, God postponed the execution of his plan until it became evident that there were no faithful men in those cities.

[22] His unquestionableness: Job 33:13 states, “…he giveth not account of any of his matters.”

[23] This three-in-one nature is certainly a mystery. Yet God has given us indications of its reasonableness. One is the molecule consisting of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. This molecule manifests itself in three forms – ice, water, and steam – the form it takes depends on its temperature. Thus it has three forms, but one substance. Another is the fact that this three-in-one nature solves the philosophical problem of the one and the many.

[24] It is important to point out here that a person is non-verbal. No matter how many words one uses to describe or attempt to define a person, something will be left out. A person is self-conscious, cognizant of his own existence and the existence of others who are self-conscious, able to sense (see, hear, feel, taste, and smell), able to think (reason), able to experience emotions (love and hate, joy and sorrow, excitement and ennui, satisfaction and dissatisfaction, etc.), but there is more to a person than all the foregoing. A person is real; the foregoing constitutes an abstraction or construct in someone’s mind – not the thing itself. This same distinction must be maintained in science: the redness of Mars is real; its reduction to particular wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation is an abstraction or construct in a scientist’s mind that enables him to understand better the behavior of what he sees.

[25] 1 Corinthians 8:6.

[26] Revelation 5:1; also Hebrews 10:7.

[27] KJV Isaiah 46:9-10.

[28] God-the-Son is the only person of the Trinity with corporeality. God-the-Father is invisible and intangible. In John 6:46, Jesus states that no man has seen the Father, only Jesus Himself. God-the-Spirit is also invisible and intangible. His presence is indicated by such manifestations as his moving or hovering over the primordial waters (Genesis 1:2), which produced light, the “wind” that comes from and goes to who knows where (John 3:8), the “dove” that descended on Jesus during His baptism ( Matthew 3:16, Mark 1:10, Luke 3:22, and John 1:32-33), and the “tongues of fire” that descended on Jesus’ disciples at Pentecost (Acts 2:3).  He, however, is not identified with these corporeal phenomena.

[29] Revelation 5:2-9. Also Hebrews 10:7.

[30] John 1:3, John 1:10 John 8:28-29, 1 Corinthians 8:6, Ephesians 3:9, Colossians 1:16, Hebrews 1:2, Hebrews 1:10, Revelation 3:14, & Revelation 4:11.

[31] Colossians 1:17, Hebrews 1:3. There are no such things as scientific laws. Things behave the way they do because God ordains that they do so. What scientists call laws are merely descriptions of the way God usually does things. What people call miracles are merely instances in which God has departed from His usual way of doing things.

[32] John 8:28-29.

[33] Specifically the Ten Commandments and Jesus’ three imperatives.

[34] Revelation 21:5.

[35]  All men, women, and children are sinners and, because of their sinful nature, break God’s laws. Only some of them, however, acknowledge their sinfulness, repent of their sins, acknowledge God-the-Son’s incarnation in Jesus of Nazareth and affirm His sinless life, His death on the cross to atone for their sins, His resurrection from the dead on the third day, and His ascension to heaven, where He sits on the Throne of God as LORD. The names of these redeemed men, women, and children were written in the Book of Life by God-the-Father before the foundations of the world were laid.

[36] 2 Timothy 4:1, Revelation 19:11.

[37] John 12:48 – “the word that I have spoken” includes the Ten Commandments which He conveyed to Moses on Mount Sinai.

[38] John 6:14 and Acts 2:30 and 3:22,

[39] Hebrews 5:5-10, 6:20, 7:26, 8:1, and 9:11.

[40] 1 Timothy 2:5.

[41] John 18:33-37 and 19:19-22.

[42] 1 Timothy 6:15 and Revelation 17:14 and 19:16.

[43] Philippians 2:9-11.

[44] The language here concerning God-the-Son’s deference to God-the-Father is modeled on the language in John 15:26 concerning God-the-Spirit’s deference to God-the-Father.

[45] Genesis 1:2.

[46] Genesis 2:7.

[47] John 15:26.

[48] Revelation 5:6.