Category: B – Bible

Reflections on the makeup of mankind

by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #027 posted January 16, 2017, edited March 9, 2021.

The image of God

At the very beginning of the Bible, the text quotes God as saying, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness.”[1] Then, in the very next verse, the Bible states, “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created he them.”[2] A couple of things leap out of these verses. First, there is an important similarity between God and man. The nature of man is modeled on the nature of God. Second, the pronouns referring to God are both singular and plural and the pronouns referring to man are both singular and plural.

So what does that tell us? Well, in order to understand the makeup of man, we must understand the makeup of God. Moreover, we should be on the alert for an integration of the One and the Many in this makeup of humanity.

The Bible indicates that the Godhead is a tri-unity. It is often called the Trinity. It consists of three distinct persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Moreover, they did/do different things.

God-the-Father designed Universe and wrote its script, which together form the Decrees of God. Designs and scripts are conceptual entities – products of work on the part of a mind. God-the-Father is somehow associated with the mind.

God-the-Son made Universe and then entered it in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus was born of a mother, lived, died, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven – all in bodily form. Universe and Jesus are material entities – products of work on the part of a body. God-the-Son is somehow associated with the body – or corporeality.

God-the-Holy Spirit energized Universe and gives life to its flora and fauna. Energy and life are mysterious entities – products of work on the part of something we do not understand. For the moment, I will say that something is the spirit.

So how do we know that the spirit exists? Everything, with which we are familiar, exhibits concept and actuality, but how do we understand spirit? I think the answer lies in two biblical passages. The first describes the anointing of the disciples by the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost:

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind , and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.[3]

Here the spirit is likened to a “rushing mighty wind” and to “cloven tongues of fire.” The second passage describes a portion of the dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus:

Jesus answered, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, ‘Ye must be born again.’ The wind bloweth where it will, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.[4]

Here too, the spirit is likened to “the wind” and Jesus points out that, like the wind, it cannot be seen, but its effects can be seen, heard, and felt. We can infer the presence of the spirit from its obvious effects. When we see and hear trees being stripped of its leaves and branches, then being brutally torn out of the ground, and finally being driven across the land in a tangle of broken roots and branches, we have no trouble understanding this destruction as one ill effect of a hurricane or tornado, even though we cannot see the wind or discern from whence it came.

Thus the Godhead exhibits an integration of three persons, the effects of whose activities are associated with separate phenomena: mind, body, and spirit.

Just how far does that get us? Well, it tell us that mankind might exhibit a tri-partite nature as well, and the effects of mankind’s activities might be associated with the same separate phenomena: body, mind, and spirit. That is, like God, the individual human might be a tri-unity.

The body

Let’s start with the body – sometimes called flesh and bones. Everyone has a body, and everyone knows that he or she has a body. First, using the five senses – i.e. sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch – I can see, smell, hear, taste, and touch my own body. Second, other people can see, smell, hear, taste, and touch my body. Thus, my body is material. It can be physically examined and measured by me and others. It has an objective reality. Oddly, however, a person actually knows very little about the body which he or she inhabits. Unless a person has studied biology, anatomy, medicine, etc., he or she is remarkably unaware of how the body is constructed or works. Moreover, even medical and scientific professionals have a limited understanding of it; they are discovering something new about it every day. Despite such limited understanding, however, they know that it is the most complex and fascinating object in the known part of Universe. As King David said to God, “…I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are thy works….” [5]

The mind

Now take the mind – sometimes called the soul or personality. First, the mind is distinct from the body.[6] Second, the mind is not equivalent to the brain. The brain is part of the body. It is the organic mass that resides in the head. It is an incredibly complex system of blood vessels, flesh, nerves, etc. It is material. It can be physically examined and measured. It has an objective reality. The mind, on the other hand, refers to a person’s consciousness and his or her sense of possessing a unique, personal integrity. An unconscious, unknown, and ultimately mysterious process converts information which the brain receives from other parts of the body via nerve signals into the mind’s experience of awareness, concepts, emotions, hunger, intentions, memories, music, perceptions, etc. The mind is immaterial. It cannot be physically examined and measured. It has a subjective reality. Its existence in others can only be inferred by me because they behave like I do.

The spirit

Finally take the spirit. The Bible indicates that it exists independently of the body and the mind.6 Like the mind, it is immaterial. It cannot be physically examined and measured. Unlike the mind, however, it does not have a subjective reality. A person can go through life without being aware of it.

So how do we know that the spirit exists? In light of what we know about God-the-Holy Spirit, we can infer its presence from its obvious effects. It is the vehicle through which God gives every person (a) a rudimentary awareness of God’s existence[7] – whether acknowledged or not – and (b) a rudimentary conscience[8] which distinguishes between good and evil – whether heeded or not. It is also the vehicle through which God gives some people a second birth, after which he and his commandments become the focus of their lives.

Consider the case of Charles ”Chuck” Colson. He served as Special Counsel to President Richard Nixon from 1969 to 1973. He was regarded as Nixon’s hatchet man. He hurt many people, and they and others came to despise him. In the aftermath of the “Watergate Scandal” and Nixon’s resignation from the presidency, however, Colson was suddenly “born again” while reading C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity.[9] He underwent a profound change of character and outlook. He publically expressed repentance for his misdeeds and begged forgiveness from the people whom he had hurt. In 1974, he plead guilty to charges of “obstruction of justice” and served seven months in a federal penitentiary. Most important, he began to glorify the Lord in both word and deed, of which the founding of the non-profit Prison Ministry is probably the most famous. Initially many non-Christians questioned his sincerity and accused him of using “religion” as a way both to deflect attention from his misdeeds and to make money. As the years passed, however, and people saw him consistently giving away most of his income to Christian causes and spending all his time and energy serving others, therewith affecting thousands of lives to the good, such criticism died down and eventually went away. What was left was a testimony to the power of the Holy Spirit to affect the spirit of a person and thereby alter the nature and focus of his or her life.

In view of the above, we can say that mankind, like God, exhibits an integration of the One and the Many. First, mankind consists of males and females, who have different natures and different roles to play in the human drama. Men provide for and protect their women and children. Women help their husbands and bear and raise their children. Second, each person is a tri-unity. He or she consists of a mind, which probably reflects the intellect of God-the-Father, a body, which probably reflects the corporeality of God-the-Son, and a spirit, which probably reflects the presence and power of God-the-Holy Spirit. Thus we can understand what God meant when he said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness.”

One further point needs to be made. The Bible indicates that every person is born with a tendency to sin, and this sinfulness separates him or her from God. The person is therefore “spiritually dead,” which is why so many people are unaware of the spiritual part of them. Only by accepting the Jewish Messiah, God-the-Son, as Lord and Savior will a person receive “new life” from the God-the-Holy Spirit, who is the Giver of Life. At this point, he or she becomes conscious of the spirit within and tries to follow its leading on the journey of life.

Heed the words of Jesus: “Ye must be born again.”

© 2017 John Holbrook Jr.

_________________________________________

[1] KJ21 Genesis 1:26.

[2] KJ21 Genesis 1:27.

[3] KJ21 Acts 2:1-4.

[4] KJ21. John 3:5-8.

[5] KJ21 Psalm 139:14.

[6] See Matthew 10:28, Acts 2:27,31, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, and Hebrews 4:12.

[7] Romans 2:19-23.

[8] Romans 2:14

[9] The same book which played an important role in my own conversion from atheist to evangelical Christian.

Is God wholly – or only partially – sovereign over his creation?

by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #026 posted January 9, 2016, edited March 9, 2021.

There is much confusion today over the issue of God’s sovereignty over his creation – i.e.  Universe. The atheist dismisses the issue because he does not believe in God. The deist grants God’s sovereignty over his creation of Universe, but believes that he subsequently left it to develop on its own. Christians have expressed a range of beliefs on the issue, which are mostly focused on how men establish a relationship with God.

Early Christians believed the following: that all men are sinful (the doctrine of original sin), that God entered his Creation in the person of Jesus of Nazareth (the doctrine of the incarnation), that Jesus lived a perfect life (the doctrine of the sinlessness of Christ), that Jesus died on the cross at Calvary as a perfect, one-time payment for some men’s sinfulness (the doctrine of atonement), that God-the-Father ordained just who those men would be before the foundations of the world were laid (the doctrine of predestination[1]), that God raised Jesus from the dead (the doctrine of the resurrection), that Jesus ascended into heaven (the doctrine of the ascension), that only God-the-Holy Spirit can enable men to accept God-the-Son as their Savior and Lord (the doctrine of grace), and that only God-the-Holy Spirit can enable men to resist temptation, turn away from sinning, and move closer to God (the doctrine of sanctification).

In the fourth century AD, some Christians jettisoned some of the above doctrines and began espousing the view that men are basically good and can establish a relationship with God on their own.[2] This view got them branded as heretics.

Soon other Christians began occupying a middle ground between the above extremes.[3] They expressed the view that, although Jesus’ death on the cross was a necessary payment for men’s sinfulness, all men could now establish a relationship with God on their own, without the help of God-the-Holy Spirit. This got them too branded as heretics, but it survived such opposition and has waxed and waned through the succeeding centuries. Called Aminianism, it is quite common in our era, in which so many people clamor for unbridled, individual autonomy and exhibit disrespect for authority of all kinds – particularly divine authority.

The Testimony of the Scriptures

Departing from the early Christian’s beliefs on these issues, of course, entails ignoring much of what the Bible says about God’s sovereignty over his creation. Consider the following verses concerning God’s sovereignty over people’s salvation, the goal of which is the establishment of a right relationship with God:

Jesus said to His disciples, “But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven” (KJV Matthew 16:15-17).

Jesus also said to His disciples, “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day” (KJV John 6:38-40).

Jesus also said to his disciples, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day” (KJV John 6:44).

Paul wrote, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will” (KJV Ephesians 1:3-5).

Paul also wrote, “That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory” (KJV Ephesians 1:10-14).

Paul also wrote, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (KJV Ephesians 2:8-10)

Paul also wrote, “But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (KJV 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14).

Paul also wrote, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (KJV Titus 3:5).

The common denominator among the eight passages above is the testimony that the triune God is the prime actor in a person’s establishing a right relationship with God. In temporal sequence: God-the-Father wrote the names of the redeemed in the Book of Life before the foundations of the world were laid. The triune God created them. God-the-Son died on a cross to atone for their sins. Now God-the-Father draws them to his Son. God-the-Holy Spirit enables them to accept God-the-Son as their Savior and Lord, then cleanses and regenerates them, sets God’s seal on them, and finally enables them increasingly to resist temptation, turn away from sinning, and move closer to God. Although the redeemed will die physically, God-the-Son will resurrect them on the Last Day to live with Him throughout eternity.

2 Peter 3:9

One reason that some Christians ignore the above testimony is that they misinterpret the following verse: “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is long suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). They maintain that it indicates that God-the-Father is unwilling that anyone perish. As Moreno Dal Bello has pointed out,[4] what they overlook is the verse’s context. Peter is writing to the “beloved” – i.e. the faithful disciples of Christ – who are already saved, but who are impatient for the Parousia, which will bring an end to this world. He tells them that they must be patient, for God will not bring the end until everyone whose name is written in the Book of Life has come into the Kingdom. God-the-Father is unwilling to have any of them perish, which would happen if the end came before they responded to the Gospel.

 The Nature of Creation

Another reason why so many Christians reject predestination is that they don’t understand the nature of Creation. It is a drama.

Before I examine the drama of Creation, I ask you to consider this aspect of any drama or play: it has an outside and an inside. Outside the drama, its author predetermines its every aspect. He creates each character, determining his or her gender and whether he or she is good or bad. He also predestines what he or she will do and say. Inside the drama, however, each person is free – free to decide what to do and what to say within the constraints of the drama’s world. He or she can behave well or badly, nobly or ignobly, and will be held accountable for his or her deeds and words within that world.

Now back to the drama of Creation. It has an author, God-the-Father. It has a producer and stage-manager, God-the-Son. It has a director, God-the-Holy Spirit. It has a cast: its protagonist is Jesus of Nazareth or God-the-Son; He follows the Father’s script exactly.[5] Its antagonist is Satan; he also follows the Father’s script exactly.[6] Its lesser players are all the men, women, and children in history. If both its protagonist and its antagonist are controlled by God-the-Father’s script, isn’t it reasonable to assume that the lives of its bit players are as well? Finally, it has a plot: God-the-Father is preparing a bride[7] for his Son despite the opposition of Satan and his minions.

The Bride of Christ

Now here is where the doctrine of predestination is so important. Why did God-the-Father determine the makeup of the Bride of Christ before he allowed the other persons of the Trinity to lay the foundations of the world? The answer is pretty obvious. She is at the center of the drama’s story. She is the girl for whom the protagonist and the antagonist are contending (see my blog, “Will the guy get the girl?” which was posted on September 5, 2016).[8] Ask yourself the question, “Would God-the-Father leave the composition of his Son’s bride to be determined by the whim of bit players in the drama? Would he allow them to decide for themselves whether or not they will accept or reject God’s offer of salvation through faith in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. No. God-the-Son will have to live with His bride for all eternity. She must be perfect. God-the-Father designed her before Universe was created. Now she is being formed, educated, and trained to be a help-mete for her future spouse, to whom she is betrothed. When God-the-Father presents her to his Son, she will be perfect. There will be no surprises.

If you remain unconvinced on this issue, imagine a drama in which every member of the cast is free to say and do whatever he or she chooses to say and do. The result would not be a drama. It would be chaos. Consider Othello, The Moor of Venice. Imagine the thought and effort which the author[9] put into crafting the plot, the action and the lines for Othello, Desdemona, Iago, Cassio, Brabantio, Roderigo, Emilia, and Bianca. They create the drama. If the actors abandoned the script, there would be no drama. Consider what would have happened if Othello had decided to give Desdemona a dozen roses instead of a handkerchief. Or if Desdemona had tried to wipe Othello’s face with her sleeve instead of her handkerchief. Or if Othello had put the handkerchief in his pocket, instead of dropping it on the floor. Or if Emelia had decided not to pick up the handkerchief. Or if Emelia had decided to keep the handkerchief for herself instead of giving it to Iago. Or if Iago had put something else in Cassio’s room instead of the handkerchief. Or if Cassio had failed to notice the handkerchief in his room. Or if Bianca had showed no interest in the handkerchief that Cassio was carrying. Etc. The play would fall apart.

The Testimony of God’s Person

There is one more point that I want to make. Still another reason why so many Christians claim that they responded to the Gospel of Christ of their own free will is that they don’t grasp the infinite extent of God’s intellect, power, imagination, inventiveness, etc.

The Scriptures indicate that God designed, created, and manages Universe, which is the theater in which the drama unfolds, and the earth, which is the stage on which the drama occurs. He controls the movement of every atomic particle, every atom, every molecule, every drop of water, every grain of sand, every celestial body, every galaxy, etc. He ordains every sunrise and every sunset, every cloudless day and every thunderstorm, every meteor shower and every volcanic eruption.

The Scriptures also indicate that God designed, created, and manages the earth’s creatures. He controls every minnow or whale, every ant or elephant, every butterfly or eagle, and every man, woman, or child. He numbers the hairs on each creature’s body. He determines when, where, and why a sparrow falls. He selects the members of each family, church, and nation. He ordains when a nation can live in peace and when it will be engaged in war. Absolutely nothing lies outside his purview and control – particularly something so important as the makeup of the bride whom God is preparing for God-the-Son.

The point of all of the above is that God is wholly and absolutely sovereign over his creation.

© 2016 John Holbrook Jr.

__________________________________

[1] The doctrine of predestination was strongly advocated by Augustine (354-430 AD) and Calvin (1509-1564 AD).

[2] Opposition to the doctrine of predestination may have started with Pelagius (c.355-c.425 AD) and been exacerbated by his follower Coelestius, a contemporary of Augustine. They rejected (a) the doctrine of original sin by claiming that children are born innocent and (b) the doctrine of the general depravity of man by claiming that men are basically good, and (c) the doctrine of grace by claiming that men have the capacity to resist evil, be good, and seek God without God’s help. This led him to claim that men can earn salvation by keeping the law – i.e. Christ’s death on the cross was an unnecessary ingredient in salvation. Pelagianism was fought by Augustine and Jerome (c.347-c.420 AD) and ultimately condemned as heretical by the eastern and western churches at the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD.

[3] In the face of the church’s condemnation of Pelagianism, a softer version of it soon emerged, which was known as Semi-Pelagianism. Its adherents maintained that, while grace is necessary in order to receive salvation, God wills that all men be saved. Semi-Pelagianism was fought by Caesarius of Arles (468/470-542 AD) and condemned as heretical by the Council of Orange in 529 AD. Despite such condemnation, it was revived by Jacobus Arminius (1560-1609 AD), and later codified by his followers in the Remonstrants (1610). Its adherents today are usually called Arminians.

[4] See http://godsonlygospel.com/booklets/not_willing_that_any_should_perish.htm.

[5] See John 8:28-29; also Hebrews 10:7.

[6] See Job 1:6-12 and 2:1-6. Note that (a) Satan must appear in God’s throne room, (b) God requires Satan to give an account of what he has been doing, (c) God draws Satan’s attention to Job, and (d) God tells Satan exactly what he can and cannot do to Job.

[7] The Bride of Christ consists of all the men, women, and children in history who have faithfully trusted in and accepted God himself as their redeemer and Lord.

[8] Just as God put Adam to sleep, took flesh and bone from his side, formed Eve, and then presented Eve to Adam to be his bride on Day 6 of Creation Week, so God put Jesus to sleep on the cross, took blood and water from His side, is currently forming the “Bride of Christ,” and will present her to his Son to be His wife at the Wedding of the Lamb. Note that the Bible starts with a wedding between the First Adam and his bride and ends with a wedding between the Second Adam and His bride. 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. 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.

[9] Othello is attributed to William Shakespeare, but I believe Christopher Marlowe wrote all the plays that bear Shakespeare’s name.  See Calvin Hoffman’s The Murder of the Man Who Was ‘Shakespeare’, Julian Messner, New York, 1955.

 

Santa Claus or Satan’s Claws?

by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #021 posted December 5, 2016, edited March 9, 2021.

For nineteen centuries, Christmas was associated solely with the birthday of Jesus Christ. Its name proclaimed its nature – “Christ’s mass” – and the event it celebrated, the incarnation of God Himself in the person of a tiny baby, born in a manger, was seen to be the most stupendous event in human history. It inspired some of the greatest literature, music, painting, and sculpture ever crafted by human hands. The musical paeans range from the poignant strains of Silent Night to the grandeur and glory of Handel’s Messiah, but all pay homage to “the King of kings and Lord of lords” who “…shall reign forever and ever.”

During the twentieth century, however, Christmas was high-jacked by a Pretender to the Throne with an unlikely appearance – a rotund little man with twinkling eyes, a great white beard, a red suit with white trim and a floppy cap to match, a broad black belt with a gleaming buckle, and black boots.

Santa Claus (1)

Traveling in a sleigh drawn by reindeer, he flies through the air and delivers presents to the children of the world on “…the night before Christmas.”

Santa Claus in Sleigh (2)

His name is Santa Claus. Now, in the early years of the twenty-first century, Christmas in the public square and in most homes as well is devoted primarily to him.

Who is Santa Claus?

Let us start with a firm disclaimer. Santa Claus is not the historical Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra in Lycia, who was a staunch defender of the Orthodox Christian faith, who participated in the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, and who secretly distributed presents to the needy in his community. He would have been appalled to learn that his name would be associated with the “Saint Nick” of the 21st Century.

A clue to Santa Claus’s true identity lies in the foregoing nickname. Who was most often called “Old Nick” in previous centuries? An examination of his person will soon answer the question.

Santa Claus is a counterfeit Christ.

Santa’s incommunicable or metaphysical attributes (excepting the last) are god-like:

God is eternal; so seems Santa – he is ageless.

God is omnipresent; so seems Santa – he is everywhere at once, observing the behavior of children in their homes throughout the world, reading letters from the world’s children and making toys in his shop at the North Pole, and delivering presents in his sleigh, etc.

God is omnipotent; so seems Santa – he can do almost anything. He flies through the air. He lands on the roofs of high-rise towers and peasant hovels. He descends through chimney flues which are too small for him and most of his gifts to pass through – or are even non-existent. In addition, he delivers more presents than either he or his sleigh could possibly carry (in a way, he repeats the miracle of the loaves and fishes, but with toys).

God is omniscient; so seems Santa – he knows everything about all children wherever they are: whether or not they are behaving, what they need, what they want, etc.

God is immutable; so seems Santa – he does not change.

God is infinite; so seems Santa – his knowledge, capabilities, and activities are without limits.

God is indivisible; so seems Santa – he is not divisible.

God is both one and many (the Godhead is a triunity consisting of three persons); so seems Santa – he is one person, but also a multitude of persons, appearing simultaneously in many places (homes, hospitals, offices, schools, stores, town and city sidewalks, etc.).

God is uncreated; only in this respect does Santa differ from Jesus. He was created by Thomas Nast and more fully developed by Clement Moore in the 19th century.

Santa’s communicable or moral attributes, however, reveal his nature more clearly:

God is perfect; Santa is imperfect – He misses some homes. He gives some bad children exactly what they want, and he fails to give some good children what they want.

God is truthful; Santa is untruthful – First, he lives a lie: although he admonishes children to be truthful, he exists and acts only because of the lie that he exists and acts. Second, he deflects children’s attention from Jesus, who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (KJV John 14:6). Third, he withholds from children the true Gospel of Grace: that they will receive the free, unmerited gift of eternal life in the presence of God if they repent of their sins and accept Jesus as their Redeemer and Lord. Lastly, he beguiles children with the false Gospel of Works: that they will earn a reward if they are good. Alas, no one can be good enough.

God is benevolent; Santa is malevolent –He encourages children to believe in him and his word. When children inevitably discover that he is a myth and that his word is not trustworthy, they realize that they have been deceived – deceived by Santa, deceived by their parents, and deceived by society. As a result, they become far less willing or able to believe the other Christmas story, the story of how God entered into his own creation in the person of a baby who was born in a manger. They reason: if Santa is a myth, so also must be Jesus. Santa may look jolly and benevolent, but he is actually a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

God is holy; Santa is unholy – He concerns himself exclusively with material things, and he encourages children to focus on and covet material things. He does not encourage them to eschew material things and to find their satisfaction and joy in knowing God and his Word (the Bible) and in serving God and others.

God is just; Santa is unjust – He tells children that he will reward them if they are good – particular if they are obedient to their parents – but then he distributes his gifts, not according to his stated criteria, but according to how rich the children’s parents are. A bad little rich boy will get much nicer presents than a good little poor boy. That is not just. Moreover, he never suggests that children be obedient to God.

God is merciful; Santa is merciless – In one sense, Santa is merciful in that he gives undeserved gifts – i.e. the treatment of the bad little rich boy above – but his mercy is bogus, for it is not extended in the context of the truth, but rather in the context of a lie (that we live in a godless, savior-less, ultimately unjust world where sin has no eternal consequences).

Again, who is Santa Claus?

Santa’s name and activities betray him. SANTA = SATAN (just move the N two places to the right, and you have the name of the great Deceiver and the Father of Lies himself) and CLAUS = CLAWS (just replace the U with a W – the sound remains the same – and you have Satan’s essential activity: getting his talons into people’s fleshly nature). Disguising himself as Santa Claus, Satan usurps Jesus’ place at His own birthday party and commences the corruption of souls at their most impressionable age, when they are toddlers. That he does so with the help of their parents – the very people to whom God has given the responsibility of protecting them from the depredations of the Evil One and of raising them in the knowledge and love of the Holy One, who is God-the-Son, the Lord Jesus Christ – is stunning in its cleverness and audacity.

That brings me to my conclusion: Santa Claus (or Satan’s Claws) is a personification of pure evil!

© 2016 John Holbrook Jr.

Was Noah’s ark overcrowded?

by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #010 posted September 19, 2016, edited March 9, 2021.

One of the many Bible stories on which skeptics like to jump with both feet is the account of Noah’s ark – particularly the claim that the ark carried a male and female of every sort or kind of animal on earth. How, they ask, could the ark contain elephants, lions, tigers, rhinoceroses, giraffes, etc. and the food necessary to sustain them– let alone how eight people could tend them and keep the ark from becoming an unsanitary and nauseous dungeon? Surprisingly, the answer is simple and came to me from an unlikely source.

According to my chronology of ancient history, the Antediluvian Era lasted roughly 1656 years (3977-2321 BC). The Bible makes clear that the men of this era (a) failed to honor God and his commandments and (b) indulged in every form of iniquity. Some of the trouble appears to have been caused by (a) the nephilim (sometimes translated “giants”), who were mighty men of renown and may have been warriors that introduced conflict and war into antediluvian life and (b) marriages between “the sons of God” (perhaps God-honoring covenant-keepers) and the “daughters of men” (perhaps God-dishonoring covenant-breakers), thereby becoming “unequally yoked.”

In any event, God became disgusted by the behavior of his creatures and decided to destroy the civilization which they had managed to construct.[1] God instructed Noah to build an ark in which to preserve his family and representatives of every animal and avian species on earth.

God provided Noah with the plans and specifications of the Ark.

Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. (KJV Gen 6:14-16)

The Ark’s passengers were Noah and his wife, his oldest son Japheth and his wife, his middle son Seth and his wife, and his youngest son Ham and his wife – four men and four women. In addition, there was a pair (male and female) of every animal species on earth.

…and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee. And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them. (KJV Gen 6:18-21)

The LORD himself shut Noah and his fellow passengers in the Ark. I believe that the door was closed and locked from the outside.

And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him [Noah]: and the LORD shut him [Noah] in. (KJV Gen 7:16)

In 2321 BC, when Noah was 600 years old, a global flood devastated the earth. It utterly destroyed and buried the Antediluvian civilization and left the land surface devoid of plant and animal life and overflowing with mud and muck. For the next 370 days, the ark carried its passengers safely through the cataclysm.

Now the idea that the ark carried pairs of every animal and avian species for 370 days without touching land has engendered vigorous debate over the past four millennia. It is often ridiculed by representatives of the Academy.[2]  The questions are always the same: How could pairs of dinosaurs, elephants, lions, and tigers, etc. fit into and coexist peacefully in the ark? How could four men and four women feed all the animals and birds, let alone keep their respective cages clean and dispose of the refuse?

Is this what the ark looked like from the exterior?

Exterior of Noah's Ark (1)

Is this what the ark looked like from the interior?

Interior of Noah's ark (1)

In 1982, I was a member of a house church, and one Sunday, after the worship service, all the men were gathered in the living room discussing the Scriptural text for the day,[3] which was a portion of the story of the flood.[4]

The men took turns commenting on the above questions. The discussion touched on the size of the ark, the number of interior decks, the number of species involved, the various sizes of the cages necessary to accommodate them, the difficulties of storing and distributing the food, the dangers involved in dealing with dinosaurs, elephants, lions, tigers, etc., the herculean task of cleaning the cages and disposing of the refuse. The discussion produced more questions than answers.

Meanwhile, an eight year old girl, the daughter of one of the men, sat in our midst. Her name was Jennifer. She had obviously been raised to listen to, but not interrupt her elders. After sitting still and silently for some time – at least half an hour – she finally couldn’t stand it another minute and said in a quiet voice, “Maybe they were babies.”

All of us men were struck dumb. I don’t exaggerate. We said nothing for several minutes, and then one of us said, “Out of the mouth of babes…!” [5]

In all the reading that I have done, I have never run across the suggestion that all the animals, birds, etc. on the ark were babies. Yet it is the obvious answer to all the troubling questions that I have noted above.

The adults in our house church that morning were given two lessons:

First, the Lord has a role for everyone among His followers to play. He can and does use every man, woman, and child, no matter how humble their abilities and circumstances, to contribute to the equipping of the saints for ministry. Everyone of us there that morning went out into the world better able to explain the Word of God to unbelievers because the Lord spoke to us through the mouth of an eight year old girl.

Second, when you are confronting a puzzling situation, it is essential to ask yourself, “Have I put this situation in a box? Have I made one or more inferences that prevent me from seeing the truth of this situation? If I have, what are the inferences and what possibilities emerge after they are eliminated – that is, how do I start thinking outside the box that I have created in my mind?”[6]

In the case of the Biblical account concerning Noah’s ark, people infer – the story does not imply – that the pairs of species are adults. They know, however, that God specifies pairs (a male and a female) because he intends that they reproduce and thereby preserve their respective species. This intention catapults people’s thoughts into the adult world. They infer that adults are meant because babies cannot reproduce – yet. They have created a box in their minds that leads to a disbelief in the story because pairs of all species on earth can neither fit in the ark nor be cared for by four men and four women. In the case of our discussion on that Sunday morning, the box in our minds was smashed by four, softly spoken words, “Maybe they were babies.”

Thank you Jenny.

© 2016 John Holbrook Jr.

___________________________________________________

[1] The civilization was undoubtedly singular, for it occupied a single land mass, and its people spoke a single language.

[2] I use the term Academy to refer to the scientists and scholars who rely on the consensus of their peers rather than the written Word of God.

[3] All the women were in the kitchen preparing a sumptuous meal.

[4] The story runs from Genesis 6:13 to 8:19. I can’t remember the exact portion that was read that morning.

[5] See Psalm 8:2 and Matthew 21:16.

[6] One of my favorite examples of a puzzling situation, which tripped up most adults in the 20th century, is the following story: While driving in the family car, a man and his son are in a terrible accident. Both are severely injured, rushed to the nearest hospital, and put in separate operating rooms. The doctor who is assigned to work on the son enters the operating room, looks at the boy with horror, and cries out, “I can’t operate on him. He is my son!” (Many hospitals will not permit its medical personnel to operate on members of their own families.) Then who is this doctor?  This question stumped most people in that era, some of whom devised intricate attempts to identify this “man” who is not the man lying on the table in the operating room next door. The only trouble is – this doctor is not a man. This doctor is the boy’s mother. Why couldn’t most people see this immediately?  Because, when they heard the word “doctor,” they saw in their minds’ eyes first someone in a surgical gown (inference #1) and second a man in a surgical gown (inference #2). Then, since the doctor exclaimed, “He is my son!,” they inferred that the doctor is the boy’s father (inference #3). Thus they believed that they were dealing with two fathers (an impossibility excepting to homosexuals, who are now siring children with surrogate mothers and adopting other people’s children, about which I will not comment), which threw them into confusion. That they had been culturally conditioned to make inference #2 does not alter the nature of what was going on here. They were seeking to understand and evaluate reality on the basis of erroneous inferences, to which they clung despite the impossibility of inference #3. Alas, we humans do this all the time.

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.

____________________________________________________

[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.

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.

_____________________________________________________

[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.

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.
________________________________________

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.
______________________________________

[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.
_____________________________________________

[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.