F2 – Natural History – A Biblical View

Interstellar Space

by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #102 posted August 19, 2019, edited March 10, 2021.

I have presented the following in the form of a personal narrative in order to make clear the development of my thinking.

Preamble

As an undergraduate at Yale college (1955-59), I studied physics under Horace Dwight Taft, who would later become a professor of physics and Dean of Yale College. He used a textbook by three senior professors of physics on the Yale faculty.[1]

In Chapter 6 – Force and Acceleration; Dynamics, we were introduced to Isaac Newton’s three laws of motion,[2] which he developed in the 1680s. His formula, which describes the gravitational attraction between two bodies, is: F = (-1) x G x m₁m₂/r², where F is the force of attraction, G is the gravitational constant, m₁ and m₂ are the masses of the two bodies, and r is the distance between them.

In Chapter 24 – Electric Charges and Coulomb’s Law, we were introduced to Charles-Augustin de Coulomb’s work on electrical attraction and repulsion. His formula, which describes the electrical repulsion between two like charges, is F = (1) x k x q₁q₂/r2, where F is the force of repulsion, k = the electrostatic constant, q₁ and q₂ are the amounts of the two charges, and r is the distance between them.

I remember becoming intrigued by the surprising similarity between the two formulas above, to which the authors drew our attention.[3] The only differences between Newton’s formula for gravitational attraction and Coulomb’s formula for electric repulsion appears to be the multiplier (-1 or 1) and their respective constants (G or k).

In later chapters, we were introduced to James Clark Maxwell’s four equations on electromagnetic fields, which he developed in the 1870s. They demonstrated that electric and magnetic fields travel through space as waves moving at the speed of light. To transmit these waves, he postulated the existence of an all-pervading medium, which he called the aether (now ether). The authors of my college textbook commented on the difficulties associated with this theory and then said, “We now know that light is an electromagnetic disturbance, the transmission of which is a property of empty space. There is no ether.”

I left college physics with the distinct feeling that interstellar space presented science with an important puzzle that was far from being solved.

ALFRED KORZYBSKI

In the summer of 1958, a friend recommended a book to me, Science and Sanity[4] by Alfred Korzybski. I read it, another book by Korzybski entitled Manhood of Humanity,[5] and a few more books by some of his followers.[6] Sufficiently intrigued by General Semantics, I took a week-long seminar at the end of the year at the Institute of General Semantics, which Korzybski had founded in Lakeville, CT.

General Semantics devotes a great deal of attention to the way we use words, stressing the need for non-verbal referents for the names and nouns which we use and for distinguishing between the verbal maps which we draw and the non-verbal geography which we purport to describe with those maps. Of course, one of the things I began to think about was interstellar space and Maxwell’s aether, which he had regarded as a necessity, but which the authors of my physics textbook had dismissed as non-existent.

First, if the word “nothing” has no objective referent by definition, then it indicates the absence of “anything,” not the presence of “something.” Like “zero,” “nothing” is a useful concept when we are using numbers. For instance, when we count the number of children in a school classroom, we might find there that are twelve, to each of whom we could assign one of the following numbers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, & 12 (0 appears once in this series, in the number 10, but it only serves as a place holder to indicate a shift to the next order of magnitude, the series of numbers beginning with 1). We might also notice that there are twelve boys, but zero girls in the class (here 0 indicates the absence of a girl, not the presence of “something”). There are no girls here to act or be acted on.

Similarly, if space is empty – i.e. it contains “nothing” – there is nothing there to which we can ascribe the property of being able to transmit electromagnetic waves.[7]

Second, if there is “nothing” between the sun and the earth, they should be touching, in which case the heat of the sun would melt the earth within minutes. Something lies between them. Moreover, there are almost 93 million miles of that something, and light traveling at 186,220 miles/sec. requires roughly 8.33 minutes to pass through it. It cannot be an insignificant factor in Universe.

Third, if space must be “something,” the word “something” needs an objective referent. It always refers to the presence of matter of some kind. The above says something important about Universe. Universe never contains nothingness or emptiness. It is always and everywhere full of something – i.e. space must contain some form of matter.[8] For the time being, I was left with the question,” Just what kind of matter?”, because it obviously wasn’t a gas, a liquid, or a solid.

IMMANUEL VELIKOVSKY

In 1959, I graduated from Yale College and then entered the U.S. Marine Corps, where I served for three years as an infantry officer. In 1962, I returned to New Haven to attend graduate school in the Art and Architecture School. Late that year, while browsing in the Yale Co-op, I stumbled on a copy of Immanuel Velikovsky’s Oedipus and Akhnaton (1960), which turned out to be a fascinating, detective story involving Greek myths and Egyptian archaeology. I bought and read it. I then bought and read his Worlds in Collision (1950), Ages in Chaos (1952), and Earth in Upheaval (1956). After that, I spent months in Yale’s Sterling Memorial Library, where I scoured its shelves in the stacks for anything by or about Velikovsky, of which there was a great deal. One of the items that I found was a self-described Synopsis by Velikovsky entitled Cosmos Without Gravitation,[9] which starts, “The fundamental theory of this paper is: Gravitation is an electromagnetic phenomenon. There is no primary motion inherent in planets and satellites. Electric attraction, repulsion, and electromagnetic circumduction[10] govern their movements. The moon does not “fall,” attracted to the earth from an assumed inertial motion along a straight line, nor is the phenomenon of objects falling in the terrestrial atmosphere comparable with the “falling effect” in the movement of the moon, a conjecture which is the basic element of the Newtonian theory of gravitation.” Needless to say, this pamphlet rekindled my interest in the similarity between Newton’s formula and Coulomb’s formula to which I referred above.

Later in my time at graduate school (1962-68), after I had met and spent much time with Velikovsky,[11] he gave me a paper to read, “Velocity of Light in Relation to Moving Bodies.”[12] It convinced me that the Michelson-Morley experiment had not settled the issue of whether or not the ether existed, and I even made a serious, but unsuccessful attempt to get the Yale’s Sheffield School of Engineering to conduct the experiment which Velikovsky proposes therein.

During the following eleven years (1968-79), I practiced architecture and, on the side, spent much time trying to help Velikovsky as best I could.[13] The latter effort ended – for me at least – with Velikovsky’s death in November 1979.

During these same years, two periodicals appeared that greatly increased the interest in Velikovsky at the time: David N. Talbot, publisher, and Stephen L. Talbot, editor-in-chief, created Pensee – Immanuel Velikovsky Reconsidered, which would publish 10 issues between 1972 and 1974, and Lewis W. Greenberg, publisher and editor-in-chief, created Kronos – A Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, which would published 44 issues between 1975 and 1988. These magazines were filled with articles that argued for recognizing the importance of electrodynamic forces in the cosmos.[14]

One of the things I learned at the time was: there is a fourth state of matter in addition to gases, liquids, and solids. That fourth state is plasma. While gases, liquids, and solids consist of one or more chemical elements. Plasma is a cloud of protons, neutrons, and electrons that have come loose from their respective atoms and molecules and act as a whole. Simple observation tells us that, while heavenly bodies like, asteroids, comets, novae, planets, stars, etc. consist of gases, liquids, and solids, interstellar space does not and therefore must be full of plasma. There was my answer to the question, “What constituted Maxwell’s aether?” [15] The ether is the plasma! Now I believe that plasma physics will solve many of the problems that are troubling cosmologists, astrophysicists, astronomers, and geophysicists.

THE BIBLE’S SPATIAL ORDERS [16]

In 1980, which I call my annus mirabilis, I went from being an atheist to putting my trust (a) in Jesus of Nazareth as my Divine Savior and Lord and (b) in the Bible as God’s Holy Word and therefore the most trustworthy source of information in Universe.

Years later, I set about trying to understand the spatial realms to which the Bible refers and to reflect on the implications of them. I then constructed a table of them, which can be seen in my blog of February 27, 2017, entitled Natural History 2 – Table 6B – The Bible’s spatial orders. I believe that it illustrates the way in which God has organized reality.

The 3^rd Heaven, which is the supernatural domain – It lies outside universe. Its content and extent are unknown. It has not been detected; its existence is established by the biblical account in 2 Colossians 12:2.

The 2^nd Heaven, which is the space above the upper waters – It consists of a spherical shell above and surrounding the upper waters. Most probably its outer edge is the boundary of Universe and its inner edge borders the upper waters. Its content and extent are unknown. It has not been detected; its existence is implied by the Bible’s references to a 1st heaven in Revelation 21:1 and a 3rd heaven in 2 Corinthians 12:2, in between which there must be a 2nd heaven.

The Upper Waters, which are the waters above the firmament – It consists of a spherical shell above and surrounding the 1st heaven. Its outer edge borders the 2nd heaven’s inner edge and its inner edge borders the 1st heaven’s outer edge. Its content is water, but its extent is unknown. It has not been detected; its existence is inferred from the Bible’s reference to the firmament being between the upper waters and the lower waters in Genesis 1:7.

The 1^st Heaven, which is the firmament or the expanse or interstellar space – Its inner edge borders on the earth’s atmosphere; its outer edge, the upper waters. Its content by mass is primarily electromagnetic plasma (est. 96%) and secondarily astronomical bodies (est. 4%), such as stars, planets, moons, asteroids, and comets which occur within astronomical objects such as galaxies, nebulae, star clusters, and planetary systems – starting with the earth’s sun and moon. Its extent is unknown.

The Earth, which is comprised of the following layers in descending order:

The Atmosphere – It consists of a spherical shell above and surrounding the terrestrial globe. Its outer edge borders the inner edge of the 1^st heaven, and its inner edge borders on the earth’s surface. Its content is air (78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 0.09% argon, 0.03% carbon dioxide, and traces of other gases). It extends approximately 6,200 miles above the earth’s surface. It is divided into five main layers by temperature: (e) the exosphere (440-6,200 miles) is uppermost; (d) the thermosphere (50-440 miles) is next, (c) the mesosphere (31-50 miles) is in the middle; (b) the stratosphere (7-31 miles) is next; and (a) the troposphere (0-7 miles) is lowermost – the air we breathe.

The Hydrosphere – It consists of a spherical shell of water (the earth’s oceans), which covers 71% of the earth’s surface and surrounds the land, which comprises 29% of the earth’s surface. It is 0-6.8 miles deep.

The Lithosphere – It consists of a spherical shell of rocks. It is 63 miles thick, which includes the crust (4-25 miles thick) and the top portion of the upper mantle.

The Mantle – It consists of a spherical shell of silicates below the lithosphere and above the core. It is 1,789-1,810 miles thick.

The Core – It consists of a solid sphere of iron & nickel at the earth’s center. Its radius is 2,142 miles.

SOME REMAINING QUESTIONS

Constructing the above, verbal map of the Bible’s spatial orders got me thinking again about interstellar space and the nature of gravity.

We have five senses with which to detect the physical aspects of Universe: seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting, and smelling. At least three of them – seeing, hearing, and feeling – depend, I am reasonably sure, on the transmission of waves of one sort or another through a medium of some kind or another. Scientists have measured the speed at which two of these three kinds of waves move: (1) light, which we can see, moves at roughly 186,220 miles/second through interstellar space, and (2) sound, which we can hear, moves at roughly 0.21 miles/second through air when its temperature is 68⁰ F. and its density is 32 psi, but apparently it does not move through a vacuum.[17] But (3) gravity, which we can feel (as weight), moves (according to Newtonian physics) through everything at infinite speed, because there is no time lapse at all when it acts at a distance. Is it reasonable to maintain that gravitational forces between the sun and the earth can travel through 93 million miles of plasma instantaneously while electromagnetic forces require 8.33 seconds to do so? Common sense tells me that it is not.

Interestingly, Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity treats gravity, not as a force, but as a disturbance in the four-dimensional space-time continuum. “The motion of a massive object creates a distortion in the curvature of spacetime that moves outward at the speed of light.”[18] On the one hand, that makes sense to me because it means that all three forms of energy travel at a finite speed through a medium. On the other hand, I am not sure what the “space” in space-time refers to. If it is matter consisting of gases, liquids, solids, and plasma, then I understand. If it does not include the plasma, which represents 96% of Universe’s matter, I don’t understand.

[1] Margenau, Henry, Watson, William W., and Montgomery, C.G. Physics – Principles and Applications, McGraw Hill, New York, 1953. It sits on a shelf in my home to this day.

[2] NASA’s Glenn Research Center explains these laws as follows: “Newton’s first law states that every object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to change its state by the action of an external force. This is normally taken as the definition of inertia. The key point here is that if there is no net force acting on an object (if all the external forces cancel each other out) then the object will maintain a constant velocity. If that velocity is zero, then the object remains at rest. If an external force is applied, the velocity will change because of the force. The second law explains how the velocity of an object changes when it is subjected to an external force. The law defines a force to be equal to change in momentum (mass times velocity) per change in time. Newton also developed the calculus of mathematics, and the “changes” expressed in the second law are most accurately defined in differential forms. (Calculus can also be used to determine the velocity and location variations experienced by an object subjected to an external force.) For an object with a constant mass m, the second law states that the force F is the product of an object’s mass and its acceleration a: F = m * a. For an external applied force, the change in velocity depends on the mass of the object. A force will cause a change in velocity; and likewise, a change in velocity will generate a force. The equation works both ways. The third law states that for every action (force) in nature there is an equal and opposite reaction. In other words, if object A exerts a force on object B, then object B also exerts an equal force on object A. Notice that the forces are exerted on different objects. The third law can be used to explain the generation of lift by a wing and the production of thrust by a jet engine.” (https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/newton.html, August 20, 2019)

[3] Ibid, pp. 342-343.

[4] Korzybski, Alfred, General Semantics: An Introduction to Non-Aristotelian Systems, Institute of General Semantics, Lakeville CT, 1947.

[5] Korzybski, Alfred, Manhood of Humanity (1921), International Non-Aristotelian Library Publishing Company, Lakeville CT, 1950a

[6] Chase, Stewart, Guides to Straight Thinking, Harper, New York NY, 1956; Hayakawa, S.I., Language in Thought and Action, Harcourt Brace, New York NY, 1939; and Whorf, Benjamin Lee, Language, Thought, and Reality, The M.I.T. Press, Cambridge, MA, 1956.

[7] Margenau et al., Op. Cit. p. 589. There is a similarity between postulating a physical property for emptiness (or nothingness), and “punctuated equilibrium,” which postulates a property for evolution that explains the absence of evidence for it. Charles Darwin proposed that different species of living creatures are the descendants of long-extinct, common ancestors, and that transitional forms must have linked each group to those ancestors. The problem: the transitional forms have not been found. To plug the gaps, so to speak, paleontologists Niles Eldredge and Stephen Jay Gould proposed a modification of classical Darwinism which they called “punctuated equilibrium,” in which a new species can appear fully developed, thereby eliminating the need for intermediate forms. That is equivalent to saying: The theory of evolution predicts transitional forms, but transitional forms are lacking. Since we know that evolution produced the species that we see, evolution must operate without transitional forms. Under such illogic, the theory of evolution cannot be proved wrong.) Resorting to (a) a physical property for emptiness that transmits light or (b) the absence of transitional forms to substantiate macro-evolution’s ability to create new species is not science.

[8] Today, scientists recognize that space does contain matter, just not much. “A vacuum is defined as a space devoid of all matter. In the Solar System, space contains on average five atoms per 1cm³. Interstellar space, between stars, contains around one atom per 1cm³, while intergalactic space, between galaxies, contains 100 times less. Ultimately, a perfect vacuum isn’t possible because quantum theory dictates that energy fluctuations known as ‘virtual particles’ are constantly popping in and out of existence, even in ‘empty’ space.” (See Dr. Alistair Gunn’s answer to the question, “Is space a perfect vacuum?” at https://www.sciencefocus.com/space/is-space-a-perfect-vacuum/, Wikipedia February 3, 2020.)

[9] Velikovsky, Immanuel, Cosmos Without Gravitation – attraction, repulsion, and electromagnetic circumduction in the solar system, Scripta Academica Hierosolymitana, New York-Jerusalem, 1946.

[10] The usual term “rotation” may mislead, as it is a phenomenon of planetary revolution, not rotation, which is here referred to (IV note).

[11] I visited Velikovsky for a week in early June 1963 and gave him what assistance I could for the next sixteen and a half years (1963-1979).

[12] It was later published in Pensee Magazine. See Velikovsky, Immanuel, “Velocity of Light in Relation to Moving Bodies, The,” Pensee, Vol. 3, No. 3, Fall 1973.

[13] See my book, Dr. Immanuel Velikovsky – A Towering Intellect, which will be published in the not too distant future.

[14] They were soon joined by others such as: Aeon – A Symposium on Myth and Science, edited by Dwardu Cardona, which would publish at least 37 issues between 1988 and 1994; and The Velikovskian – The Journal of Myth, History and Science, edited by Charles Ginenthal, which would publish 20 issues between 1993 and 2003.

[15] Here I recommend a book which appeared years later: Donald E. Scott’s The Electric Sky – A Challenge to the Myths of Modern Astronomy, Mikamar Publishing, Portland OR, 2006.

[16] For a cosmological theory which accounts for these spatial orders, see D. Russell Humphreys’ Starlight and Time (1994), Master Books, Colorado Springs CO.

[17] In high school, I was told by my science teacher that sound waves need a medium through which to travel. He demonstrated this to the class as follows. First, he showed us a capped jar with a bell hanging it. When he shook it, we could hear the bell’s tinkle. Then, he removed the cap, dropped a lighted match into it, and replaced the cap. After the match went out, he shook the jar again, and we could barely hear the tinkle. He then explained that the flame had consumed the oxygen in the air in the jar, and the remaining gas was now thinner, and thus less able to transmit the sound.

[18] See the third paragraph in “Does Gravity Travel at the Speed of Light?” by Steve Carlip at http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/Relativity/GR/grav_speed.html.

Creatio ex dei, ex materia, or ex nihilo?

by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #101 posted August 12, 2019, edited March 10, 2021.

Preamble

Perhaps the most important sentence ever written is the first sentence in the Bible, which, reading the Hebrew chracters from right to left, says, “Bereshit bara Elohim et hashamayim ve’et ha’aretz” (Genesis 1:1). The same sentence in the Latin Vulgate, reading from left to right, says, “In principio creavit Deus caelum et terram,” and in the English King James Version, also reading from left to right, says, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

The subject of this verse, of course, is the origin of Universe, which means “everything.” In the 1^st millenium AD, most people, whether Jewish, Christian, or later Muslim, agreed that God had created Universe. There was, however, considerable disagreement among theologians concerning whether God created Universe (a) ex nihilo (out of nothing),[1] (b) ex materia (out of pre-existent, eternal matter), or (c) ex dei (out of himself). There is, of course, at least one other alternative, which has become increasingly popular in the 21^st century: (d) God does not exist, and Universe has existed forever.

For me, there is only one way to make sense of Universe. An omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, omnicompetent God exists. He conceived of Universe in his mind – i.e. he designed its physical form and then scripted what would happen in it – just as L. Frank Baum conceived of the Land of Oz by imagining its physical form and then devising stories about what would happen within it. Then God made Universe in conformity with his design and is managing Universe’s life so that it follows his script.

The above is exactly what the Bible describes, which is why I believe what I do. A Triune God, consisting of God-the-Father, God-the-Son, and God-the Holy Spirit, exists. He is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, and omnicompetent, as well as possessing many other, unlimited attributes. God-the-Father conceived Universe’s design and script, put them in a book entitled the Decrees of God, and then handed the book to God-the-Son, who, with the help of God-the-Holy Spirit, set about producing Universe and ensuring that what happens in it conforms with God-the-Father’s script.

Ontological Orders

In my blog of February 27, 2017, Natural History 2 – an introduction to biblical cosmology continued, I wrote the following, which comprises the rest of this section (I won’t try to insert the many, appropriate quotation marks):

Based on a careful reading of Genesis 1-3, the Ancients discerned a series of ontological orders that together provide a comprehensive view of reality. This view can be found in the work of Aristotle and Saint Thomas Aquinas. It has been resurrected by Wolfgang Smith,^[1] with whom I disagree slightly, but to whom I owe much. Here is what I imagine Creation looks like from God’s perspective. It is divided into three domains containing seven orders, as follows:

Domain 1 – The Elemental World

The elemental world is the most fundamental world. It consists of the three orders which we perceive with our minds – not with our unaided senses – (1) the Primordial Realm, (2) the Possible Realm, and (3) the Probable Realm.

Order 1 – The Primordial Realm is the Ancients’ materia prima. It is the most fundamental realm and corresponds to the primordial chaos in Genesis 1:2a, which is tohu-wa-bohu – i.e. “without form and void.” It is the “face of the deep” in the same verse and “the face of the depth” in Proverbs 8:27, upon which God would subsequently set his compass.^[2] The primordial is the realm of undifferentiated “stuff.”

Order 2 – The Possible Realm is the Ancients’ materia secunda. It is the next order and corresponds to the realm of potency or potential, on which God has set his compass. It is imbued with mathematical, geometric, logical, informational, and statistical structure that is the subject of investigation by the abstract sciences. It is sometimes called the signata quantitate. Its structure determines what can happen, not what will happen. It is analogically equivalent to the Euclidean plane before the geometer constructs anything (a point, a line, a circle, a square, etc.). Order 2 is the realm of possibilities (i.e. it determines what structures and processes are possible).

Order 3 – The Probable Realm is the physicists’ quantum world (unknown to the Ancients) and what I call the materia tertia. It is the next order and corresponds to the realm of intellectual constructs, such as waves, atoms, sub-atomic particles, etc. It is the analogical equivalent of the Euclidean forms, such as the circle, the ellipse, the parabola, etc., which lack any essence, any corporal content. An operator (using instruments, if he is a man) acts on these constructs and thereby transforms something that is potential and imperceptible in the sub-corporal domain into something actual and perceptible in the corporal domain. Examples of such constructs are mass, energy, particles, waves, space, time, etc. These constructs cannot be reified; they are products of the operator’s mind and the instruments which he uses to study them. They are not something which moves from potency to actuality. Order 3 is the realm of probabilities (i.e. it determines what structures and processes are probable).

Domain 2 – The Natural World

The natural world is the actual, physical world in which we live. It is a world of unique forms and substances – i.e. no two objects in it are completely alike. It consists of the two orders which we perceive with our unaided senses (although the process by which this perception occurs is a mystery) – (4) the Inorganic Realm and (5) the Organic Realm.

Order 4 – The Inorganic Realm consists of the inorganic compounds that make up the Mineral Kingdom. This order exhibits a spatial hierarchy – geometric in nature.

- Earth – the terrestrial sphere (the residue of the waters below the firmament). It is probably located at the order’s center.
- 1^st Heaven – the firmament, the expanse, or interstellar space, in which the sun, moon, and stars are located. It is a spherical shell which is above and surrounding the Earth. It is a plenum probably consisting mostly of plasma.
- Upper Waters – the waters above the firmament. It is a spherical shell of water above and surrounding the 1^st
- 2^nd Heaven – a sphere of unknown content above and surrounding the Upper Waters. Its outer edge is the boundary of Universe.

Order 5 – The Organic Realm consists of the organic compounds which make up the three kingdoms of life. It is physically located within Order 4 (in the biosphere at the surface of the earth), but it is an ontological level higher than Order 4. Its prime characteristic is the presence of coded information (DNA), which could not have arisen from the inorganic Order 4 but required an intellect to design it – let alone the myriad of living forms which it describes. It too possesses a hierarchical order: plants exhibit less complexity and abilities than animals, and animals exhibit less complexity and abilities than humans.^[3]

- 5a – The Vegetable Kingdom is embodied in plants or fauna, which are living, but apparently inanimate. ^[4] Alfred Korzybski calls them the energy-binding form of life, because they bind up the energy of the sun in their structure and thereby provide sustenance to the higher forms of life.
- 5b – The Animal Kingdom is embodied in animals, birds, fish, insects, and creeping things which are living and animate, excepting humans. Korzybski calls them the space-binding form of life, because they can move across the terrestrial surface in search of food, shelter, etc.
- 5c – The Human Kingdom contains humans who are living, animate, and reflective. Korzybski calls them the time-binding form of life, because, through scientific investigation (research), applied science (technology), record keeping (libraries), etc., they can progress through time, creating ever more sophisticated art, artifacts, social structures, etc.

Domain 3 – The Supernatural World

The supernatural world is the world outside Universe which we perceive with our minds and our spirits after God reveals to us that the Bible is his Word Written and Jesus of Nazareth is his Word Incarnate. I surmise that it is the 3^rd heaven to which Paul referred in 2 Corinthians 12:2. It contains two spiritual orders: (6) the Celestial Realm and (7) the Divine Realm.

Order 6 – The Celestial Realm is embodied in angels and demons.

Order 7 – The Divine Realm is embodied in the Godhead.

Back to the Three Alternatives

Interestingly, the three terms used in the theological debate concerning origins are not mutually exclusive. Each of them applies to some aspect of Universe’s creation.

Creatio ex dei describes how Universe’s design and script originated in the mind of God-the-Father before Universe was created.

Creatio ex nihilo describes how Universe’s Primordial Realm, which the Ancients called materia prima, originated from the verbal command of God-the-Son, who spoke Universe into existence. Before He spoke, it wasn’t. After He spoke, it was. Before He spoke, there was nothing. After He spoke, there was something. Moreover, whatever this something was, it must have originated in Him. Hence, creatio ex dei applies here as well.

Creatio ex materia describes the origin of the Possible Realm, which the Ancients called materia secunda.^[5] As I explained above, God set his compass on the materia prima, thereby transforming it into the materia secunda. It corresponds to the realm of potency or potential. It is imbued with mathematical, geometric, logical, informational, and statistical structure that is the subject of investigation by the abstract sciences. It is sometimes called the signata quantitate. Its structure determines what can happen, not what will happen. It is analogically equivalent to the Euclidean plane before the geometer constructs anything (a point, a line, a circle, a square, etc.). Materia secunda is the realm of possibilities (i.e. it determines what structures and processes are possible).

The Fourth Alternative

I must comment on the atheists’ belief, that God does not exist, and Universe has existed forever. I was an atheist for twenty-two years, and I believed just that. Now it make no sense to me.

- First, scientists depend on identifying a cause for everything they study. Yet atheistic scientists duck the issue when Universe itself is the subject of their study.
- Second, wherever scientists look in Universe, whether in the macrocosm or the microcosm, their tools reveal an awesome complexity, creativity, and order that defies any explanation outside of the existence of a Divine Designer. When you see a clock, you know that someone designed it and someone made it. When you look at Universe, you see signs of creativity, complexity, and functionality that dwarf those evident in any clock.

Loath to acknowledge the existence of a Divine Designer, people use “chance” to explain what is otherwise inexplicable. That too no longer makes any sense to me for two reasons.

- First, while attempting to understand the behavior of a portion of Universe, atheistic scientists are assuming that the subject of their studies will behave in an orderly and rational manner, all the while maintaining that this order and rationality is the product of chance and might change in the next minute. That is just illogical.
- In addition, when atheistic scientists encounter a seventy-story building or a supersonic airplane or a neutron microscope, do they consider for a moment the possibility that it was the product of a hurricane that (a) blew through a building-supply warehouse or a machine-tool shop, (b) snapped up a chance selection of thousands of parts, from small screws and electronic, computer components to large pieces of sheet metal, glass, etc. (c) assembled the resulting artifact in the air by chance, and then (d) set it down on the ground quietly – in the case of a building, to be occupied by thousands of office workers, in the case of an airplane, ready to be flown by a human pilot, and in the case of the microscope, ready to be put to use by a nuclear physicist? Of course not!

Complex, working things require intelligent designers – particularly things that display irreducible complexity, which is a state that requires several, uniquely designed, interlocking and interdependent parts to be in place and working before the whole can function. Imagine how vulnerable any creature would be while running around with eyes that cannot see.

My Conclusion

The only alternative for the origin of Universe that makes sense to me is that an omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, and omnicompetent God designed and created Universe with the power of his Word, which is exactly what Genesis 1:1-2:3 describes. Thus creatio ex die, creatio ex nihilo, and creatio ex materia all make perfect sense to me. Moreover, whenever I contemplate the unimaginable amount of power which God put into creating materia prima, materia secunda, and materia tertia, I am forced to drop to my knees and cry out, “How great Thou art!” [6]

[1] Clarification – To create anything, mankind must reform something that already exists. A potter can only make a pottery vase by reforming a lump of clay and then baking it. God, on the other hand, does not need preexisting material. He can create something using only his mind and his power, both of which are unlimited. In the past, people have described God as creating Universe ex nihilo (out of nothing in English), but that is only true if it is clear that ex nihilo refers only to something (some physical material), but not to someone (an omniscient, omnipotent, omnicompetent being such as God). Man needs some physical material (something) with which to create, God needs only someone – Himself – with whom to create. Nor can Universe spring into existence ex nihilo – i.e. out of nothing. The word “nothing” has no objective referent. There is no such thing as “nothing” – anywhere.

[2] My acceptance of the ontological orders of the ancients owes much to three books by Wolfgang Smith: Cosmos & Transcendence – Breaking Through the Barrier of Scientific Belief, Sophia Perennis, San Rafael CA, 2008; Quantum Enigma – Finding the Hidden Key, The (1995), Sophia Perennis, Hillsdale NY, 3^rd edition 2005; and Wisdom of Ancient Cosmology – Contemporary Science if the Light of Tradition, The, Foundation for Traditional Studies, Oakton VA, 2003.For help in understanding these orders, see my “E02-V3 Table 6A – The Ancient’s Ontological Orders.”

[3] “…I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth…” (KJV Proverbs 8:27).

[4] Here I make use of the classes of life suggested by Alfred Korzybski in his Manhood of Humanity, (1921), International Non-Aristotelian Library Publishing Company, Lakeville CT, 1950.

[5] I say apparently because not everyone agrees. Peter Tompkins & Christopher Bird argue in The Secret Life of Plants, Harper & Row, New York, NY, 1973, that plants are animate and aware.

[6] “…I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth…” (KJV Proverbs 8:27).

[7] The amount of energy which God transferred into his creation is literally unimaginable. In my blog of August 5, 2019, I pointed out that Einstein’s equation e = mc², where “e” = energy, “m” = mass, and “c” = “the speed of light through space, is the formula for the destruction of matter, in which a small amount of matter is converted into an enormous amount of energy. A particle physicist, Adam Jacholkowski, once determined that the destruction of one atom of uranium-235 generates 202.5 million electron volts, which “…is about 2.5 million times more than the energy released from burning coal” (Wikipedia, July 9, 2019, at https://www.quora.com/How-much-energy-does-1-uranium-atom-release-if-split). Now imagine running this process in reverse, where 202.5 million electron volts is converted into one atom of uranium-235 and then try to imagine the amount of energy required to create all the atoms in Universe. If you think about the foregoing carefully, you will get some idea of just how inconceivably powerful the God of the Bible is. If you ignore him, you do so at great peril.

Natural History 4 – The geologic strata – an hypothesis

by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #036 posted March 13, 2017, edited March 9, 2021.

In my blog of February 20, 2017, I commenced a four-part series on natural history in the Bible. The first two parts were devoted to a discussion of the cosmology in Genesis 1:1 – 2:4, which I call the Creation Chronicle. The third part was devoted to a discussion of D. Russell Humphreys’ cosmological theory, which accounts for the events in that chronicle. This fourth part will be devoted to how the geologic column might fit into a 6,000 year history of the earth.

The geologic column was developed by geologists who were committed to the theory that the earth is millions (later hundreds of millions and still later billions) of years old. Consequently, they believed that the geologic strata were laid down over long periods of time, and they associated them with time periods and gave them names like eon, era, period, epoch, and age. I believe, however, that the Biblical record is accurate, that the earth is 6,000 years old, and that the geologic strata were laid down in relatively brief periods of time by cataclysms that divided those 6,000 years into eras and sub-eras, depending on the severity of the cataclysms involved. Thus, with the exception of the Ice Ages, I associate the geologic strata with events, not with the time periods between the events.

Suggesting that the age of Universe needs to be reduced from 20 billion years to 6,000 years may raise some questions about my sanity, but I do so nonetheless. First of all, I believe that the Word of God is trustworthy. Second, there are already serious questions about the dating methodologies by which cosmologists and geologists base their estimates of age, and I expect that we are about to see precipitous drops in their figures.

3977 BC – CREATION WEEK – See last week’s blog. I only need to add one thing. On the third day, God created the lithosphere, the upper portion of which probably consists of the HADEAN, ARCHEAN, and first two phases of the PROTEROZOIC STRATA (i.e. the PALEO-PROTEROZOIC & MESO-PROTEROZOIC STRATA).[1]

It was followed by

ERA 1 – THE EDENIC WORLD (3977-3977 BC = less than a year) = the Ancients’ Primordial Age. Decay, disease, and death had not yet entered Universe. It was ended by

3977 BC – THE ADAM DISTURBANCE – a universal cataclysm, which was caused by God’s Curse on Creation – In the year of Adam’s creation, at the time of the Fall, God changed the fabric of Universe, after which all things became subject to disorder and decay and plant and animal life became subject to disease and death (all effects that are captured in the 2^nd Law of Thermodynamics). It probably laid down the NEO-PROTEROZOIC STRATA,[2] which contains the remains of plant and animal life.[3] It was followed by

ERA 2 – THE ANTEDILUVIAN WORLD (3977-2321 BC = 1656 years) = the Ancients’ Golden Age. It was ended by

2321 BC – THE NOAH DISTURBANCE – a global cataclysm which is also called Noah’s Flood – When Noah was 600 years old, torrential downpours from the sky and profuse up-gushing from subterranean reservoirs covered the land with water and drowned all men, animals, and birds with the exception of the passengers on the Ark. It probably laid down the entire PALEOZOIC STRATA.[4] Earth was covered by water from two sources: the precipitation of a vapor canopy above and the up-gushing of geysers from below. Rising water trapped life in the following order: In the (1) CAMBRIAN STRATA and (2) ORDOVICIAN STRATA, invertebrates dwelling on the ocean bottom were engulfed by sub-marine mud flows, magmas, and precipitating limestone from carbon-dioxide rich waters. In the (3) SILURIAN STRATA, free-swimming fish living near shorelines were over-whelmed by eroding material and rising waters. In the (4) DEVONIAN STRATA, large, free-swimming fish and shoreline plants were overwhelmed by eroding material and rising waters. In the (5) CARBONIFEROUS/ MISSISSIPPI STRATA and (6) CARBONIFEROUS/ PENNSYLVANIAN STRATA, land plants were overwhelmed by eroding material and rising waters. In the (7) PERMIAN STRATA, amphibians were over-whelmed by eroding material and rising waters. All other species fled to high ground, but were eventually drowned, leaving no traces.[5] It was followed by

ERA 3 – POSTDILUVIAN WORLD (2321-1464 BC = 857 years), the first phase of which was
—Phase 3A of the Postdiluvian World (2321-1870 BC = 451 years) = the Ancients’ Silver Age, the first period of which was
——-Period 3A(1) – The Initial Settlement and Migrations (2321-2221 BC = 100 years). The drier, warmer climate favored “primitive” plants and reptiles and suppressed more efficient “modern” plants and mammals. It was ended by

2221 BC – THE PELEG DISTURBANCE – a global cataclysm which caused the Division of the Land – When Peleg was in his mother’s womb, a tectonic upheaval broke up the single land mass into the continents and major islands that exist today. The disturbance probably laid down most of the EARLY TRIASSIC STRATA.[6] It was followed by

——-Period 3A(2) – The Rise of Babylon (2221-2070 BC = 151 years) – It was ended by

2070 BC – THE BABEL DISTURBANCE – a cataclysm which caused the Confusion of Language and the Destruction of the Tower of Babel – A blast from heaven confounded the Babylonians’ ability to speak in a common language, destroyed the tower of Babylon, and probably devastated much of the surrounding region. The disturbance probably laid down the MIDDLE AND LATE TRIASSIC STRATAS. [7] It was followed by

——–Period 3A(3) – The Rise of Civilizations (2070-1870 BC = 200 years) – It was ended by

1870 BC – THE ABRAHAM DISTURBANCE – a global cataclysm, which caused the Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah – When Abraham was 99 years old, a thunderbolt or volcanic explosion destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, eliminated the Vale of Siddim, and caused the African Rift or its greater expansion. The disturbance probably laid down the entire JURASSIC STRATA. [8] It was followed by

—Phase 3B of the Postdiluvian World (1870-1464 BC = 406 years) = The Ancients’ Bronze Age = the archaeologists’ Early Bronze Age, the first period of which was
——Period 3B(1)– The Pre-Job Period (1870-1667 BC = 203 years) – the archaeologists’ Early Bronze Age 1A. It was ended by

1667 BC – THE JOB DISTURBANCE – a regional cataclysm which caused Job’s First Trial – Job’s children died amidst raining fire, wind, and earthquakes. The disturbance probably laid down the entire CRETACEOUS STRATA.[9] It was followed by

——Period 3B(2) – The Post-Job Period (1667-1464 BC = 203 years) – the archaeologists’s Early Bronze Age 1B. It was ended by

1464 BC – THE MOSES DISTURBANCE (Venus Contact #1) – a global cataclysm, which terminated the Middle Kingdom of Egypt – When Moses was 80 years old, the comet Venus approached the earth after its perihelion. Its tail, which was repulsed by the sun, preceded it and engaged the earth first with dust, then pebbles, then boulders, and then heat from the molten comet, which together produced the ten plagues of Egypt which are described in both the Bible and the Papyrus Ipuwer. The disturbance culminated in a contact between the space charge sheaths of the two bodies (Earth and Venus), which remained intertwined for approximately six weeks. The disturbance enabled the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt, created a whirlwind or tornado which appeared as a Pillar of Cloud by day and a Pillar of Fire by night and accompanied the Jews on their journey down the southeast coast of the Sinai Peninsula, parted the Red Sea at the Strait of Tiran, enabling the Jews to cross from the Sinai Peninsula to Midian, and then reunited the waters, thereby drowning the last pharaoh of the 13^th Dynasty and his army. The disturbance probably laid down the entire TERTIARY STRATA.[10] This cosmic encounter also caused tremendous volcanic activity, which enveloped the earth in a dense cloud layer that prevented normal insolation for years. The lack of warming sunlight precipitated the 1^ST NEBRASKAN = GUNZ ICE ADVANCE. It was followed by

ERA 4 – THE TURBULENT ERA[11] (1464- 665 BC = 799 years) = the Pleistocene Period (JH), better known as the Ice Ages, the first phase of which was
—Phase 4A of the Turbulent Era = The Reign of Venus (1464-c. 1008 BC = 456 years) = the Early Pleistocene Epoch (JH) = the Ancients’ Missing Age = the archaeologists’ Middle Bronze Age, the first period of which was
——Period 4A(1) (1464-1413 BC = 51 years) = Ice Age 1. As the volcanic ash slowly precipitated out of the atmosphere and insolation increased, the 1^ST NEBRASKAN = GUNZ ICE ADVANCE gave way to the 1^ST AFTONIAN ICE RETREAT. It was ended by

1413 BC – THE JOSHUA DISTURBANCE (Venus Contact #2) – a global cataclysm which occurred during the battle between the Israelites and the Amorites at Beth Horon – Meteorites fell on the battlefield. Either the earth’s axis shifted or the earth’s rotation ceased, causing the Sun to stand still in the sky and thereby prolonging the day in the Middle East and the night in the Americas. This cosmic encounter caused tremendous volcanic activity, which enveloped the earth in a dense cloud layer that prevented normal insolation for years. The lack of warming sunlight precipitated the 2nd NEBRASKAN = GUNZ ICE ADVANCE. It was followed by

——Period 4A(2) (1413-1261 BC = 152 years) = Ice Age 2. As the volcanic ash slowly precipitated out of the atmosphere and insolation increased, the 2nd NEBRASKAN = GUNZ ICE ADVANCE gave way to the 2nd AFTONIAN ICE RETREAT. During this period, the comet passed closely by the earth c. 1363 and c. 1312 BC, but there is no record of encounters on these dates. It was ended by

1261 BC – THE DEBORAH DISTURBANCE (Venus Contact #3) – a global cataclysm in which the stars fought, and flooding rains discomfited Sisera’s army. This cosmic encounter caused tremendous volcanic activity, which enveloped the earth in a dense cloud layer that prevented normal insolation for years. The lack of warming sunlight precipitated the KANSAN = MINDEL ICE ADVANCE. It was followed by

——Period 4A(3) (1261-1058 BC = 203 years = Ice Age 3. As the volcanic ash precipitated out of the atmosphere and insolation increased, the KANSAN = MINDEL ICE ADVANCE gave way to the YARMOUTH ICE RETREAT. During this period, the comet passed closely by the earth c. 1210, c. 1160 BC, and c. 1109 BC, but there is no record of encounters on these dates. It was ended by

1058 BC – THE SAMUEL DISTURBANCE (Venus Contact #4) – a cataclysm in which meteorites fell on the Philistines, accompanied by a great thundering in the sky. This cosmic encounter caused tremendous volcanic activity, which enveloped the earth in a dense cloud layer that prevented normal insolation for years. The lack of warming sunlight precipitated the ILLINOSIAN = RISS ICE ADVANCE. It was followed by

——Period 4A(4) (1058-1008 BC = 50 years) – Ice Age 4. As the volcanic ash precipitated out of the atmosphere and insolation increased, the ILLINOSIAN = RISS ICE ADVANCE gave way to the SANGAMON ICE RETREAT. It was ended by

1008 BC – THE DAVID DISTURBANCE – a global cataclysm which was caused by Venus Contact #5 – In David’s time, an angel (comet or planet?) nearly destroyed Jerusalem. The cosmic encounter caused tremendous volcanic activity, which enveloped the earth in a dense cloud layer that prevented normal insolation for years. The lack of warming sunlight precipitated the IOWAN ICE ADVANCE. It was followed by

—Phase 4B of the Turbulent Era = War in the Sky (1008-754 BC = 254 years) = the Middle Pleistocene Epoch (JH) = the Ancients’ Heroic Age = the Mycenaean Age. During this phase, the comet returned five times and participated in three cosmic battles involving it, Mars, and the moon. It was divided into three periods, the first of which was
——Period 4B(1) (1008-957 BC = 51 years) = Ice Age 5. As the volcanic ash precipitated out of the atmosphere and insolation increased, the IOWAN ICE ADVANCE gave way to the POST-IOWAN ICE RETREAT that lasted throughout this phase and into the next. It was ended by

957 BC – THE SOLOMON DISTURBANCE (Cosmic Battle #1) – In Solomon 24, the comet returned to the vicinity of earth and produced a battle in the sky involving it, Mars, and the moon. If this event affected the earth, its consequences were minor. It was followed by

——Period 4B(2) (957-855 BC = 102 years) = Continuation of Ice Age 5. As the volcanic ash continued to precipitate out of the atmosphere and insolation increased, the POST-IOWAN ICE RETREAT continued. This period was ended by

855 BC – THE JEHORAM DISTURBANCE (Cosmic Battle #2) – In Jehoram 7 and Akhnaton 6, the comet returned again to the vicinity of earth and produced a battle in the sky involving it, Mars, and the moon. Although the Bible does not record any ill effects associated with it, it was probably the cause of the plague or other affliction that struck Egypt and caused the oracles to maintain that an unacknowledged and un-atoned for patricide existed in the land. It was followed by

——Period 4B(3) (855-754 BC = 101 years) = Continuation of Ice Age 5. As the volcanic ash continued to precipitate out of the atmosphere and insolation increased, the POST-IOWAN ICE RETREAT continued. This period was ended by

754 BC – THE AZARIAH DISTURBANCE (Cosmic Battle #3) – In Azariah (Uzziah) 24, the comet returned again to the vicinity of earth and produced a battle in the sky involving it, Mars, and the moon that propelled it (Venus) into its current orbit (the ancients believed that Mars had vanquished Venus). The disturbance was also known as the Commotion in the Days of Uzziah. It probably included a titanic earthquake that affected the entire Middle East and a blast from heaven (a celestial thunderbolt, not a terrestrial lightning bolt) that struck in Italy near Vosnium. It was followed by

—Phase 4C of The Turbulent Era – The Reign of Mars (754-665 BC = 89 years) = the Late Pleistocene Epoch (JH) = the Ancients’ Iron Age = the Early Archaic Period, which was divided into three periods, the first of which was
——Period 4C(1) (c.754-695 BC = 59 years BC) = Continuation of Ice Age 5. During this period, as the volcanic ash continued to precipitate out of the atmosphere and insolation increased, the POST-IOWAN ICE RETREAT continued. Also during this period, Mars passed close by the earth c. 740, c. 724, and c. 709 BC, but there is no record of encounters on these dates. It was ended by

695 BC – THE AHAZ DISTURBANCE (Mars Contact #1) – In a global cataclysm in Ahaz’s regnal year 15/16, the day on which Ahaz died, the day was shortened by ten degrees on the sundial. This cosmic encounter caused tremendous volcanic activity, which enveloped the earth in a dense cloud layer that prevented normal insolation for years. The lack of warming sunlight precipitated the TAZEWELL ICE ADVANCE. It was followed by

——Period 4C(2) (695-680 BC = 15 years BC) = Ice Age 6, during which, as the volcanic ash precipitated out of the atmosphere and insolation increased, the TAZEWELL ICE ADVANCE gave way to the POST-TAZEWELL ICE RETREAT. It was ended by

680 BC – THE 1^ST HEZEKIAH DISTURBANCE (Mars Contact #2 ) – In a global cataclysm in Hezekiah’s regnal year 14, the day was lengthened by ten degrees on the sundial, thereby correcting the previous displacement. This cosmic encounter caused tremendous volcanic activity, which enveloped the earth in a dense cloud layer that prevented normal insolation for years. The lack of warming sunlight precipitated the CAREY ICE ADVANCE. It was followed by

——Period 4C(3) (680-665 BC = 15 years) = Ice Age 7. As the volcanic ash precipitated out of the atmosphere and insolation increased, the CAREY ICE ADVANCE gave way to the POST-CAREY ICE RETREAT. It was ended by

665 BC – THE 2^ND HEZEKIAH DISTURBANCE (Mars Contact #3) – In a global cataclysm in Hezekiah’s regnal year 29, a thunderbolt emanating from Mars destroyed the Army of Sennacherib during the night. This cosmic encounter caused tremendous volcanic activity, which enveloped the earth in a dense cloud layer that prevented normal insolation for years. The lack of warming sunlight precipitated the MANKETO ICE ADVANCE. It was followed by

ERA 5 – THE EARLY HISTORIC WORLD (665-2 BC) which I divide into four non-temporal parts: Part 5A–The Occident, Part 5B–The Middle East, Part 5C–The Orient, and Part 5D-Sacred History.[12]
—Part 5B – The Middle East, which was divided into four minor periods: 5B(1)-Late Archaic Period, 5B(2)-Classical Period, 5B(3)-Hellenistic Period, and 5B(4)- Roman Period BC.
——Period 5B(1) – Late Archaic Period (665-487 BC), which began with Ice Age 8. As the volcanic ash precipitated out of the atmosphere and insolation increased, the MANKETO ICE ADVANCE gave way to the BOREAL ICE RETREAT. When temperatures returned to normal at the end of the Boreal Ice Retreat, probably decades after the 2^nd Hezekiah Disturbance, the Late Pleistocene Epoch (JH) ended and the Holocene Period (JH) began with the Atlantic Epoch (JH).[13]

_______________________________________________________

[1] These strata are associated with the Hadean Eon, Archean Eon, and Proterozoic Eon, which together comprise the Pre-Cambrian Super-eon (formerly called the Cryptozoic Eon) in the orthodox geologic column, about which geologists know very little. The reason, of course, is that the severity of the global flood in 2321 BC, which followed 1656 years after creation in 3977 BC, erased most of what had existed during prior to it, and the global cataclysm at the time of the Exodus in 1464 BC, which followed 857years after the flood, further confused the geologic record.

[2] These strata are associated with the third and final phase of the Proterozoic Eon in the orthodox geologic column.

[3] The end of the Antediluvian Era marked the end of the Primary System, which was called the Azoic, the Cryptozoic, and the Pre-Cambrian in the early years of geologic study.

[4] These strata are associated with the first phase of the Phanerozoic Eon in the orthodox geologic column.

[5] See Setterfield, Barry, Geologic Time and Scriptural Chronology, Barry Setterfield, Blackwood Australia, 1987.

[6] These strata are associated with the first phase of the Triassic Period, which is the first phase of the Mesozoic Era, which is the second phase of the Phanerozoic Eon in the orthodox geologic column.

[7] These strata are associated with the second and third phases of the Triassic Period, which is the first phase of the Mesozoic Era, which is the second phase of the Phanerozoic Eon in the orthodox geologic column.

[8] These strata are associated with the second phase of the Mesozoic Era, which is the second phase of the Phanerozoic Eon in the orthodox geologic column..

[9] These strata are associated with the third and final phase of the Mesozoic Era, which is the second phase of the Phanerozoic Eon in the orthodox geologic column.

[10] The Tertiary Period was the first phase of the Cenozoic Era, which was the third phase of the Paleozoic Era, which was the first phase of the Phanerozoic Eon in the orthodox geologic column. It contained the 1-Paleogene/Paleocene Epoch, 2-Paleogene/Eocene Epoch, 3-paleogene/Oliogocene Epoch, 4-Neocene/Miocene Epoch, and 5-Neogene/Pliocene Epoch. It also began the 1^st Nebraska=Gunz Ice Advance.

[11] This era probably encompasses the entire PLEISTOCENE EPOCH, which was the first phase of the Quaternary Period, which is the third phase of the Cenozoic Era, which is the third phase of the Phanerozoic Eon.

[12] Era 5 – The Early Historic World is followed by Era 6 – The Late Historic World (2 BC – present), but the latter does not figure in this hypothesis.

[13] I consider the Holocene to be period 4 of the Cenozoic era, of which the Atlantic is its first epoch, because I believe that the cause of the ice ages, close encounters among the inner planets, ceased in 665 BC and the Boreal Ice Retreat brought the Quaternay=Pleistocene Period to an end.

Natural History 3 – Humphreys’ Cosmological Theory

by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #035 posted March 06, 2017, edited March 9, 2021.

In my blog of February 20, 2017, I commenced a four-part series on natural history in the Bible. The first two parts were devoted to a discussion of the cosmology in Genesis 1:1 – 2:4, which I call the Creation Chronicle. This third part will be devoted to a discussion of D. Russell Humphreys’ cosmological theory, which accounts for the events in that chronicle.

Preamble

Any cosmological theory purporting to explain the biblical account of creation must meet certain criteria:

→ The theory must allow for something without form or substance – i.e. primordial chaos – appearing ex nihilo – i.e. out of nothing.

→ The theory must allow for this something becoming impressed with structure that determines first what is possible within it, then what is probable within it, and finally, what is first actual within it – i.e. Universe.[1]

→ The theory must allow for Universe becoming a sphere which consisted of a giant globe of water at Universe’s center and a spherical shell – i.e. 2^nd heaven – of unknown composition above and surrounding it.

→ The theory must account for the giant globe of water being divided into three parts; (1) a small globe of water – i.e. a watery earth – at Universe’s center, (2) an intermediate, spherical shell of water – i.e. the firmament or 1^st heaven – above and surrounding the watery earth, and (3) an outer spherical shell of water – i.e. the upper waters – above and surrounding the firmament.

→ The theory must account for the watery earth being divided into three parts: (1) a solid globe of minerals – the land – at its center; (2) a spherical shell of water – i.e. the sea – above and surrounding the land, and (3) a spherical shell of air – i.e. the atmosphere – above and surrounding the sea.

→ The theory must account for the interface between the land and the sea being adjusted so that the surface of the earth consists of a single continent surrounded by the sea.

→ The theory must account for the firmament being vastly expanded and populated with astronomical bodies and objects, starting with the sun and the moon.

→ The theory must account for all of the above occurring within a period of six 24-hour earth days roughly 6,000 earth years ago.

The resulting spatial organization of Universe would be the following: (1) the earth at its center, (2) interstellar space – the 1^st heaven – above and surrounding the earth, (3) the upper waters above and surrounding the 1^st heaven, and (4) the 2^nd heaven above and surrounding the upper waters. The outer limit of the 2^nd heaven would be the boundary of Universe. [2]

Humphreys’ Theory

The only cosmological theory that satisfies the above criteria, which I have found, is the one developed by D. Russell Humphreys which he describes in his book, Starlight and Time.[3]

Introduction

Humphreys starts by asserting that scientists today generally agree that Einstein’s General Relativity Theory (GRT) “…has been well-established experimentally and is the physical framework for all modern cosmologies.”[4]

One characteristic of GRT is something called gravitational time dilation (not to be confused with the better known “velocity” time dilation in Einstein’s Special Relativity Theory [5]). Gravitational time dilation predicts that clocks at low altitudes tick more slowly than clocks at high altitude. It has been confirmed by many scientific measurements.

Humphreys examines the application of GRT to the cosmological problem. Four possible scenarios emerge. If Universe is unbounded (Condition A) – i.e. it has no outer boundary; it is spatially “infinite” – there are two alternatives: a big contraction (Scenario A1) in which Universe is collapsing into a Black Hole[6] or a big expansion (Scenario A2) which must have commenced with a Big Bang. If Universe is bounded (Condition B) – i.e. it has an outer boundary; it is spatially finite – there are also two alternatives: a big contraction (Scenario B1) in which Universe is collapsing into a Black Hole or a big expansion (Scenario B2) in which Universe is moving out of an event horizon [7] (Scenario B2 is the reverse process to Scenario B1; Humphreys calls Scenario B2 “White Hole” cosmology).

Observations have established – at least to Humphreys’ satisfaction – that Universe is currently expanding. Distant astronomical objects appear to be receding from the earth. That would appear to eliminate scenarios A1 and B1.

Now, any cosmological theory purporting to explain the biblical account of creation must account for the vast dimensions of interstellar space, which cannot have been traversed by the astronomical bodies and objects within it during a time period of 6,000 earth years at the currently accepted maximum speed in Universe – the speed of light.[8] Interestingly, in an expanding Universe (Condition B), GRT implies that, in early Universe, while a few days were passing on earth, billions of years would have been available for light to travel to the earth from distant stars.[9] The two frames of reference (earth and interstellar space) must be measured by different clocks.

That brings us to the choice between an unbounded Universe (Condition A), with its expanding Universe (Scenario A2) and a bounded Universe (Condition B), with its expanding Universe (Scenario B2).

Humphreys points out that current advocates of the Big Bang Theory assume that Universe is unbounded – i.e. spatially “infinite;” an immortal voyager could travel in any direction “forever” – and they call their assumption the cosmological principle. Humphreys insists that this assumption is arbitrary. He suggests, however, some plausible psychological reasons for it. First, atheistic materialists are uncomfortable with a finite Universe because it would create an opening for asking the question, What or – even more disturbing – who might exist outside Universe? [10] Second, atheistic materialists are uncomfortable with a center because, if it turned out that the earth lies near it, that would imply something special about the earth and its inhabitants and create an opening for asking the questions Why? and Who put the earth there? [11]

So, Humphreys argues, Universe can be just as reasonably be considered bounded – i.e. spatially finite – with a center. In a bounded Universe, it would have a center of mass and be subject to the time-distorting effects of gravity on a massive scale.

A White Hole will have an event horizon. Inside an event horizon, light and matter will expand and pass through the event horizon. Since the radius of an event horizon is proportional to the amount of matter inside it, it will shrink as the matter passes outside of it until it reaches a vanishing point – literally; it will disappear. All that will be left will be a center point with zero radius., at which point the expansion of matter outside of it will cease.

Assume that the earth was once located at the center of an event horizon. As the radius of the latter contracted, it would eventually have reached the surface of the earth, at which point time would have stood still for a terrestrial observer. Thus during an earth day, objects on earth would not have aged, but distant astronomical objects would have aged by billions of years.

Application of White Hole Cosmology to the Bible’s Creation Story

Based on the above, Humphreys imagines the following scenario:

On Day 1 of Creation, God created a large, three dimensional space with a radius of 500,000 light years. At its center lay a rotating ball of water – the “deep” – with a radius of one light year, which was large enough to contain all the matter in Universe. At its periphery was an event horizon with a radius of 500,000 light years. The deep’s concentration of mass created an immense gravitational force, more than 10¹⁵ “g”s. This force compressed the deep very quickly, rendering it very dense and hot. The intense heat ripped apart the water molecules, atoms, and even nuclei into elementary particles.

And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, ‘”Let there be light;” and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night.” (KJ21 Genesis 2:3).

A thermonuclear fusion reaction began, forming heavier nuclei from lighter ones and liberating huge amounts of energy. As a consequence, an intense light illuminated the interior and then broke through to the surface. As the compression continued, however, the force of gravity became so strong that light could no longer reach the surface, which became dark again. At this point, the Holy Spirit began hovering over the surface of the waters, thereby becoming a source of light on one side of the globe only and thereby separating the light and the darkness.

On Day 2 of Creation, God marked off the globe of water into three parts: (a) an inner globe which he called the waters below the firmament (v. 1:7), (b) a middle, spherical shell of water which he called the firmament or expanse (v. 1:6), and (c) an outer spherical shell of water which he called the waters above the firmament (v. 1:7). Then God began stretching out space[12] – a process of expansion that would last until at least the end of Day 4. The Black Hole became a White Hole. The change in dynamics affected the three parts differently.

The globe of water maintained its integrity, but expanded until gravity and temperatures at the globe’s surface reached roughly present values, thereby becoming liquid water beneath an atmosphere. Meanwhile, heavier atoms formed beneath the surface waters, thereby producing the minerals with which God would form earth’s mantle and core.

The firmament was stretched out into a vast expanse now called interstellar space, where matter was distributed in irregular clusters of hydrogen, helium, and other atoms that were formed by the nuclear processes on Day 1. Since the Sun and other stars had not yet been created, the Holy Spirit continued to provide a source of light to the globe below.

The upper waters also maintained their integrity, but as the expansion continued, they reached the event horizon and passed through it. As the amount of matter within the event horizon began decreasing, the event horizon began shrinking.

On Day 3 of Creation, the core and mantle below the surface water cooled and solidified, thereby “…laying the foundations of the earth” (Job 38:4). Meanwhile, if I understand Humphreys correctly, rapid radioactive decay near the surface of the globe produced heat that cooked the earth’s crust and rendered it buoyant relative to the mantle rock below it, thereby causing “the dry land appear” (v. 1:9) above the waters. God then created vegetation on the dry land.

On Day 4 of Creation, early in the morning, the shrinking event horizon reached earth. During this day, billions of years of processes occurred in distant, interstellar space. Gravitational forces compacted the clusters of hydrogen and helium atoms into stars, planets, etc. that were organized into galaxies and other astronomical objects.

And God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day and the night….And God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. (v.1:14-16)

Under compaction, the earth’s sun and the other stars underwent thermonuclear fusion[13] and emitted light.

The light from distant stars required billions of years to traverse the still expanding firmament (interstellar space) and exhibited increasing red-shift as the distances from their sources to earth increased.

God stopped the expansion of Universe when the event horizon reached its vanishing point – which certainly occurred no later than the end of Day 6. – for on Day 7 God rested from his creative work.

Concluding Remarks

I hope that I have portrayed Humphreys’ proposal accurately. I don’t know if it is correct or not because I lack the necessary, sophisticated mathematical ability to understand GRT fully or to detect errors in hypotheses based on GRT. What I do know, however, is that Humphreys has followed the correct procedure for investigating Universe scientifically. First he examined God’s Word to see what it says about the phenomena under investigation and then he formed an hypothesis that conforms to what God’s Word says. As I have maintained consistently throughout my writings, any scientific hypothesis that cannot accommodate what God’s Word says is wrong and represents an enormous waste of time, effort, and often resources – to say nothing of its being deceptive, encouraging people to doubt the trustworthiness of God’s Word.

___________________________________

[1] See my previous blog of February 27, 2017.

[2] Outside Universe is the Third Heaven. Its content and extent are unknown. It has not been detected; its existence is established by the biblical account (2 Colossians 12:2).

[3] Humphreys, D. Russell, Starlight and Time, Master Books, Colorado Springs CO, 1994.

[4] Ibid, p. 11.

[5] Ibid, p. 11.

[6] A Black Hole is an astronomical object within which the gravitational force of its matter is so strong that light rays cannot escape from it – hence the name. Its existence is predicted by GRT. Astronomers now believe that one out of every thousand stars that form are massive enough to become a black hole and thus that Universe contains billions of them.

[7] The boundary surrounding a black hole is called an event horizon. From the point of view of an observer inside the black hole, any object approaching the event horizon will appear to slow down and never quite pass through it, and any light radiating from the object will be further and further red-shifted. From the point of view of the traveling object, however, it will actually pass through the event horizon in a finite amount of time.

[8] The diameter of our galaxy alone is roughly 100,000 light years.

[9] Humphreys, Op. Cit., p.13.

[10] I would add that Big Bang advocates misapprehend the nature of infinity. INFINITY is an operational concept, not a numerical concept which can be applied to a concrete referent. It states that, in principle or theoretically, in any series of numbers, the operator can add another number to the series – going forward or backward. In actuality, any finite being, which every creature in Universe is, cannot live long enough to produce anything but a finite series of numbers. That raises the issue of eternity. ETERNITY is also an operational concept, not a temporal concept. It states that, in principle or theoretically, in any series of temporal intervals, the operator can add another interval to the series – going forward or backward. As I have already pointed out, however, no finite being in Universe lives forever. At some point, the operator’s adding stops. Thus Universe (in general) or anything within Universe (in particular) is finite – i.e. it is bounded in space and time (or more accurately space-time). It cannot be either infinite or eternal.

[11] I would add that scientists maintain that everything else in Universe has a center – its center of gravity – from an atomic particle to a galaxy. Why would the whole be so categorically different from its innumerable parts?

[12] Humphreys is convinced that Universe has expanded by a factor of at least 1,000 since its inception, which derives support from biblical verses such as “Have ye not known? Have ye not heard? Have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He that sitteth upon the circle of the earth,…who stretcheth out the heavens like a curtain and spreadeth them out like a tent to dwell in” (KJ21 Isaiah 40:21-22).

[13] Here I differ from Humphreys. I believe that the stars are probably powered by electromagnetic activity, not nuclear reactions.

Natural History 2 – Table B – The Bible’s Spatial Orders

Natural History 2 – Table A – The Ancients’ Ontological Orders

Natural History 2 – an introduction to biblical cosmology continued

by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #034a posted February 27, 2017, edited March 9, 2021.

In my blog of February 20, 2017, I commenced a four-part series on natural history in the Bible. The first part was devoted to a discussion of the cosmology in Genesis 1:1 – 2:3, which I call the Creation Chronicle. This second part will continue that discussion.

Day 1 continued

KJV Genesis 1:2-5 – 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

DOMAIN 1 – THE ELEMENTAL WORLD is the most fundamental world. It consists of the three orders which we perceive with our minds – not with our unaided senses – (1) the Primordial Realm, (2) the Possible Realm, and (3) the Probable Realm.

Order 3 – The Probable Realm is the physicists’ quantum world (unknown to the Ancients) and what I call the materia tertia. It is the next order and corresponds to the realm of intellectual constructs, such as waves, atoms, sub-atomic particles, etc. It is the analogical equivalent of the Euclidean forms, such as the circle, the ellipse, the parabola, etc., which lack any essence, any corporal content. An operator (using instruments, if he is a man) acts on these constructs and thereby transforms something that is potential and imperceptible in the sub-corporal domain into something actual and perceptible in the corporal domain. Examples of such constructs are mass, energy, particles, waves, space, time, etc. These constructs cannot be reified; they are products of the operator’s models and measurements conducted with instruments. They are not something which moves from potency to actuality. Order 3 is the realm of probabilities (i.e. it determines what structures and processes are probable).

DOMAIN 2 – THE NATURAL WORLD is the actual, physical world in which we live. It is a world of unique forms and substances – i.e. no two objects in it are completely alike. It consists of the two orders which we perceive with our unaided, bodily senses (although the process by which this perception occurs is a mystery) – (4) the Inorganic Realm and (5) the Organic Realm.

Order 4 – The Inorganic Realm consists of the inorganic compounds that make up the Mineral Kingdom. This order exhibits a spatial hierarchy – geometric in nature.

Earth – the terrestrial sphere (the residue of the waters below the firmament) which is probably located at the order’s center.

1^st Heaven – the firmament, the expanse, or interstellar space, in which the sun, moon, and stars are located, which is above and surrounds the earth. It is a plenum consisting almost entirely of plasma.

Upper Waters – the waters above the firmament, which consist of a sphere of water above and surrounding the first heaven.

2^nd Heaven – a sphere of unknown nature above and surrounding the “waters above the earth.” Its outer edge is the boundary of Universe.

5a – The Vegetable Kingdom is embodied in plants or fauna, which are living, but apparently^[4] Alfred Korzybski calls them the energy-binding form of life, because they bind up the energy of the sun in their structure and thereby provide sustenance to the higher forms of life.

5b – The Animal Kingdom is embodied in animals, birds, fish, insects, and creeping things which are living and animate, excepting humans. Korzybski calls them the space-binding form of life, because they can move across the terrestrial surface in search of food, shelter, etc.

5c – The Human Kingdom contains humans who are living, animate, and reflective. Korzybski calls them the time-binding form of life, because, through scientific investigation (research), applied science (technology), record keeping (libraries), etc., they can progress through time, creating ever more sophisticated art, artifacts, social structures, etc.

DOMAIN 3 – THE SUPERNATURAL WORLD is the world outside Universe which we perceive with our minds and our spirits after God reveals to us that the Bible is his Word Written and Jesus of Nazareth is his Word Incarnate. I surmise that it is the 3^rd heaven to which Paul referred in 2 Corinthians 12:2. It contains two spiritual orders: (6) the Celestial Realm and (7) the Divine Realm.

Order 6 – The Celestial Realm is embodied in angels and demons.

Order 7 – The Divine Realm is embodied in the Godhead.

With the above distinctions in mind, verse 1:2 – “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” – can be parsed as follows:

“the earth” here refers to the primordial realm. It cannot refer to the Earth of verse 1 or to the Earth as we know it, because it was “without form and void.”[5] It must refer to matter, but to matter in a primordial state in which it was without form or substance.

“darkness” here refers to more than an absence of light. It also refers to a lack of energy.

“the deep” refers to the same matter in a primordial state but conveys the sense of its being an abyss – an abyss of formless, substance-less, energy-less something-ness.

“…the Spirit of God moved…” (KJV) – or “hovered” (NIV) – refers to God’s bestowal or impression of structure on this matter in the primordial state, thereby transforming it into matter in a potential state.

“the waters” probably refers to matter in a subsequent state. “The deep” is a customary term for fathomless water. “The waters” is also a customary term for fathomless water. The use of different terms for the same matter, however, suggests that its state has changed. It is now in a possible state.

Verse 1:3 – “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light” – records the injection of light or energy into “the waters.” Thus “the waters” were transformed into a globe of water with its center at the center of Universe.[6] What was possibly water became actual water, and I surmise that this transformation had something to do with the imparting of energy into it.

Verses 3-5 record the illumination of God’s creation by either (a) forces within the globe of water itself or (b) God himself. If the illumination had derived from forces within the globe of water, however, it probably would have been uniformly distributed, whereas these verses indicate that only a portion of the globe was lit. “…God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.” Moreover, a source of light which illuminated one hemisphere, but left the other hemisphere in darkness must have been outside the globe of water. This suggests that there was a spherical shell above and surrounding the globe of water that consisted of something other than water, the outer edge of which constituted the border of Universe. Finally, God-the-Son said, “I am the light of the world.” [7] Whereas God-the-Spirit handled the transition from the primordial realm to the potential realm, which is described in verse 2, God-the-Son handled the transition from the potential realm to the actual realm by providing the initial light in God’s creation.

Thus, at the end of Day 1, Universe consisted of a sphere with two parts: [8]

Part A – Matter – a giant globe of water, illuminated on one side, at Universe’s center and

Part B – Space – a spherical shell of unknown composition and thickness, above and surrounding the matter (see the 2^nd heaven below for more information).

Day 2

Genesis 1:6-8 – 6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

On the second day, God divided Part A – Matter (the giant globe of water) into three parts or spatial segments – Not part of the geologic record.

Part A-1 – a small globe of water, a watery earth, at Universe’s center, which is identified as “the waters which were under the firmament” (Genesis 1:7). It would provide the material for Earth.

Part A-2 – an intermediate spherical shell of water of unknown thickness, above and surrounding the small globe of water. It is identified as “the firmament,” “heaven,” and “the expanse.” [9] Some commentators identify the expanse as Earth’s atmosphere. If one calls Earth’s atmosphere “Heaven,” however, what does one call interstellar space, where reside the sun, moon, and stars? Moreover, verses 1:14 and 1:16 make clear that the sun, moon, and stars lie in the firmament. “And God said, let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven…. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.” Thus, firmament would provide the material for interstellar space – i.e. the 1^st

Part A-3 – an outer spherical shell of water of unknown thickness,[10] above and surrounding the firmament. It is identified as “the waters which were above the firmament” (Genesis 1:7). I call it the upper waters.

Thus, at the end of Day 2, Universe consisted of four parts or spatial segments: [11]

Part A-1 – a small globe of water at Universe’s center – i.e. a watery earth.

Part A-2 – a spherical shell of water above and surrounding the small globe of water – i.e. the firmament.

Part A-3 – a spherical shell of water above and surrounding the firmament – i.e. the upper waters.

Part B – a spherical shell of unknown composition and thickness above and surrounding the upper waters – i.e. the 2^nd heaven (referenced above). Its outer edge is the border of Universe. It has not been detected; its existence is implied by the Bible’s references to a 1st heaven (Revelation 21:1) and a 3rd heaven (2 Corinthians 12:2), in between which there must be a 2nd heaven.[12]

Day 3

KJV Genesis 1:9-13 – 9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. 11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.

On the third day, God divided and transformed Part A-1 – the small globe of water – into three parts or spatial segments:

Part A-1-a – the land – a solid globe of minerals at its center, which God further divided into three main parts or spatial segments:

Part A-1-a-(1) – the core, which consists of iron & nickel. Its radius is 2,142 miles.

Part A-1-a-(2) – The mantle, which consists of spherical shell of silicates above and surrounding the core. It is 1,789-1,810 miles thick.

Part A-1-a-(3) – The lithosphere, which initially consisted of a spherical shell of rocks above and surrounding the mantle. (After God later elevated a portion of it above sea level, it became 63 miles thick, which includes the crust (4-25 miles thick) and the top portion of the upper mantle.)

Part A-1-b – the sea – It initially consisted of a spherical shell of water above and surrounding the lithosphere. (After God later elevated a portion of the lithosphere above sea level, it became 0-6.8 miles deep.)

Part A-1-c – the air or atmosphere – It consists of a spherical shell of gases (78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 0.09% argon, 0.03% carbon dioxide, and traces of several others) above and surrounding the globe. Its inner edge borders on the globe’s surface; its outer edge, on the 1st heaven. It extends approximately 435 miles above the earth’s surface. It is divided into five main parts or layers by temperature:

Part A-1-c-(1) – the troposphere (0-7 miles),

Part A-1-c-(2) – the stratosphere (7-31 miles),

Part A-1-c-(3) – the mesosphere (31-50 miles),

Part A-1-c-(4) – the thermosphere (50-440 miles), and

Part A-1-c-(5) – the exosphere (440-6,200 miles).

God then adjusted the interface between the land and the sea – probably using tectonic upheavals within the lithosphere – so that the surface of the matter below the air was divided into two segments:

A single continent, which appeared out of the sea.

A single sea, which surrounded the land.

God then created flora on the land and in the sea.

Day 4

KJV Genesis 1:14-19 – 14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. 16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. 19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

On the fourth day, God transformed the firmament into interstellar space, the first heaven. Its content by mass is primarily electromagnetic plasma (est. 96%) and secondarily astronomical bodies (est. 4%), such as stars, planets, moons, asteroids, and comets which occur within astronomical objects such as galaxies, nebulae, star clusters, and planetary systems – starting with the earth’s sun and moon. Its extent is unknown.

God refers to the astronomical bodies and objects as lights, and he explains that he intends the sun to rule the day, the moon to rule the night, and the other lights in the firmament to mark (a) the signs and (b) the years, seasons, and days.

Day 5

KJV Genesis 1:20-23 – 20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. 21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. 23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

On the fifth day, God created the fish and the fowl – first the fish to populate the sea and then the fowl to populate the air.

Day 6

KJV Genesis 1:24-31 – 24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. 25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. 31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

On the sixth day, God created animals and humans – first the beasts, insects, etc. to populate the land and then humans to populate and subdue (cultivate) the entire earth and to exercise dominion over all other living creatures. In other words, God made humans to be the stewards of the earth.

Day 7

KJV Genesis 2:1-3 – 1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made..

On the seventh day, after finishing Universe, which consisted of the earth, the first heaven, the upper waters, and the second heaven. God rested from his work of creating and sanctified the seventh day as a day of rest.

Length of each creation day

The phrase “the evening and the morning were the…day” with which the author ends the record of each of the first six days indicates that an exact, twenty-four day is meant, and that the delimiting of the day should start with night-time and end with day-time – i.e. following the order of creation, in which darkness preceded light.

[1] My acceptance of the ontological orders of the ancients owes much to three books by Wolfgang Smith: Cosmos & Transcendence – Breaking Through the Barrier of Scientific Belief, Sophia Perennis, San Rafael CA, 2008; Quantum Enigma – Finding the Hidden Key, The (1995), Sophia Perennis, Hillsdale NY, 3^rd edition 2005; and Wisdom of Ancient Cosmology – Contemporary Science if the Light of Tradition, The, Foundation for Traditional Studies, Oakton VA, 2003.For help in understanding these orders, see my “E02-V3 Table 6A – The Ancient’s Ontological Orders.”

[2] “…I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth…” (KJV Proverbs 8:27).

[3] Here I make use of the classes of life suggested by Alfred Korzybski in his Manhood of Humanity, (1921), International Non-Aristotelian Library Publishing Company, Lakeville CT, 1950.

[4] I say apparently because not everyone agrees. Peter Tompkins & Christopher Bird argue in The Secret Life of Plants, Harper & Row, New York, NY, 1973, that plants are animate and aware.

[5] The Hebrew word “bohuw” or bo’-hoo (Strong’s #922) is used only twice in the Bible (Genesis 1:2 and Jeremiah 4:23), and its second use appears to be quoting its first use. The word means void, empty, or vacant, or vacuous.

[6] If matter began as water at Universe’s center, it would have taken the form of a globe, because water maintains a common level. It is interesting to note that the Maidu of Central California, whom the anthropologist and ethnologist William Schmidt (1868-1954) identified as one of the oldest primitive cultures on earth, believed that the earth was, in the beginning, only a great sea (see Schmidt, Wilhelm, The Origin and Growth of Religion – Facts and Theories, (1916-1930), Wythe-North Publishing, Proctorville OH, 2014, p. 189, where he cites R..B. Dixon, “The Northern Maidu,” in Bulletin of American Museum of Natural History, Vol. XVIII, 1905, p. 335).

[7] John 8:12 and 9:5.

[8] Here I commence using a somewhat cumbersome system of notation to make clear where each piece of creation originated.

[9] “Firmament” in the King James Version (KJV), the Revised Standard Version, and the American Standard Version (ASV); “expanse” in the New International Version (NIV), the New American Standard Bible (NASB), and Young’s Literal Translation; “space” in the New Living Translation.

[10] “Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heaven” (KJV Psalm 148:4).

[11] For a cosmological theory which accounts for these spatial orders, see D. Russell Humphreys’ Starlight and Time, Master Books, Colorado Springs CO, 1994.

[12] Outside Universe is the Third Heaven. Its content and extent are unknown. It has not been detected; its existence is established by the biblical account (2 Colossians 12:2).

Natural History 1 – an introduction to biblical cosmology

by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #033 posted February 20, 2017, edited March 9, 2021.

In today’s blog, I commence a four-part series on natural history in the Bible. The first two parts will be devoted a discussion of the cosmology in Genesis 1:1 – 2:3.

Preamble

The Bible records God’s creation of Universe in seven days in Genesis 1:1 to 2:3. I call this record the Creation Chronicle.

The contents of the Creation Chronicle must have been revealed to man by God, because man was not present to observe most of the activity which it describes. The most logical person to have been the receiver of this revelation and thus the author of this record was Adam.

I believe that the Creation Chronicle was divinely inspired and thus is accurate history.

Verse 1 – Summary of and introduction to Creation

KJV Genesis 1:1 – 1 In the beginning God created the Heaven[s] and the earth.

The first verse of both the Bible in general and the Creation Chronicle in particular appears to be a summary statement. First, God did not gather the materials with which he formed the earth until the second day of creation week, and he did not form the earth as we know it until the third day. Second, the verse refers to heavens (plural),[1] but God made only one heaven[2] on the first day. Third, providing a summary of creation in verse 1:1 before providing a more detailed account in verses 1:2-2:4 is similar to providing a summary of man’s creation in verses 1:26-27 before providing a more detailed account in Genesis 2.

Although the first verse deals ostensibly with creation, its implications go far beyond creation and give us an inkling of the depths which lie below the surface of this account and of the entire Bible.

• Consider what this verse says: “In the beginning God created the Heaven and the earth” (verse 1). Henry Morris[3] observes the following:

– “God” – The word in Hebrew is Elohim. It is plural with a singular meaning. It conveys the nature of the Divine Trinity, in which three persons (God-the-Father, God-the-Son, and God-the-Spirit) make up the Godhead, which is a unity.

– “created” – Only God can create something out of nothing; man can make or re-form things using something, but he cannot create something out of nothing.[3]

– “the heaven[s]” – The word conveys space.

– “the earth”– The word conveys matter.

– “in the beginning” – The phrase conveys time.

– A legitimate paraphrase of Genesis 1:1 would be, “The transcendent, omnipotent Godhead called into existence the space-mass-time Universe.”

• Consider what this verses implies: Henry Morris[4] points out that all of man’s false philosophies concerning the origin and meaning of the world are wrong:

– Atheism – the belief that there is no God – because this verse indicates that God created Universe.

– Dualism – the belief that there are two principles or gods, one good and one evil – because this verse indicates that God alone created Universe.

– Evolutionism – the belief that simple particles evolved into ever more complex particles and eventually developed into everything that we see today through eons of time – because this verse indicates that God created all things.

– Humanism – the belief that man is the pinnacle and arbiter of Universe through his ability to reason – because this verse indicates that God, not man, is the ultimate reality.

– Materialism – the belief that matter is the only reality and has been in existences forever – because this verse indicates that a spiritual being created matter; matter had a beginning.

– Pantheism – the belief that Universe is god (i.e. Universe’s forces and laws are the equivalent of god) – because this verse indicates that God is transcendent (i.e. above or outside Universe).

– Polytheism – the belief that there are many gods – because this verse indicates that the Godhead is a unity.

• Consider what this verse omits. This verse makes no attempt to prove or even to persuade the reader of its truth. Likewise, it makes no attempt to refute the philosophies which contradict it. It merely presents this account of God’s creation as truth. It must be accepted as truth by faith. In doing so, it exhibits a principle which runs throughout the Bible. God never explains himself. Think of how he answered Job when Job asked him to explain the things that were troubling Job, “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the world?”[5] God has set things up in such a way that accepting his word by faith is a precondition to learning the truth about anything, “For without faith, it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).

• Consider what this verse conceals: An intricate numerical pattern is buried in this verse. In the original Hebrew, this verse consists of seven words made up of twenty-eight letters. Since each letter of the Hebrew alphabet represents a number (aleph = 1, beth = 2, gimmel = 3, etc.) each word and the entire sentence carry numerical values. Ivan Panin[6] points out that this verse contains at least

– fourteen features of seven (the number of spiritual perfection) – chance, 1 in 6.67 x 10¹¹,

– sixteen features of four (the number of creation) – chance, 1 in 3.6 x 10⁹,

– fourteen features of thirty-seven (the common denominator of most references to God in the New Testament) – chance, 1 in 3.33 x 10²³, and

– seven features of seventy-three (the reverse of thirty-seven) – chance, 1 in 1.06 x 10¹³.

The odds of this composition occurring by chance are infinitesimal, and it is too complex to have been devised by a man, even in a lifetime of work. (Even more astonishing, the works of Panin, Max Luna,[7] Del Washburn,[8] Michael Leonard,[9] and others indicate that a highly complex pattern of numerical systems is evident in and running between the Old and New Testaments – but not the Apocrypha..

• When confronted with all of the above, reason demands that we face the fact that this verse and the entire “book of books” was inspired by God, as it itself claims: “Thy Word is true from the beginning….”[10] “Forever, O Lord, thy Word is settled in Heaven.”[11] “The grass withers, the flower fades: but the Word of our God will stand forever.”[12] “The unfolding of thy words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.”[14] “Seek ye out the Book of the Lord, and read: no one of these shall fail.”[15] “Every word of God is pure.”[16] “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God….”[17] “O earth, earth, earth, hear the Word of the Lord.”[18]

• One last thought about this verse: Henry Morris[19] points out that if a person accepts Genesis 1:1 by faith, he will not find it difficult to believe anything else recorded in the Bible.

In addition to being a summary, this verse serves as the introduction to Day 1. God is saying, “In the beginning, on the first day, I created everything (space, time, energy, and mass) out of nothing.”

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[1] Although it is singular in the King James Version (KJV), it is plural in the Revised Standard Version (RSV), the American Standard Version (ASV), the New King James Version NKJV), the New International Version (NIV), and the New American Standard Bible (NASB).

[2] As will become apparent, there are at least three heavens: (a) the first heaven is above and surrounding the earth – i.e. interstellar space – in which the sun, moon, and stars are located, (b) the second heaven lies above the spherical shell of water which is above and surrounding the first heaven, and (c) the third heaven lies beyond the second heaven, to which Paul referred in 2 Corinthians 12:2. God may have created all three during creation week.

[3] Clarification – To create anything, mankind must reform something that already exists. A potter can only make a pottery vase by reforming a lump of clay and then baking it. God, on the other hand, does not need preexisting material. He can create something using only his mind and his power, both of which are unlimited. In the past, people have described God as creating Universe ex nihilo (out of nothing in English), but that is only true if it is clear that ex nihilo refers only to something (some physical material), but not to someone (an omniscient, omnipotent, omnicompetent being such as God). Man needs some physical material (something) with which to create, God needs only someone – Himself – with whom to create. Nor can Universe spring into existence ex nihilo – i.e. out of nothing. The word “nothing” has no objective referent. There is no such thing as “nothing” – anywhere.

[4] Henry Morris, The Genesis Record, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids MI, 1976, pages 39-41.

[5] Ibid, p. 38.

[6] Job 38:4.

[7] Ivan Panin, An Introduction to the Principle of Bible Numerics (c. 1945), privately printed, p. 8 and following; see also Ivan Panin, Bible Numerics (1934), The Covenant Publishing Company, Ltd., London, Ivan Panin ed., The Numeric English New Testament (1934), The Book Society of Canada, Ltd., Agincourt, Ontario, and the pamphlets, Genesis 1:1, Verbal Inspiration Proved, Bible Numerics, The Inspiration of the Scriptures Scientifically Demonstrated, The Last Twelve Verses of Mark, Bible Inspiration, all undated and privately printed.

[8] Max Luna, The Number 7 in the Bible (1979), Bryan Press, City of Industry, California.

[9] Jerry Lucas and Del Washburn, Theomatics (1979), Stein & Day, New York. See also Del Washburn, Theomatics II (1994), Scarborough House, Lanham MD and The Original Code of the Bible (1998), Lanham MD.

[10] Michael E. Leonard, Bible Numbers (2002), Windham Hall Press, Lima OH.

[11] KJV Psalm 119:160.

[12] KJV Psalm 119:89.

[13] RSV Isaiah 40:8.

[14] RSV Psalm 119:130.

[15] KJV Isaiah 34:16.

[16] Proverbs 30:5.

[17] 2 Timothy 3:16.

[18] Jeremiah 22:29.

[19] Henry Morris, The Genesis Record, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids MI, 1976, p. 37.

Could the declaration of the heavens have been any louder at Messiah’s birth?

By John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #024 posted December 25, 2016, edited March 9, 2021.

According to my chronology, Messiah was crucified during Passover on Nisan 14 in 33 AD (6:00 pm on Thursday, April 2 to 6:00 pm on Friday, April 3) in the middle of His fourth year of ministry. Since His ministry lasted 3,5 years, that places the start of His ministry in early October 29 AD. Since His 40-day Sojourn in the Wilderness preceded the start of His ministry, that places the start of His 40-day sojourn in the wilderness in late August, 29 AD. Since He departed for His sojourn immediately after His 30^th birthday, His 30^th birthday occurred in late August 29 AD; and His birthday, in late August of 2 BC.

I was struggling to pinpoint the exact date of Messiah’s birthday when I discovered Ernest Martin’s The Birth of Christ Recalculated, Foundation for Biblical Research, Pasadena, CA, 1980. It identifies the following astronomical events as having occurred in the period between August 3 BC and December 29, 1 BC (page locations follow EM in the citations below). August 28, 2 BC was Tishri 1 (the Feast of Trumpets or Rosh Hashanah), just the day one might expect for the First Advent of the Savior of the world.

On August 12, 3 BC, after leaving the vicinity of the Sun, Jupiter (the Father) conjoined with Venus (the Mother), and together they rose as an unusually bright morning star. Jupiter was often associated with the birth of kings, and this event would have been regarded as a harbinger of the birth of a king. Meanwhile, the sun (the Supreme Father), the Moon (also a mother), and Mercury (the Messenger of the gods), congregated in the constellation Leo (the Lion) – not only was Leo Judah’s natal sign, but Messiah was called “the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.” (EM pp.13-14)

During the next twenty days, Mercury moved toward Venus in the constellation Leo (their conjunction occurred circa September 1, 3BC), while the Sun moved out of the constellation Leo and into the constellation Virgo (the Virgin) and Jupiter entered the constellation Leo. These events appear to echo some of the themes surrounding Messiah’s first advent, when a Messenger, John-the-Baptist, would announce the coming of a prince (Gabriel’s term for Messiah in the vision he gave to Daniel), who would be born as the Son of God-the-Father and Miriam (a virgin mother) and would reign over all as King-of-kings and Lord-of-lords. (EM pp.13-14)

On September 14, 3 BC, Jupiter conjoined with Regulus (the King, a star of the first magnitude and the chief star of the constellation Leo). (EM p.15)

On February 17, 2 BC, Jupiter again conjoined with Regulus. They were joined by the Moon. (EM p.16)

On May 8, 2 BC, Jupiter again conjoined with Regulus. (EM p.16)

On June 17, 2 BC, after continuing its westward passage across the sky, Jupiter conjoined with Venus in the constellation Leo at the exact time of a full Moon. The two planets were so close that they would have appeared as one gigantic star in a marriage union. (EM p.16)

On August 27, 2 BC, Jupiter and Mars (the Warrior) conjoined, with Mercury and Venus nearby. Together the four stars constituted what in astrological circles is known as a “massing” in the constellation Leo. At the same time, the Sun was entering the constellation Virgo. (EM p.17)

The next day was Saturday, August 28, 2 BC, which was both the Sabbath and Tishri 1 (the Feast of Trumpets = Rosh Hashanah) – the perfect day for the birth of Messiah.

On December 25, 2 BC, after leaving the company of Mercury, Mars, and Venus and travelling westward for four months, Jupiter stopped in the sky – having reached a stationary point between its progression and regression with respect to Earth. It would have appeared motionless in the sky for a period of six days centered on that date. From the perspective of Jerusalem at dawn, the normal time for astronomical observations, Jupiter would have been located in the meridian position at an elevation of 68 degrees above the southern horizon, which would have put it in the abdomen of Virgo (the Virgin) and directly over Bethlehem, toward which the Magi were traveling. In addition, the Sun reached the Winter Solstice on December 21/22 and therefore was also standing still in the sky. (EM pp.21-22) [1]

On December 29, 1 BC, an eclipse of the moon occurred which would have been visible throughout Palestine. This was undoubtedly the day on which Herod had a man named Matthias executed and another man named Matthias deprived of the position of High Priest. (EM pp.21-22)

While he was creating Universe, God said,

“Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years.” [2]

Three millennia later, King David wrote,

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handywork. Day upon day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their sound is gone forth through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath He set a tabernacle for the sun, which is as a bridegroom [3] coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof. [4]

One millennium after that, Luke wrote,

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” [5]

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[1] Perhaps the Magi arrived in Bethlehem on December 25^th, and their paying homage to and bearing gifts for the infant Jesus marked the beginning of celebrating Christmas on that day, which has always been associated with the worshipping of the Lord and the giving and receiving of gifts.

[2] KJ21 Genesis 1:14.

[3] According to the Scriptures, Messiah came to earth to save His bride.

[4] KJ21 Psalms 19:1-6.

[5] KJ21 Luke 2:8-14.