Blog – Page 3 – A Biblical View

Late Historic Era’s Parts & Ages

by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #110 posted June 29, 2020, edited March 10, 2021.

For a better understanding of how I have organized history and the timelines of nations in history, see my postings (a) Outline of World History on June 19, 2017 and (b) Generic Timelines on June 20, 2017.

2 – HISTORIC PERIOD CONTINUED

2C – LATE HISTORIC ERA (1453 AD-PRESENT)

It (a) began with the Fall of Constantinople, (b) has lasted over 568 years (1453 AD-Present), during which the followers of the Messiah have grown from millions at the end of the Middle Ages to over 2 billion men, women, and children who live on every continent and island of the globe, and (c) will end with the 2^nd Coming of Messiah at an unknown date. I have divided it into five non-temporal parts: ^[1]

2C-1 – The Occident In The Late Historic Era – I have divided it into three minor periods, the first of which was

2C-1A – Exploratory Age (1453-c.1750 AD) – It (a) began with the Fall of Constantinople, (b) lasted 297 years, during which western adventurers explored the world on land and sea, and (c) ended with the Harnessing of Mechanical Energy (c.1750) in lighting, manufacturing, transportation, etc. It was followed by

2C-1B – Revolutionary Age (1750-1918 AD) – It (a) began with the Harnessing of Mechanical Energy, (b) lasted 168 years, during which profound revolutions occurred in many fields (communications, government, industry, religion, etc.), and (c) ended with the catastrophe of World War I (1914-1918), during which (i) the mobilization of whole societies for mechanized, total warfare and (ii) the creation and management of large armies, navies, and rapidly developing air-forces transformed nations into vast, centralized, all-controlling states. It was followed by

2C-1C – Globalist Age (1918 AD to present) – An oligarchy of the super-rich have been working for over 100 years now to create a New World Order that will control the nations of the world. They have been using war between nations, terrorism within nations, abortion of the unborn, euthanasia of the elderly, and genocide of vulnerable minorities to slaughter humans on a titanic scale, thereby intentionally killing or maiming men, women, and children by the millions. It is already the most lethal period in human history, and I believe it will get worse. Happily, I also believe that the Lord, leading a host of archangels and angels, will appear in the heavens, wreak vengeance on a sin-soaked world, and create a new heaven and a new Earth for His faithful followers to inhabit under His rule – i.e. the 2nd Coming of Messiah (date unknown).

2C-2 – The Middle East In The Late Historic Era

2C-3 – The Orient In The Late Historic Era

2C-4 – The Sacred In The Late Historic Era – I have divided this part into three major periods, the first of which was

2C-4A – Bride of Messiah’s Betrothal (1453 AD-Present) – It (a) began with the Fall of Constantinople, (b) has lasted for over 568 years (1453-Present), and (c) will end with the 2^nd Coming of Messiah (date unknown). The latter will constitute a blessing for Messiah’s followers, who will be caught up into the air to be with Him forever, and a catastrophe for Messiah’s opponents, who will perish as the old heavens and the old Earth pass away and the creation of the new heavens and the new Earth commences.

2C-5 – Geology In The Late Historic Era

2C-5A – The Holocene Epoch’s Atlantic Age continued – It (a) began with the Fall of Constantinople, (b) has extended through over 568 years (1453 AD-Present), and (c) will end with an unknown event at an unknown time.

[1] I divide the northern hemisphere into roughly three regions: the Orient, the Middle East, and the Occident.

Middle Historic Era’s Parts & Ages

by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #105 posted June 29, 2020, edited March 10, 2021.

2 – HISTORIC PERIOD CONTINUED

2B – MIDDLE HISTORIC ERA (2 BC-1453 AD)

It (a) began with the Birth of Messiah, (b) lasted 1,454 years (2 BC-1453 AD), during which the followers of the Messiah grew from a handful of disciples to millions of men, women, and children, and (c) ended with the Fall of Constantinople. I have divided it into five, non-temporal parts: ^[1]

2B-1 – The Occident In The Late Historic Era – I have divided it into two minor periods, the first of which was,

2B-1A – The Roman Age AD (2BC-476 AD), which is called Late Antiquity by the historians – It (a) began with the Birth of Messiah in 2 BC, (b) lasted 476 years, and (c) ended with the Fall of Rome (476 AD) to the Germanic General Odacer. It was followed by,

2B-1B – The Byzantine Age (476-1453 AD), which is often called the Middle Ages by the historians – It (a) began with the Fall of Rome in 476 AD, (b) lasted 977 years, and (c) ended with the Fall of Constantinople (1453 BC) to the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II. It was followed by

2B-2 – The Middle East In The Late Historic Era

2B-3 – The Orient In The Late Historic Era

2B-4 – The Sacred In The Late Historic Era – I have divided this part into three major periods, the first of which was,

2B-4A – The Life of Messiah (2BC–33 AD) – It (a) began with the Birth of Messiah, (b) lasted 33.5 years, and (c) ended with the Crucifixion, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension of Messiah (33 AD) – the most significant catastrophe in human history, on which the minority (Messiah’s followers) would look with gratitude and the majority (Messiah’s opponents) would look with contempt. It was followed by

2B-4B – The Bride of Messiah’s Childhood (33-70 AD) – It (a) began with the Crucifixion, Death, Resurrection, & Ascension of Messiah, (b) lasted 37 years, and (c) ended with the Destruction of Jerusalem (70 AD) – a catastrophe which included the razing of its temple and the dispersion of the Judean Jews to the four corners of the world.

2B-4C – The Bride of Messiah’s Betrothal (70 AD – to present) – It (a) began with the Destruction of Jerusalem, (b) lasted 1,454 years (2 BC-1453 AD), and (c) ended with the Fall of Constantinople.

2B-5 – Geology In The Late Historic Era

2B-5A – The Holocene Epoch’s Atlantic Age continued – It (a) began with the Birth of Messiah, (b) extended through 1,454 years (2 BC-1453 AD), and (c) ended with the Fall of Constantinople.

[1] I divide the northern hemisphere into roughly three regions: the Orient, the Middle East, and the Occident.

Some things that everyone knows

by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #104 posted September 2, 2019, edited March 10, 2021.

There are some things that everyone knows which fall under the rubric of common sense. Until the 20^th century, virtually everyone acknowledged them as givens in human life and based their aspirations and expectations upon them. A few examples will indicate the kinds of things to which I refer.

1. Everyone knows that humans stand at the pinnacle of earthly species. Their welfare takes precedence over the welfare of any other class of life.[1]
2. Everyone knows that humans and almost all other species are divided into males and females.
3. Everyone knows that males and females are profoundly different. They exhibit (a) different designs and (b) different physical and behavioral characteristics, and they serve different roles in their specie’s communal life.[2]
4. Everyone knows that, on average, males are considerably larger, stronger, and faster than females and, in most species, including mankind, are innately inclined to protect their mates, their children, and the more vulnerable members of their immediate community from attack by predators.
5. Everyone knows that, on average, females are considerably smaller, weaker, and slower than males and, in most species, including mankind, are innately inclined to bear and nurture children and to assist their mates in protecting and providing for their children and the more vulnerable members of their immediate community.
6. Everyone knows that these different characteristics and different roles of males and females normally result in patriarchal families.
7. Everyone knows that patriarchal families normally result in patriarchal societies.
8. Everyone knows that a baby growing in his or her mother’s womb will, after the appropriate period of gestation, emerge from her womb as an easily identifiable member of the parents’ species. Dogs produce dogs. Horses produce horses. Humans produce humans.
9. Everyone knows that the baby emerging from a mother’s womb will be either male or female.[3]
10. Everyone knows that every child will quickly notice and soon understand his or her gender and the expectations and aspirations associated with it. Male children will naturally emulate their father and their community’s patriarchs. Female children will naturally emulate their mothers and their community’s matriarchs. Among humans, most boys dream of being a princely hero who saves the community from predators and thereby wins the hand of the princess and most girls dream of being the princess who is carried off by the heroic prince. At the same time, boys and girls quickly learn that their lives will be less glamorous than their dreams. Not everyone can be a prince or a princess.
11. Everyone knows (a) that a nation needs to be protected from exterior attack and invasion, interior criminality, fire, flood, and storm and (b) that men are best able to fill the positions of soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, coastguardsmen, border-patrolmen, policemen, firemen, etc., all of which require strength, courage, and the ability to work within a carefully defined hierarchy, taking orders from a superior and dispensing orders to inferiors. A few women may have the ability to fill one of these roles, but they don’t belong in them, because they introduce a sexual component into the workplace which distracts the men from their mission and disrupts the male-bonding or sense of brotherhood that has always been recognized as an essential ingredient in any fighting force.
12. Everyone knows that a healthy family or society will respect and honor the men and women who fulfill their roles diligently, faithfully, and humbly.
13. Everyone knows that men and boys are easily aroused by the sight of even partially naked women and girls. Thus most parents – particularly mothers – taught their daughters to dress modestly in order to avoid the unwanted and possibly dangerous attention of men and boys.
14. Everyone knows that alcohol strengthens sexual interest and weakens inhibitions of every kind. Thus, most parents insisted that their daughters avoid unchaperoned parties where alcohol was being consumed.
15. Everyone knows that males and females need separate bathrooms and locker rooms in order to protect women and girls, not just from the prurient interest of men and boys, but from physical molestation by them as well.
16. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, everyone knows that every child is born bad – that is, he or she is a little sinner, not a little angel – and will require years of benevolent and patient admonishment, encouragement, guidance, instruction, punishment, etc. from parents, pastors, pedagogues and perhaps even policemen before he or she exhibits a modicum of character, civility, concern for others, generosity, honesty, respect for the rules, etc. (If you happen to disagree with this assessment, just produce a mother that had to teach her child how to be bad. Also, see 1 John 1:8.)

I say again: All of the above is common sense. Excepting for the information concerning the chromosomes in the footnote to paragraph 9, no one needs to have it explained to him or her. One doesn’t need to read a book to learn about them. One learns it from just living and interacting with other people and animals. Indeed, if a teenager – let alone an adult – questioned any of it, one might reasonably conclude that he or she was a bit dim.

During the 20^th century, however, a confederation of radical groups flying the flag of “political correctness” began a coordinated effort to contradict the above verities and to prevent others from defending them. The radicals attacked the traditionalists’ rights to be treated civilly and respectfully, to speak their minds, to retain their jobs, and even to go on living. Under these vicious assaults, the majority of traditionalists, including many Christians, retreated into silence and allowed the radicals to promote their agenda, not just in the public square, but in churches and synagogues, offices, the military services, stores, etc. – even the schools. Four year old children in pre-kindergarten are now being taught the following:

- There is no preferential order among species. The welfare of humans and the welfare of animals, birds, and fish are equally important.
- Although there are only two gender categories within every other species on earth, there are many genders within mankind – – e.g. heterosexual men, heterosexual women, lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transsexuals, queers, etc. (a new gender category pops up nearly every month).
- Each of us is free to choose whatever gender category we want. Indeed, we can even create a new category if we are unhappy with the categories already available.
- There are no innate differences among genders.[4]

The results of this insane, “politically correct” crusade are all around us. American culture is confusing and collapsing. Discourse concerning an ever increasing number of issues is becoming difficult – if not impossible – to conduct without dissension and disorder. Debates are increasingly infected with illogic, incivility, and invective. Murder, suicide, and other social pathologies are increasing.

At this point, traditionalists must recognize a few things.

First, differentiation is one of the foundational blocks of intelligence. If the radicals succeed in ensuring that none of our children can tell the difference between humans and animals, between men and women, between roles in life that are gender-appropriate, between fact and fiction, between sense and nonsense, we will have produced a nation of morons.[5]

Second, differentiating between good and evil is essential to living a healthy life. Moreover, our Creator has not left it up to us to decide what is good and evil; he has reserved that role for himself. In Exodus 20, he has given us ten commandments.

1^st Set of Commandments

The first through fifth commandments (Exodus 20:2-12) define how we must maintain a proper relationship with Himself, whom He identifies as the God who delivered the Hebrews out of bondage.

- First, He has told us that we must not recognize, let alone worship, any god but Him.
- Second, He has told us that we must not fabricate, bow down to, or serve any idol.
- Third, He has told us that we must not blaspheme – i.e. use the His name inappropriately – or otherwise use obscenities.
- Fourth, He has told us that we must keep holy the Sabbath – i.e. follow His example by worshiping Him and resting on the seventh day of the week.
- Fifth, He has told us to honor and obey our parents.[6]

2^nd Set of Commandments

The sixth through tenth commandments (Exodus 20:13-17) define how we must maintain a proper relationship with one another.

- Sixth, He has told us not to murder one another (v. 13), even children still in their mother’s wombs.
- Seventh, He has told us not to be sexually impure with one another (v. 14), which means no fornication, adultery, homosexuality, bestiality, etc. (Sexual relations are to be confined to marriage between a man and a woman.)
- Eighth, He has told us not to steal from one another (v. 15), even if the government does the stealing by favoring one group of businessmen over another or one group of citizens over another.
- Ninth, He has told us not to bear false witness against one another (v. 16), even against nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court.
- Tenth, He has told us not to covet one another’s circumstances, spouses, or goods (v. 17), even if we think they have been given an unfair advantage in life.

In addition, in Deuteronomy 28, our Creator has warned nations to honor him and his commandments, promising his blessings if a nation does so (verses 1-14) and his curses if a nation does not (verses 15-68).

We should ensure that every child in our communities are instructed in the above, because ignorance of them does not render him or her blameless.

Third, if individuals and nations tolerate any of the above sins, or worse, affirm them with special treatment and protection under their laws, they are doomed and will suffer the same fate that befell previous nations that engaged in evil practices: the Assyrians, Aztecs, Babylonians, pharaonic Egyptians, German Nazis, Incas, Macedonians, Ottomans, Persians, Romans, Seleucids – to name some past empires that come immediately to my mind.

Finally, I must remind my fellow Christians that God expects us to be “watchmen on the wall.” Honoring, obeying, and serving our Lord and Savior is important, but not sufficient. He has given us the responsibility of warning our neighbors of the fate that awaits the wicked. “When I say unto the wicked, ‘O wicked man, thou shalt surely die,’ if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it, if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul” (KJV Ezekiel 33:8-9).

Despite the valiant efforts of some Christians, darkness is rapidly overtaking our land. We need to be more urgent in our blowing of the watchman’s trumpet. If you are not doing so, start blowing. If you are already doing so, blow harder!

[1] I acknowledge that some Buddhists would disagree.

[2] Among humans, until recently these differences have always been a source of wonder and delight. As the French say, “Vive la difference!”

[3] Among humans, every cell in a person’s body contains 23 pairs of chromosomes, of which the last is the pair of sex chromosomes. Regarding the latter, a female’s 23^rd pair contains two X chromosomes (XX) and a male’s 23^rd pair contains one X chromosome and one Y chromosome (XY). This sex-coding is bi-polar – i.e. there are no other alternatives. Moreover, it is permanent; regardless of whatever mutilation a person’s body undergoes, his or her chromosomal information will not change.

[4] The unwavering proponents of this point of view must lack the capabilities for seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching.

[5] A nation of idiots is just what the confederation of groups flying the flag of “political correctness” is trying to achieve. Only then can the masters behind the scenes step in, seize control, and launch their new world order.

[6] I include the fifth commandment regarding the proper relationship with God in this first set because, in honoring our parents, we are honoring God, who gave them the authority over us to instruct and train us in living God-honoring and God-obeying lives.

The Jews – Their Election, Their Land, and Their Book

by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #103 posted August 26, 2019, edited March 10, 2021.

The Jews are possibly the most unpopular people on earth. Why?

Their Election

One reason the Jews are unpopular is that they claim to be God’s Chosen People. That seems to be a bit presumptuous to most Gentiles. It’s one thing for people to claim that they are special in the eyes of their own god or gods. It is quite another thing to claim that they are special in the eyes of the only God, the Creator of Universe. Yet that is what they do.

Their Land

Another reason the Jews are unpopular is that they claim ownership of a substantial portion of the Middle East that lies athwart the crossroads of the world.

Originally the land in question was settled by the Canaanites. It was promised to Abraham by God in 1894 BC. It was seized by the Jews in a campaign led by Joshua from 1424 to 1418 BC, when it was divided among the twelve tribes of Israel. It was held by them until 685 BC, when the Assyrians under Sargon II seized a portion it (the Northern Kingdom of Israel) and carried off most of the Israelites to the territories northeast of Assyria. Then, in 555 BC, the Neo-Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar seized the rest (the southern Kingdom of Judah) and carried off the Judean elite to Babylon and its surrounding region. During the next 2502 years (555 BC-1948 AD), it suffered under the heavy hands of a series of invaders, each of whom exercised hegemony over it, all the while allowing some Jews to remain there:

- Under the hegemony of the Neo-Babylonians (555-485 BC). The city and its Temple were in ruins, and the Jewish elite lived in exile in Babylon.
- Under hegemony of Persia (485-330 BC), at the beginning of which many of the Jews living in exile were allowed to return to Jerusalem.
- Under the hegemony of Macedon (330-146 BC).
- Under the hegemony of Rome (146 BC-324 AD), which included: the Maccabean Kingdom (143-37 BC) that was instituted by rebels as an independent kingdom and then was ruthlessly suppressed by Rome; the Herodian Kingdom (37 BC – 39 AD) that was instituted by Rome as a Roman satrapy and then replaced by Rome in favor of a Roman governorship; and then the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple and the banishment of the of the Jews from Judea (70 AD).
- Under the hegemony of the Byzantines (324-624 AD).
- Under the hegemony of the Arabs (624-1099 AD).
- Under the hegemony of the Crusaders (1099-1291 AD).
- Under the hegemony of the Mamluks (1291-1517 AD).
- Under the hegemony of the Ottoman Turks (1571-1917 AD).
- Under the hegemony of the British (1917-1948 AD).

On May 14, 1948, when The Proclamation of the Establishment of the State of Israel was issued by David Ben-Gurion, a portion of the land came under the sovereignty of the Jewish people. This sovereignty was extended over Jerusalem during the Six Day War (1967) and over the Golan Heights during the Yom Kippur War (1973). Since then the Jews have been under continuous attack by the surrounding nations, each of which claims a right to the land – or at least a portion of it – based on the time when they exercised hegemony over it. Consequently the Jews are continually forced to justify their possession of the land by word and by military force.

A good example of this occurred on Monday, April 29, 2019. Two days later, on Wednesday, May 1, 2019, CBNNews.com carried an article by Emily Jones under the headline: “’This is the Deed to Our Land’: Israel’s Ambassador Takes Out Bible at UN to Prove Jewish People’s Claim to Israel.” The article in its entirety reads as follows:

Israel’s UN ambassador Danny Danon used the Bible to defend the Jewish people’s claim to the land of Israel during a special session at the United Nations Security Council on Monday.

Danon was tasked with the job of proving the case for Jews’ connection to the Holy Land during the session. He outlined four reasons, “the Bible, history, international law, and the pursuit of international peace and security.”

In a dramatic moment, Danon opened the Bible and read aloud God’s covenant with Abraham from Genesis 17: “And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you throughout the generations for an everlasting covenant. And I will give to you and your descendants after you all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession and I will be their God.”

Danon then raised up the Bible, turned to attendees and said, “This is the deed to our land.”

“From the book of Genesis to the Jews’ exodus, from Egypt to receiving the Torah on Mt. Sinai, and to the realization of God’s covenant in the holy land of Israel, the Bible paints a consistent picture. The entire history of our people and our connection to Eretz Israel begins right here,” he continued while lifting up the Bible once again.

Danon argued that all of the Abrahamic religions – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – affirm the Jewish people’s connection to Israel.

“The Qur’an itself accepts the divine deed of the Jewish people to the land of Israel,” he said.

That was exactly the right way to assert Israel’s claim to the land which it occupies. He quoted from the Bible, the written Word of God, who created Universe. There is no higher authority in Universe. Yet few people took the idea of a divine deed seriously. Nonetheless, I believe that God will honor the Israelis here, for he says in KJ21 Samuel 2:30, “,,,them that honor me I will honor.”

Their Book

There is only one divine book in existence. It is the Bible. It consists of two parts: the Tenakh (or Old Testament), which was written in Hebrew by Jews, and the New Covenant Scriptures (or New Testament), which was written in Hebraic Greek by Jews.

Unfortunately, most Jews only claim the Tenakh as their own (Ambassador Danon undoubtedly help up a copy of the Tenakh at the UN) and, even worse, view the Talmud as their highest authority. Thus they miss the fact that the Jewish Messiah lies at the center of the entire Bible and is the central character in Universe’s drama. That they do so I regard as one of the genuine tragedies of history.

Moreover, few people recognize the Bible for what it is, the Word of God written. It claims to be divinely inspired and therefore completely trustworthy, yet most people pick and choose what portions of it they will believe – if any.

Psalm 2

All of the foregoing reminds me of Psalm 2, which in the NIV translation reads as follows:

Why do the nations conspire
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers gather together against the LORD
and against his Anointed One.
“Let us break their chains,” they say,”
and throw off their fetters.”

The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
the Lord scoffs at them.
Then he rebukes them in his anger
and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
“I have installed my King
on Zion, my holy hill.”

I will proclaim the decree of the LORD:
He said to me, “You are my Son;
today I have become your Father.
Ask of me,
and I will make the nations your inheritance,
the ends of the earth your possession.
You will rule them with an iron scepter;
you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”

Therefore, you kings, be wise;
be warned, you rulers of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear
and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry
and you be destroyed in your way,
for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

The psalm is speaking about God-the-Father and his Son, whom he sent into the world in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, the Promised Messiah of Israel, to be born of a virgin, live a sinless life, die on the cross to atone for the sins of the world, return to life on the third day, ascend to Heaven fifty days later, and come again in power and glory to wreak God’s vengeance on a rebellious world, create new heavens and a new earth, and rule the world from Jerusalem forever as Prophet, Priest, and King.

Conclusion

One cause of God’s wrath is the refusal of the nations of the world to recognize the Jews as God’s Chosen People and their right to the land which God gave them – i.e. the former land of Canaan in its entirety. Opinions vary. Some voices recognize the Jews’ right to part of the Promised Land. Other voices deny their right to any part of that land. Still other voices call for the elimination of the Jews from the face of the earth.

I find that very few people, among whom I include myself, recognize that the Jews are God’s Chosen People and that all of Palestine belongs to the them (see my blog posted September 26, 2016). The reason is that few people recognize that the Bible is the Word of God and therefore inviolate. It created and under-girds all of Creation. All of human inquiry and investigation must start with the question, “What does God’s Word say about this?” As for what he said about Palestine, Danon quoted him accurately.

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.

Life

by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #100 posted August 5, 2019, edited March 10, 2021.

Prelude

Most people can tell the difference between (a) dead things like rocks and (b) live things like flowers, kittens, or boys and girls. Thus, the difference between death and life is usually pretty obvious. Moreover, they know that there is a hierarchy to living things: plants are inferior to animals in complexity and abilities, and animals are inferior to humans in complexity and abilities, but just what is the quality or phenomenon which they share, which we call life. Who can explain it? I can’t, and I have not found anyone that can. It is one of the mysteries of Universe. Nonetheless, God has given us some clues concerning where to look.

This essay is divided into three sections: (1) the Kingdoms of Nature, (2) the Bible is Full of Numbers, and (3) the Source of Life.,

1 – The Kingdoms of Nature

There are four categories into which the natural world can be divided.: the three classical kingdoms (1) the Mineral Kingdom, (2) the Vegetable Kingdom, and (3) the Animal Kingdom and (4) the Human Kingdom which I separate out from the Animal Kingdom for reasons that will become evident.

1a – The Mineral Kingdom

The mineral kingdom consists of physical material – all compounds of the 118 known chemical elements. These compounds exhibit energy when in the form of the four classical elements or temperaments:
•  air, from which we obtain oxygen, in which birds can fly, but which often blows things hither and yon, often to their destruction,
•  earth, on which we can stand, from which we grow our food, but which often erodes and buries things,
•  fire, from which we derive warmth for our bodies and heat for our cooking, but which often melts and consumes things, and
• water, which we can drink, on which we can float, in which we and fish can swim, but which often drowns and destroys things.

But these elements are inert in the sense that they cannot extract energy from their environment to live, grow, and reproduce. They can only release energy when (a) they are broken down into their component parts, as in a nuclear reaction, or (b) they pass on the energy of the forces that act on them. They are dead. They are lifeless.

1b – The Vegetable Kingdom

The vegetable kingdom consists of flora (or plants). They live by absorbing (a) radiant energy from sunlight or (b) nutrients from the ground. They grow, reproduce their own kinds, and die. They are immobile in the sense that their roots are fixed in place. They are unconscious and therefore unable to sense pleasure and pain, and they are unable to communicate with one another.[1] They are what Alfred Korzybski calls the energy-binding class of life.[2]

1c – The Animal Kingdom

The animal kingdom consists of all creatures excepting humans – i.e. animals, birds, fish, insects, and creeping things. They move around; they live by foraging for nutritious plants and hunting for other creatures, both of which they eat and convert to energy. They grow, reproduce their own kinds, and die. They are conscious and therefore able to sense pleasure and pain, and they are able to communicate with one another to a limited extent. They are unable, however, to receive information from previous generations and to pass on information to subsequent generations, so they are unable to learn as a species and develop any kind of civilization over time. They are what Korzybski calls the space-binding class of life.

1d -The Human Kingdom

The human kingdom consists of only one creature – humans. Like other creatures, they move around; they live by foraging for and raising nutritious plants and hunting for and raising other creatures, both of which they eat and convert to energy. They grow, reproduce their own kind, and die. They are conscious and therefore able to sense pleasure and pain. They are able to communicate with one another to an almost unlimited extent. They are also able to receive information from previous generations and to pass information down to subsequent generations, so they are able to learn as a species and develop civilizations over time. They are what Korzybski calls the time-binding class of life. Humans are more than time-binders, however, because individually they possess a spiritual component which, when quickened by the Holy Spirit, enables a person to perceive spiritual reality – something which Korzybski and many others fail to understand.

2 – Numbers in the Bible

2a – The Numerical Values in Verbal Texts

The Bible is written almost entirely in Hebrew and Greek.[3] Both languages lack separate symbols for numerals. Thus their letters serve as building blocks for both words and numbers. Aleph & alpha = 1; beth & beta = 2; gimel & gamma = 3. daleth & delta = 4; he & epsilon = 5; etc. As a result, every Hebrew or Greek word in the Bible carries a numerical value (hereafter NV), as does every phrase, sentence, paragraph, and book in it. These NVs have been the subject of study for centuries, first by rabbis using the tools of Gematria and now by Christian pastors and laymen using the tools of Gematria, Numerics, and Theomatics.[4]

At this point I must call your attention to Bonnie Gaunt’s book, Genesis One.[5] All her books are about the numeric fingerprints that God has imbedded in his creation, which become obvious when you decipher what the Bible says with the tools of Gematria, but this one concentrates on the creation of Universe and life. I can’t recommend it too highly.

Before proceeding, I need to mention two things:
• First, the definition of a prime number is a number which has only one and itself as divisors.
• Second, according to Gaunt, in Gematria the meaning of an NV is unchanged by the introduction or removal of zeros.

2b – The Numbers 3 and 7

In my mention of Ontological Orders above, I referred to the primordial realm, which the Ancients called materia prima and which I define elsewhere as “…a world of something, but the something is undifferentiated – i.e. without forms and substances.”[6] Its Hebrew equivalent is golem, which means “unformed matter.” Golem has a NV of 73. It is a prime number and is composed of two other prime numbers – i.e. 3 and 7, which turn out to be unusual.

First, all nine digits in mathematics can be expressed in terms of these two numbers: 1 = 7 – (3+3), 2 = 3² – 7, 3 = 3, 4 = 7 – 3, 5 = 7 + 7 – 3², 6 = 3+3, 7 = 7, 8 = (7+7) – (3+3), and 9 = 3².[7]

Second, Gaunt points out that all the Hebrew names for the fundamental ingredients of Universe – contain these numbers. Consider Einstein’s equation e = mc²”, where “e” = energy, “m” = mass, and “c” = “the speed of light through space.” [8] In this form, it is the formula for the destruction of matter, in the process of which a small amount of matter is converted into an enormous amount of energy, as in a nuclear explosion.[9] Now consider Einstein’s equation in another form, e/c² = m. In this form, it is the formula for the creation of matter, in the process of which an enormous amount of energy is converted into a small amount of matter.

Now let’s look at this formula using Gematria. E = energy, the equivalent of which is “power” (or “might,” which I prefer and use hereafter). The Hebrew words for “might” are (a) ool, the NV of which is 37, (b) mashal, the NV of which is 370 or 37, and (c) echen, the NV of which is 37, and thus, 37 can be substituted for “e” in the equations. C² = the speed of light through space, the equivalent of which is light itself. The Hebrew words for “light” (a) are owr, the NV of which is 207 or 27, and (b) nare, the NV of which is 270 or 27, and thus 27 can be substituted for “c²” in the equation. Thus, using the altered form of Einstein’s equation, “(ool, mashal, echen, or might) ÷ (owr, nare, or light) = matter” or “37 ÷ 27 = 1.37037037… ad infinitum,” which, if multiplied by 100, equals “137.037,037,037 ad infinitum.”

2c – The Mysterious 137

137.037037037 ad infinitum turns out to be a very interesting number. First, most people who have studied and written about numbers in the Bible agree that “1” represents God, “3” represents the Godhead or Trinity, and “7” represents spiritual perfection. All are present in the number 137. Second, Gaunt points out that it is a very close approximation of 137.0359997, which is the fine-structure constant in physics and denoted by alpha in mathematical equations. A website dedicated to the physicist Richard Feynman contains an article entitled The Mysterious 137, which notes the following about Feynman’s interest in it:

Richard Feynman…believed that there were still many things that experts, or in this case, physicists, did not know. One of these ‘unknowns’ that he pointed out often to all of his colleagues was the mysterious number 137. This number is the value of the fine-structure constant (the actual value is one over one-hundred and thirty seven), which is defined as the charge of the electron (q) squared over the product of Planck’s constant (h) times the speed of light (c). This number actually represents the probability that an electron will absorb a photon. However, this number has more significance in the fact that it relates three very important domains of physics: electromagnetism in the form of the charge of the electron, relativity in the form of the speed of light, and quantum mechanics in the form of Planck’s constant. Since the early 1900’s, physicists have thought that this number might be at the heart of a GUT, or Grand Unified Theory, which could relate the theories of electromagnetism, quantum mechanics, and most especially gravity. However, physicists have yet to find any link between the number 137 and any other physical law in the universe.[10]

The above comment was followed by a quote from one of Feynman’s books substantiating his anticipation of the general connection between the quantum coupling constant and “p.”

There is a most profound and beautiful question associated with the observed coupling constant, e, the amplitude for a real electron to emit or absorb a real photon. It is a simple number that has been experimentally determined to be close to -0.08542455. (My physicist friends won’t recognize this number, because they like to remember it as the inverse of its square: about 137.03597 with about an uncertainty of about 2 in the last decimal place. It has been a mystery ever since it was discovered more than fifty years ago, and all good theoretical physicists put this number up on their wall and worry about it.) Immediately you would like to know where this number for a coupling comes from: is it related to p or perhaps to the base of natural logarithms? Nobody knows. It’s one of the greatest damn mysteries of physics: a magic number that comes to us with no understanding by man. You might say the “hand of God” wrote that number, and “we don’t know how He pushed his pencil.” We know what kind of a dance to do experimentally to measure this number very accurately, but we don’t know what kind of dance to do on the computer to make this number come out, without putting it in secretly!

To summarize what is important in all of the above:
• In Hebrew, the NV of “light” 27 = 3 x 3 x 3.
• In Hebrew, the NV of “might” is 37.
• In Hebrew, the NV of “unformed matter” is 73.
• In Hebrew, the NV of “matter” is (the NV of might = 37) divided by (the NV of light = 27), which equals 1.37.037037037…ad infinitum and, if multiplied by 100, equals a very, very, very close approximation of 137.
• In Hebrew, (the NV of “light” = 27) + (the NV of “might” = 37) + (the NV of “unformed matter” = 73) = (the NV of “matter” = 137) – i.e. the Creator used his light and his might to compress “unformed matter” into matter, which he then used to construct Universe.
• In Hebrew, the NV of “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” is 2,701 = 37 x 73.

In addition to the above, it is worth mentioning that
• In Hebrew (Daniel 4:2), the NV of “God” is 37.
• In Hebrew (Genesis 3:9), the NV of “Jehovah God” is 111 = 3 x 37.
• In Greek, the NV of “God” is 555 = 5 x (111 = 3 x 37).
• In Greek, the NV of “Jesus” is 888 = 8 x (111 = 3 x 37).
• In Greek (Revelation 15:3), the NV of “Lord God” is 888 = 8 x (111 = 3 x 37).
• In Greek (John 1:41), the NV of “the Messiah” is 925 = 25 x (111 = 3 x 37).
• In Greek, the NV of “Christ” is 962 = 26 x 37.
• In Greek (Colossians 2:9), the NV of “Godhead” 962 = 26 x 37.
• In Greek, the NV of “Lord” is 999 = 9 x (111 = 3 x 37).
• In Greek (2 Corinthians 4:4), the NV of “Image of God” is 1,369 = 37 x 37.
• In Greek (Acts 5:40), the NV of “Name of Jesus” is 1,998 = 18 x (111 = 3 x 37).
• In Greek (1 Peter 4:14), the NV of “Name of Christ” is 2,220 = 20 x (111 = 3 x 37).
• In Greek (1 Corinthians 5:4), the NV of “Name of the Lord Jesus” is 3,330 = 30 x (111 = 3 x 37).
• In Greek (Colossians 3:24), the NV of “The Lord Christ” is 40 x (111 = 3 x 37).
• In Greek (1 Timothy 6:15), the NV of “King of kings and Lord of Lords” is 8,103 = 37 x 111.

3 – The Source of Life

At this point, let’s ask the question, where in humans, animals, and plants does life lie?

3a – What the Bible Says

Let’s start with what the Bible says. The Bible states that “…the life of the flesh is in the blood…” (KJV Leviticus 17:10-11). Clearly, by “flesh,” the Bible is referring to all members of the Human Kingdom and most members of the Animal Kingdom – i.e. mammalian animals, birds, fishes, reptiles, and amphibious creeping things – all of which possess blood-circulatory systems.

Blood chemistry is very complicated, and what I know about it merely scratches its surface. Blood consists of four main components:
• red cells, which transport oxygen from the lungs or gills, where it was extracted from the air or water, to all body-tissues, where it is converted into carbon-dioxide, and then carries carbon-dioxide from the body-tissues to the lungs or gills, where it is discharged into the air or water;
• white cells, which protect the body from infection and get rid of dead blood cells;
• platelets, which clot blood at the site of a cut to prevent excess blood-loss; and
• plasma, which carries red cells, white cells, platelets, and nutrients throughout the body via the blood-circulatory system.

3b – Hematin & Chlorophyll

Red blood cells contain hematin, which seems to regulate the ability of the plasma to carry oxygen (a) by stimulating the synthesis of globin and (b) by inhibiting the synthesis of porphyrin (I hope I’ve got that right). At any rate, what interests me most about hematin is (a) its presence in the blood and (b) its molecular structure. Here is a diagram of the hematin molecule:

Hematin Molecule ^[11]

As you can see, the hematin molecule possesses 6 rings, 12 branches, and a total of 137 atoms, at the center of which is an iron atom.

What about plants? Well, the life of plants depends on photosynthesis, which is the process that plants use to convert radiant energy from the sun into chemical energy. Photosynthesis depends on a substance in the plants’ leaves called “chlorophyll.” Here is a diagram of the chlorophyll molecule:

Chlorophyll Molecule ^[12]

As you can see, the chlorophyll molecule possesses 6 rings, 12 branches, and a total of 137 atoms, at the center of which is a magnesium atom. You will immediately notice that the hematin and chlorophyll molecules are nearly identical. The only difference between them lies in the atoms at their center.

The amazing, structural similarity between the hematin and chlorophyll molecules has led some scientists to refer to chlorophyll as “the blood of plants.” For my purposes here, however, their structural similarity is less important than what they share from the point of view of gematria. You have undoubtedly noticed already that they share the number 137, which is both Richard Feynman’s mysterious number and gematria’s numerical value for God’s might 37 divided by God’s light 27 multiplied by 100. Moreover, there is more.

Gaunt gives us a brief sampling of the appearance of 137 in scripture:
• 137 = “the God of Truth” in (Hebrew (Isaiah 65:16).
• 137 = “the God of gods” in Hebrew (Psalm 136:2).
• 1,370 = “Be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create” in Hebrew (Isaiah 65:18).^[13]

Perfect numbers are unusual in that they are the sum of their positive divisors, excluding themselves. For example, the first perfect number is 6, which is the sum of its positive divisors: 1, 2, and 3 (6 is excluded). The second perfect number is 28, which is the sum of its positive divisors: 1, 2, 4, 7, and 14 (28 is excluded). The third perfect number is 496, which is the sum of its positive divisors: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 31, 62, 124, and 248, (496 is excluded). Perfect numbers are very rare, as you can see from the next two in the series: 33,550,336 and 8,589,869,056.

Gaunt points out that the number of protons in hematin is 496, which is the third perfect number, and she gives us a brief sampling of the appearance of 496 in the scriptures:
• 496 = “perfect” in Hebrew.
• 496 = “the blood is the life” in Hebrew (Deuteronomy 12:23).^[14]

3c – God and His Creation

Gaunt then focuses on the name of God, Yahweh, which in Hebrew is spelled – right to left – yod, he, zayin, and he, the numerical values of which are 10, 5, 6, and 5 respectively.

The sum of 5, 6, 5, and 10 is 26, which is one of the numbers for God. Also, it is at the center of the hematin molecule – just so we don’t forget who created us!

The product of 5, 6, 5, and 10 is 1,500, which is the NV for both might and light in Greek.

Moreover, the sum of the squares of 5, 6, 5, and 10 equals 5² + 6² +5² + 10² = 25 + 36 + 25 + 100 = 186. If we add three zeros, we get 186,000, which is a close approximation of the speed of light in miles per second.

Plus, the first verse of the Bible is, “In the beginning, God created the earth and the heavens” (KJV Genesis 1:1). The NV of this verse in Hebrew is 2701, which equals 37 (God,s might) x 73 (unformed matter).

Lastly, put all of these concepts and numbers together: 27 (God’s light) + 37 (God’s might) + 73 (unformed matter) = 137 (matter) = 137 (God’s truth).

3d – A Curious Signal

Here I will interject a note concerning a curious phenomenon. Scientists have discovered that, at the moment of conception, when a sperm enters an egg, the calcium level inside the egg rises, causing the egg to emit a “zinc spark.” Wanting to observe this phenomenon, scientists put an egg in a solution containing a fluorescent tag (FluoZin). When they simulated the process of conception, at the instant of penetration by the sperm, the egg emitted a zinc particle, and the tag (a fluorphore) bonded to it. By illuminating the solution with light of one color, the tag emitted light of another color, which they could see with the help of a microscope.[15]

Initially several Christian publications reported that scientists had discovered that a flash of light is emitted by the egg at the instant of fertilization. That is not an accurate description of what happens. Nonetheless, something unusual does happen, which may be related in some way to the Holy Spirit’s contribution to life’s beginning.

3e – The Giver of Life

Even though we know that hematin and chlorophyll (a) are necessary ingredients in the chemistry of life and (b) bear God’s fingerprints all over them, we must understand that life ultimately requires the action of God himself, for the Bible tells us that “It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing…” (KJ21 John 6:63) and “…the Spirit giveth life…” (KJ21 2 Corinthians 3:6), a doctrine which, since 325 AD, has been enshrined in the Nicene Creed, where the Holy Spirit is identified as “…the Lord, the Giver of Life” (line 26).

[1] Two men who disagree with that assessment were Peter Thompkins and Christopher Bird, who wrote The Secret Life of Plants, Harper & Row, New York, 1973.

[2] See Alfred Korzybski’s Manhood of Humanity (1921, reprint 1950), International Non-Aristotelian Library Publishing Company, Lakeville CT. Korzybski divides life (the organic world) into three categories: (1) the energy-binding class of life, which consists of plants, (2) the space-binding class of life, which consists of animals, birds, fish, insects and other non-human creatures, and (3) the time-binding class of life, which contains only humans.

[3] Some passages were written in Aramaic – mostly in Daniel and Ezra. Since this section is mostly concerned with Genesis and Psalms in the OT and John in the NT. I will not spend time on this subject here.

[4] Any partial list of the latter should include Peter Bluer, E.W. Bullinger, John J. Davis, Bonnie Gaunt (Gematria), F.W. Grant, James Harrison, Robert D. Johnson, Don Kistler, Michael Leonard, Max Luna, Ivan Panin (Numerics), Ed F. Vallowe, and Del Washburn (Theomatics).

[5] Gaunt, Bonnie, Genesis One – 888 The Sacred Code of Creation 999, Adventures Unlimited Press, Kempton IL, 2003.

[6] See both Chapter 6 – The Cosmology of the Bible and Appendix 6B – Smith’s Ontological Orders in my book, A Biblical View of Nearly Everything – through the eyes of a curious architect.

[7] Gaunt, op. cit., page 14.

[8] Physicists have determined the speed of light through space to be 186,282 miles per second.

[9] A particle physicist, Adam Jacholkowski, once determined that 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 this process running in reverse and the amount of energy which God used to compress primordial or unformed matter into all the atoms in Universe.

[10] See http://www.feynman.com/science/the-mysterious-137/, which I accessed on July 6, 2019.

[11] Gaunt, Bonnie, op. cit., p. 17.

[12] Grant, Bonnie, op. cit., p. 16.

[13] Grant, Bonnie, op. cit., p. 18.

[14] Grant, Bonnie, op. cit., p. 19.

[15] I found this information in an article by Stacy Trasancos entitled Contrary to Reports, There is No Flash of Light at Conception – see: file:///F:/Documents/RES%202-OTHER/PROSE/Science%20-%20Conception/2016-05-23%20Contrary%20to%20Reports,%20There%20is%20No%20Flash%20of %20Light%20at%20Conception%20by%20Stacey%20Trasancos.pdf

The ultimate irony

by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #099 posted July 29, 2019, edited March 10, 2021.

During the Cold War, the USA’s leaders were still under the influence of Christianity to the point where Congress passed and President Eisenhower approved on July 30, 1956 a joint resolution to inscribe “In God We Trust” on the nation’s currency. At the same time, they were roundly condemning the Soviet Union’s leaders for (a) imposing atheism on the land it controlled, (b) abusing other nations, and (c) seeking to dominate the world. Now, the USA’s leaders are under the influence of Godless Secularism and are (a) imposing atheism on the land it controls, (b) abusing other nations and (c) seeking to dominate the world, and they are condemning Russia for showing signs of being God-fearing and motivated by Christian rather than secular values in their international relations and behavior.

A – Christianity role in each nation’s founding and formation

Both Russia and the USA were formed by Christianity, but in quite different ways.

A1 – Christianity in Russia

Russia was pagan until the 9^th century AD, when Greek missionaries from Byzantium introduced Christianity into Kievan Rus. In the 10^th century, Olga of Kiev visited Constantinople, where she was baptized. Although the rulers who followed her remained pagans, Tsar Vladimir the Great decided in the late 10^th century that Russia needed a national religion that could bring with it unity, civility, and morals that fortified the realm and the family. He received representatives of several religions in Kiev and then sent out envoys to study lands that lived under Greek Orthodoxy, Islam, Judaism, and Roman Orthodoxy. After listening to their reports, Vladimir settled on Greek Orthodoxy, was baptized himself, and then insisted that residents in the urban cities of his empire undergo mass baptism. Thus began what became the Russian Orthodox Church.

For the next ten centuries, Russian Orthodoxy served as the national religion. It populated the land with beautifully designed cathedrals, churches, monasteries for both monks and nuns, and sacred shrines, all of which were furnished with beautiful iconography, illuminated manuscripts, bejeweled golden cups, saucers, plates, and crucifixes, and intricately carved wooden furniture and reredoses. Here, priests robed in finery and surrounded by clouds of incense conducted the rituals that sanctified the special events of family, communal, and national life, such as baptisms, marriages, burials, investitures of public officials, and coronations of the tsars.

Then in the early 20^th century, Lenin and his Bolsheviks seized control of the country and, following the dictates of Marx, did their best to extinguish Christianity throughout Russia and replace it with atheism. Believers were stigmatized, persecuted, and exterminated, churches were converted to other uses or destroyed, and church contents, such as historic icons, manuscripts, and religious artifacts and furnishings were moved into museums or warehouses. Upon Lenin’s death and Stalin’s rise to power, the war on Christianity continued and produced the greatest atrocities in history thus far. It is estimated that Stalin was responsible for starving twenty million Christians to death in the Ukraine alone.

Russian Christianity survived, however, and, during the era of Mikhail Gorbachev’s policies of perestroika (political and economic reform) and glasnost (openness) c.1986-1991, began a slow revival. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, religious freedom returned to the country, and Russian nationalists identified the Russian Orthodox Church as a major element of Russian culture. Churches were renovated, and their former contents that had survived were returned to their original locations. Moreover, although Russian Orthodoxy remained predominate, it was joined by Roman Catholicism and several strains of Protestantism.

Since his inauguration as Russian president in 2000, Vladimir Putin has often attended church services and exhibited a positive disposition toward Christianity’s revival throughout the country. It is difficult to assess the depth of his personal faith, but he has clearly indicated that a faith in God and an observance of Christian morals is important to the health and strength of mother Russia.

A2 – Christianity in the USA

Christianity arrived in Northern America from many European sources, the most important of which were the following: the Spanish explorers under Christopher Columbus in the late 15^th century; the Spanish conquistadors and settlers in Florida and southern California in the early 17^th century; the British colonists in Virginia and the Pilgrims and Puritans in Massachusetts also in the early 17^th century; and the French colonists (a) along the waterways from the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in the east to Lake Superior in the west and (b) along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico in the late 17^th century. Because these Europeans were always advancing into uncultivated grasslands and virgin forests, often occupied by either dangerous animals or hostile Indians or both, the churches which they built tended to be austere, lacking in either impressive architecture or sumptuous furnishings. Services were conducted by itinerant preachers or by local pastors or laymen and consisted mostly of hymn-singing, corporate prayer, and Bible-study.

Due to the many Christian sects that existed in America at the time, the founders of the USA in the late 18^th century inserted in the Constitution a clause that forbade the federal government from interfering in religion in any way.[1] It is important to note, however, that this clause was not intended to separate Church and State, as so many secularists maintain today, but only to prevent the federal government from adopting one of the Christian sects as the national religion and forcing the states and individuals to observe it; the states and individuals were left free to adopt the sects which they preferred. Unfortunately the multiplication of Christian sects of every kind eventually led to the acceptance of every kind of religion, including atheism, which denies that God exists and argues that man himself is sovereign over the world.

A3 – Differences between Russian and American Christianity.

Paul Grenier, an essayist and founder of the Simone Weil Center for Political Philosophy, has written two articles for The American Conservative (TAC) that I find germane to the issue that I am discussing.

Grenier wrote an article for TAC’s January/February 2017 issue entitled, “The Legitimate Differences,” in which he points out that Russia and the United States have focused on very different aspects of Christianity. “American Protestantism embraces individualism and is open to change; in many ways it has hitched its cart to the modernization project.[2] Russian Orthodox Christianity uses virtually the same liturgy today as it has for hundreds of years…. Russian spirituality is oriented to what is timeless and to beauty. American spirituality is oriented to the future and to rights.”

Although Grenier’s observations on the differences between Russian and American “spirituality” are apt to a point, I would express them differently. From the beginning, Russian leaders were interested in the ability of a national religion – specifically Russian Orthodoxy – to infuse the national culture with spirituality and uniformity.[3] Also from the beginning, American leaders were wary of a national religion because so many of them had experienced at first hand the abuses of a national religion under the heavy hand of monarchs like King Henry the Eighth of England. Thus, they emphasized Christianity’s salvific and transforming effects on the individual, partly because of the centrality of Christ’s Gospel to Christianity, but also partly, I think, because of the founders’ exclusion of the federal government from the religious realm.[4] As a result, it seems to me that, broadly speaking, Russian Christianity emphasizes the relationship between God and the community, and American Christianity emphasizes the relationship between God and the individual.

A4 – Religious developments in the 20^th century

While the Russian atheists were trying to eradicate Christianity with the sword during the communist era (1917-1991), American atheists were infiltrating the critical institutions of American society (foundations, media outlets, political parties, private schools and universities, and state public schools with the intention of seizing control of them and using them to unseat Christianity from its prominent and preferential place in American life. The two campaigns have had opposite effects.

The campaign in Russia failed, and since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Christianity has experienced a revival in the land.

The campaign in the USA, which is still on-going, has experienced remarkable success, to the point that (a) Secular Humanism has replaced Christianity as the preferred religion, and (b) Secular Humanists feel free to despise, disparage, and dismiss Christianity and Christians at every opportunity. Moreover, if what has transpired in history is any indication, their destruction may be just around the corner. That success has come at a terrible price, however, as the culture which Secular Humanism has produced is decadent and disgusting in the extreme,[5] as well as increasingly unable to make common sense distinctions between good and evil, male and female, truth and falsehood, historic facts and fables, science and scientism, etc.

B – The impact of the above on foreign relations

B1 – Current Russian and American approaches to foreign affairs

Grenier wrote another article for TAC’s January/February 2018 issue entitled “A Conference in Moscow,” in which he describes a symposium that he attended in Moscow. Its purpose was to discuss and possibly identify the root causes underlying the current hostility between Russian and the USA. Its attendees were highly intelligent and well informed men of some distinction. Thus, it provides me with an excellent example with which to make my point.

Apparently one of the conferences attendees, Paul Robinson, Professor of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa, set the framework for the discussion as follows. He drew a sharp distinction between the expectations with which the two nations approach formulating foreign policy. I will characterize the distinction as follows:

• Russia proceeds on the basis that there should be one set rules that govern its interactions with all other nations and that the objective of its diplomacy should be agreement between it and other nations concerning what those rules should be.

• The USA, on the other hand, proceeds on the basis that there should be two sets of rules and that, because it is preeminent in world affairs, it has the right – and the duty – to establish what they should be and to whom they should apply. The first applies to nations that exhibit the proper degree of subservience to the USA and at least some willingness to amend their stance on individual human rights in order to conform to the USA’s views on the subject. They will be treated as valuable – although junior – partners to whom civility and even friendship are owed. The second applies to nations that refuse to exhibit the proper degree of subservience to the USA and put the needs of their communities above the rights of their individual citizens. Such nations, I would add, can be treated as implacable enemies to whom incivility and even hostility can be shown. Even worse, they may be isolated, undermined, attacked, and even destroyed without significant moral pangs.

B2 – The irony in the current situation

As the title of this essay states, the ultimate irony in this situation is that, to a great extent, Russian and the USA have switched places. The USA is now doing everything that we condemned Russia for doing in the 1950s.

B3 – What each nation can expect

When I compare the Russian and American approaches to foreign policy, two things strike me.

• Neither nation’s leaders are considering that God’s sole criterion for blessing or cursing a nation is whether or not it is honoring God and his commandments (see my blog of July 22, 2019). They share the erroneous assumption that a nation’s treatment of God has nothing to do with its peace and prosperity. Thus, to use a naval metaphor, I will state categorically that they are polishing the brass on their respective ships of state while those ships are steaming full speed ahead into harm’s way.

• The USA is worse off than the Russians. If Professor Robinson’s descriptions are accurate, Russia’s approach to foreign affairs is somewhat reasonable, equitable, and peaceable, whereas the USA’s approach, is definitely arrogant, self-serving, and belligerent. I still cringe whenever I think of Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s reference in 1998 to the USA as the world’s “indispensable nation.” Since then I imagine that many other nations have become tired of Americans constantly preaching to them, meddling in their internal affairs, and even coercing them with economic and military sanctions. I wouldn’t blame them if they now regard the USA as the world’s “dispensable nation.”

Americans, particularly Americans in leadership positions, need to remember the warning in KJV Proverbs 16:18 – “Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall….” We had better wake up soon or we will suddenly find our country in shambles. In fact, in many respects we are already there. Read the passages in Deuteronomy 28 concerning God’s curses on a nation that dishonors and disobeys him (verses 15-68) and then just look around you.

[1] Few Americans today have studied the Constitution and realize that it has one objective – limiting the powers of the federal government so that it cannot curtail the freedoms or frustrate the wills of the states and individual citizens in any way. Unfortunately, under the influence of presidents like Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson and Supreme Court justices like Earl Warren, most of what goes on in Washington today is unconstitutional. The city is filled with people who think they know better than the American people themselves how the affairs of the nation should be conducted – to say nothing of their desire and determination to become rich and powerful at the taxpayers’ expense.

[2] Indeed. The desire to appear au courant and comfortably aligned with modern science and scholarship has caused many clergymen to doubt first the Bible’s inerrancy and then the Bible’s authority, at which point they have left the narrow and difficult path that leads to life and moved over to the wide and easy path that leads to destruction (see Matthew 7:13-14). Worse, the majority of their congregants have followed after them, and much of what is still called “American Christianity” is now apostate.

[3] The individual’s need for Christ’s atonement for his or her sin took back seat.

[4] What American Christianity stressed was the Christian Gospel.

[5] I include in this indictment all forms of artistic expression, such as architecture, cinema, dance, designer-dress, drama, literature, music, painting, photography, sculpture, etc., as well as every day language in both public and private settings.

The only way a nation can enjoy peace and prosperity

by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #098 posted July 22, 2019, edited March 10, 2021.

A nation’s peace and prosperity depends on whether or not it honors God and obeys his commandments – not on any other factors, such as its internal polity and productivity or its external diplomacy and trade.

1 – God’s rules for individuals

In Genesis 1-2, God makes it very clear that he defines what is good and what is evil – not humans. Later in Exodus, he inscribes his rules for individuals (Exodus 20:1-17) on two stone tablets with his finger, and then he gives the tablets to Moses (Exodus 31:18). The rules or commandments can be divided into two groups, probably one group to each tablet:

• Commandments 1-5 govern the manner in which he expects us to relate to him: (1) we must honor and obey God; (2) we must not fabricate and worship idols; (3) we must not blaspheme or use profanities and obscenities; (4) we must observe the Sabbath, ideally congregating with others to praise him, pray to him, and attend to his Word, the Holy Scriptures; and (5) we must honor our parents because he chose them to conceive us and to exercise his authority over us as they raise us.

• Commandments 6-10 indicates the manner in which he expects us to relate to one another: (6) we must not murder one another; (7) we must not commit adultery or otherwise be sexually impure; (8) we must not steal from one another; (9) we must not bear false witness against one another; and (10) we must not covet one another’s spouse or possessions.

Humans may make the rules for chess, Parcheesi, or the Olympic Games, but we cannot change the rules that govern our treatment of God and one another.

2 – Christ’s Gospel

Our problem is that none of us can keep the above ten commandments, which explains the need for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which consists of

• The bad news that all of us are sinners and in need of an atonement for our sins which satisfies God, because the best of our intentions and good works are not sufficient to do so, and

• The good news that God will accept his Son’s death on the cross in 33 AD as sufficient atonement for our sins if we accept his Son as our Savior and Lord. Only by accepting Jesus of Nazareth, the Jewish Messiah, as our Lord and Savior can we receive the awakening of our spirits by the Holy Spirit and enjoy a righteous and eternal relationship with God.

Three points regarding the above are worth stressing:

• We have only two choices. God intends to resurrect all of us on the Last Day to either (a) an eternity in heaven with God or (b) an eternity in hell without God. There are no other alternatives.

• We cannot just act like Christians – i.e. by merely attending church, participating in its rites and rituals, and supporting it with our time, talents, and treasure.[1] We must individually undergo a change of heart, which involves (a) ruing, confessing, and repenting[2] of our sins to God and to one another when appropriate, and (b) openly acknowledging God’s sovereignty over our bodies, minds and spirits for the rest of our lives.

…if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, “Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed.” For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich unto all who call upon Him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (KJ21 Romans 10:9-13)

Obvious signs of our having done so are (a) acknowledging and turning away from our previous, sinful behavior, (b) showing concern and love for others, particularly for fellow saints,[3] and (c) demonstrating love and reverence for God’s Word, the Bible.

• All of the foregoing is based on God’s promises in the Holy Scriptures, which we can trust completely because “…Scripture cannot be broken” (KJ21 John 10:35).

3 – God’s rule for nations

Now there is a startling difference between God’s rules for individuals and God’s rules for nations. He has set down ten rules for individuals, but only one rule for nations in the form of a choice between two alternatives.[4] To Israel, he said in Deuteronomy 28 – and I paraphrase – ‘If you honor me and obey my commandments, I will bless you in every respect – such as when your are coming in and when you are going out. If you dishonor me and disobey my commandments, however, I will curse you in every respect – such as when your are coming in and when you are going out.’ In other words, Israel’s well-being, both internally and externally, depends on nothing other than its treatment of God and his commandments. Since God intended that Israel be an example to the Gentile nations, his policy toward Israel applies to them as well.

4 – How should a nation honor God?

How should a nation honor God and his commandments? First, its laws should conform to his laws, prohibiting what his laws prohibit and permitting what his laws permit. Second, each public event should start with a prayer, (a) praising him for his greatness, goodness, and mercy, (b) thanking him for his past and present blessings, (c) confessing the nation’s transgressions against his laws, as and when appropriate, as well as asking for his help in avoiding such transgressions in the future, and (d) invoking his blessings on the purposes of the event about to begin.[5]

Since the early first century AD, there has been some divine clarification in what it means to honor God, which has to do with the identity of the Lord. When, just before the beginning of His ministry in 30 AD, John the Baptist baptized Jesus, a voice from heaven spoke, saying “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (KJ21 Matthew 3:16; see also Mark 1:11, and Luke 3:21). Then, during His ministry, Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me” (KJ21 John 14:6). Later in His ministry, when Jesus was transfigured on the mountain top, a voice out of the clouds said, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye Him!” (KJ21 Matthew 17:5; see also Mark 9:2, Luke 9:28, John 35:37, and 2 Peter 1:17). Finally, after Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension, Paul wrote of Him:

And being found in the fashion of a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death – even the death on the cross. Therefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in Heaven, and things in earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (KJV Phil 2:8-11 ).

Clearly, God-the-Father has indicated that honoring God and obeying his commandment means honoring and obeying Jesus, who is God-the-Son, Israel’s Messiah, Israel’s Prophet, Priest, and King, and the world’s “…blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Timothy 6:15).

* * *

Most nation’s operate on the assumption that a nation’s treatment of God has nothing to do with its peace and prosperity. Their leaders focus their attention and efforts on the following aspects of their nation’s life:

• Its relations with other nations,

• Its currency, both its issuance and its protection from counterfeiting and devaluation,

• Its defense against aggression by its neighbors, and, all too often, a bigger nation’s assault on its smaller neighbors,

• Its administration of justice by its courts,

• Its management of its commons (publicly owned land),

• Its ability to feed itself,

• Its commerce, both among its citizens and with other nations,

• Its labor force, both its fair treatment and its health,

• Its built-up areas, particularly the planning and management of its dense urban areas and its publicly owned housing,

• Its transportation systems, such as airports, bridges, canals, highways, railways, rivers, and tunnels,

• Its energy supplies,

• Its medical and retirement provisions for its citizens,

• Its education of its children,

• Its care of its veterans,

• Its safety from illegal immigrants and malevolent terrorists, etc.

All these aspects of a nation’s life[6] are important to a nation’s peace and prosperity, but how well the nation’s citizens attend to them is not the controlling factor in their outcome. God is the controlling factor. He blesses or curses their outcome based on whether or not the nation honors him and his commandments. Thus, nations ignore God at their peril. As the Bible warns us, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (KJ21 Hebrews 10:31).

Indeed, to use a naval metaphor, most nations’ leaders are doing nothing more than polishing the brass on their respective ships of state while those ships are steaming full speed ahead into harm’s way.

[1] G.K. Chesterton is credited with observing that “Going to church no more makes you a Christian than standing in a garage makes you a car.”

[2] Turning away from….

[3] The biblical definition of a saint is a sinner who acknowledges Jesus as his or her Savior and Lord – not someone whom any church has canonized.

[4] Probably because individuals will be judged finally in eternity (or outside Universe), whereas nations are judged in time (or inside Universe).

[5] All of the foregoing were commonplace in the USA prior to the 1960s.

[6] I have enumerated the foregoing at some length because I want to stress the difference between what most man and women regard as important and what God regards as import.

Early Historic Era’s Parts & Ages

by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #087 posted March 25, 2019, edited March 10, 2021.

The 2A – EARLY HISTORIC ERA (665-2 BC)

It (a) began with the 2^nd Hezekiah Disturbance, (b) lasted 663 years (665-2 BC), and (c) ended with the Birth of Messiah. It is divided into four parts.

The 2A-1 – THE OCCIDENT IN THE EARLY HISTORIC ERA

The 2A-2 – THE MIDDLE EAST IN THE EARLY HISTORIC ERA – This part is concerned with the area from the Mediterranean to the Indus Valley, which can be divided into four ages, each of which takes its name from the nation which dominated it. I have divided it into four ages based on Daniel’s prophecy concerning the four kingdoms that will arise in it, each represented by a separate beast: (a) a lion with an eagle’s wings, (b) a bear with three ribs in its teeth, (c) a leopard with four heads and four wings, and (d) a beast with iron teeth and ten horns.

The 2A-2A – Neo-Babylonian Age (665-487 BC), which Daniel characterized as the reign of the lion with an eagle’s wings.^[1] It began with the 2^nd Hezekiah Disturbance, (b) lasted 178 years, and (c) ended with the Fall of Babylon to the Persian King Darius 1. The Middle East during this period saw (a) the wane of the Assyrian Empire under Assurbanipal, son of Essarhadon, (b) the rise of the Neo-Babylonian^[2] or so-called Hittite^[3] Empire under Shamash-shum-ukin, another son of Essarhadon, (c) the rule of its greatest king Nebuchadnezzar II = Hattusilis, and (d) its decline of under Nebuchadnezzar’s descendants.

The 2A-2B – Medo-Persian Age (487-330 BC), which Daniel characterized as the reign of the bear with three ribs in its teeth.^[4] It (a) began the Fall of Babylon to Darius I,^[5] (b) lasted 187 years (487-330 BC), and (c) ended with the Fall of Persia, when Darius III was defeated by the Macedonian King Alexander the Great. in 330 BC.^[6]

The 2A-2C – Macedonian Age (330-146 BC), which Daniel characterized as the reign of the leopard with four heads and four wings.^[7] It (a) began with the Fall of Persia, (b) lasted 184 years (330-147 BC), during which occurred (i) the conquests of Alexander (330-323 BC), (ii) the Wars of the Diadochi^[8] (322-315 BC), and (iii) the founding of four great kingdoms: the Kingdom of Greece, the Kingdom of Thrace & Asia Minor, the Kingdom of the Seleucids, and the Ptolemaic Dynasty of Egypt. and (c) ended with the Fall of Macedon (146 BC), when (i) the Macedonian pretender Andriscus and the Greek general Christolaus were defeated by the Roman praetor Q.C. Metellus Macedonicus and (ii) the Corinthian general Diaeus was defeated by the Roman consul Lucius Mummius Archaicus – an event which marked the end of Greek and Macedonian independence.

The 2A-2D – Roman Age BC (146-2 BC), which Daniel characterized as the reign of the fourth beast with iron teeth and ten horns, in the midst of which grew another little horn with human eyes and a boastful mouth.^[9] It began (a) with the Fall of Macedon (146 BC), (b) lasted 626 years (146 BC–476 AD), the first 144 years (146-2 BC) of which fell in this period, and (c) ended with the Birth of Messiah (2 BC).

The 2A-3 – THE ORIENT IN THE EARLY HISTORIC ERA

The 2A-4 – THE SACRED IN THE EARLY HISTORIC ERA

The 2A-4A – Kingdom of Judah’s Final Years (665-555 BC) – It (a) began with the 2^nd Hezekiah Disturbance (665 BC), (b) lasted 110 years (665-555 BC), and (c) ended with the Fall of Jerusalem (555 BC) to the Neo-Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar.

The 2A-4B – Babylonian Exile (555-485 BC) – It (a) began with the Fall of Jerusalem, (b) lasted 70 years (555-485 BC), and (c) ended with the Proclamation of Cyrus (485 BC).

The 2A-4C – Daniel’s 69 Weeks of Years (485-2 BC) – It (a) began with the Proclamation of Cyrus, (b) lasted 483 years (485-2 BC), and (c) ended with the Birth of Messiah (2 BC).

The 2A-4C-1 – Daniel’s 7 Weeks of Years (485-436 BC) – It (a) began with the Proclamation of Cyrus, (b) lasted 49 years (485-436 BC) and (c) ended with Completion of Reconstruction (436 BC). During it, the Hebrews returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt its walls and its Temple under the protection of Persia..

The 2A-4C-2 – Daniel’s 62 Weeks of Years (436-2 BC) – It (a) began with the Completion of Reconstruction, (b) lasted 434 years (436-2 BC), and (c) ended with the Birth of Messiah (2 BC). During it, the Hebrews were ruled for (a) 106 years under the protection of the Persians, 162 years by miscellaneous leaders, (b) 128 years by the Maccabees as satraps of Rome, and (c) 38 years by the Herodians as satraps of Rome.

The 2A-5 – GEOLOGY IN THE EARLY HISTORIC ERA

[1] See Daniel 7:4.

[2] The kings of the Neo-Babylonian Dynasty were

- (B-10-06) Essarhadon (659-647 BC = 12 years),
- (B-10-07) Shamash-shum-ukin (647-627 BC = 20 years), who was also known as Suppiluliuma II,
- (B-10-08) Kandalanu (627-606/603 BC = 21/24 years)
- (NB-03) Nabopolassar II (c.603-581 BC = 22 years), who was also known as Mursilis, Bel-shum-ishkun, Belesys, and possibly Candalanus,
- (NB-04) Nergilissar I (c.581-574 BC = 7 years), who was also known as Nergil I, Muwatalis I, and Labarnas ,
- (NB-05) Labash Marduk I (less than a year),
- (NB-06) Nebuchadnezzar (c.574-530 BC = 44 years), who was also known as Hattusilis,
- (NB-07) Amel Marduk (530-509 BC = 21 years), who was also known as Evil Marduk.
- (NB-08) Nergilissar II (c.509-505 BC = 4 years), who was also known as Nergil II,
- (NB-09) Labash Marduk II (c.505-504 BC = 1 year),
- (NB-10) Nabonidus (c.504-487 BC = 17 years) and his coregent Belshazzar (c.501-487 BC = 14 years), who were deposed by Darius I-the-Mede, who was also known as Astyages.

[3] See Immanuel Velikovsky’s Ramses II and His Time, Doubleday, New York, 1978. It establishes that the so-called Hittite records found at Bogazkoi were actually the Chaldean archives of the Neo-Babylonian Empire.

[4] See Daniel 7:5.

[5] The later rulers of the Medo-Persian Empire were

(PE-06) Cyrus II (558-529 BC = 29 years),
(PE-07) Cambyses II 529-522 BC = 7 years)
(PE-08) Bardiya (522 BC = a few months),
(PE-09) Darius I-the Great or Darius-the-Mede (522-485 BC = 37 years),
(PE-10) Cyrus-of-the-Bible (485-482 BC = 3 years)
(PE-11) (Xerxes I–the Great (482-465 BC = 17 years), who may have taken Esther to be his wife,
(PE-12) Artaxerxes I–Longimanus (465-424 BC = 41 years),
(PE-13) Xerxes II (424 BC = less than a year), who was also known as Ahaseurus 3,
(PE-14) Sogdianus (424-423 BC = 1 year),
(PE-15) Darius II (423-405 BC = 18 years), who was also known as Nothus and Ochus,
(PE-16) Artaxerxes II (405-359 BC = 46 years), who was also known as Arcases,
(PE-17) Artaxerxes III (359-338 BC = 21 years),
(PE-18) Xerxes III (338-336 BC = 2years), who was also knowns as Arses,
(PE-19) Darius III (336-330 BC = 6 years), who was also known as Codomanus.
(PE-20) Ariobarzane (330-329 BC = 1 year), who rebelled against and was defeated by Alexander, and
(PE-21) Phrasaortes (329-328 BC = 1 year) – a satrap.

[6] Some scholars, on the other hand, might regard the Battle of Issus in 333 BC as the boundary event between Persian and Greek domination of the Middle East, in which Alexander defeated Darius decisively and thereafter proceeded to dismantle the Persian Empire from Egypt in the south to Bactria in the north.

[7] See Daniel 7:6.

[8] See Glossary.

[9] See Daniel 7:7.