Ask Mr Bible

Today there is much discussion and scientific research in regard to the origin (big bang?), size and shape of our universe.  Here is the Divine Author’s account:

A. Who created the universe?

1. According to David, the Father created all things.  “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork” (Psa. 19:1).

2. However, John declares the Son did it.  “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men” (John 1:3-4).

3. Finally, in other passages, the Holy Spirit is said to have performed the initial act of creation.  “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” (Gen. 1:1, 2).

4. What are we to believe?  The answer is, of course, that all three persons in the Trinity had a part.  As an illustration let us consider an important executive who determines to build a spacious and expensive home.  He, thus, employs an architect to design the necessary plans for this home.  The architect then secures a competent contractor to follow his blueprints.  In this illustration the executive is the Father, the architect is the Son, and the contractor is the Holy Spirit.  The following verses then refer to the work of this Divine Contractor.  “Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth” (Psa. 104:30).  “By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent” (Job 26:13).  “The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life” (Job 33.4).

B. How vast is our universe?  It is so vast that it takes a beam of light (which travels some 700 million miles per hour) over 100,000 years just to cover the distance across our galaxy called the Milky Way.  But our galaxy is only one among many billions in the known universe.  To illustrate the size of our universe, consider the following examples:

1. Paper tack model

● Let us say the thickness of a sheet of paper represents the distance from the earth to the sun (some 93 million miles).
● To represent the distance to the nearest star we would need a stack of paper 71 feet high.
● To cover the diameter of our Milky Way galaxy would require a stack 310 miles high.
● To reach the edge of the known universe would demand a pile of paper sheets 31 million miles high.

2. Orange and grain of sand model

● Here an orange would represent the sun.
● A grain of sand is the earth, circling the orange at a distance of 30 feet.
● Pluto, the most remote planet in our solar system, is another grain of sand, circling the orange at ten city blocks away.
● Alpha Centauri, the nearest star, is 1,300 miles away from the orange.

C. How minute is our universe?  Simply stated, it is as unbelievably small as it is big.  Consider the following:

1. All material in the universe consists of atoms.  Atoms in turn are made up of three “building blocks,” which are protons, neutrons (which two go to make up the center of an atom called the nucleus), and electrons (which circle the nucleus as our earth does the sun).

2. On the tip of a ballpoint pen are so many atoms that if they were carried by an army, marching four abreast, an atom to a man, it would take over 20,000 years for a march-past.

3. It would take 25 trillion protons laid side by side to span a linear inch.

4. There are as many protons in a cubic inch of copper as there are drops of water in the oceans of the world or grains of sand on the seashores of our earth.

5. The size of an electron is to a dust speck as the dust speck is to the entire earth.

6. The space between an electron and the nucleus is 10,000 times as great as the size of that nucleus.  For example, if the outer shell of electrons in an atom were the size of the Houston Astrodome, the nucleus would be the size of a ping-pong ball in the center of that stadium.

The Old Testament records the PREPARATION for the life of Jesus Christ.

“And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27).

“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39).

“For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope” (Rom. 15:4).

The Gospel accounts record the MANIFESTATION of the life of Jesus Christ.

“And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7).

The Book of Acts records the PROPAGATION of the life of Jesus Christ.

“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

“And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ” (Acts 5:42).

The Epistles record the INTERPRETATION of the life of Jesus Christ.

“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I an chief” (1 Tim. 1:15).

The Book of Revelation records the CORONATION OF KING JESUS CHRIST.

“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever” (Rev. 11:15).

I believe it can be safely assumed that if a lost person would suddenly decide to attend church during one given Sunday out of the year it would probably be Easter Sunday morning.

However, for that person (who might attend only to be seen, having no desire to accept Christ), resurrection Sunday would be the worst possible choice, for that Sunday serves as a warning of the future and frightful Great White Throne Judgment!

• Paul declared this judgment during his Mar’s Hill sermon:
“Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead (Acts 17:31).

• John later described this judgment:
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is [the book] of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire  (Rev. 20:11, 12, 15).

And the lesson to be learned?
While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.
(Heb. 3:15)

Is This a Dress Rehearsal for Armageddon?

We begin with a two-fold question:
(1) Can the current Middle East situation be viewed as a dress rehearsal for the final battle of Armageddon, and (2) how might the coming Antichrist exploit it for his own wicked agenda?

Many students of Bible prophecy see those Middle East events in the future transpiring as follows:

• Jesus Christ returns and removes all His followers from the earth (1 Thess. 4:13-17; 1 Cor. 15:51-53)

• The situation reaches a boiling point, resulting in Israel’s very existence to be in question.  Note the O.T. prophet Zechariah’s words along this line:

Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about . . . in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people . . . the people of the earth (shall) be gathered together against it.  (Zech. 12:2, 3)

• Suddenly when all hope for the Jewish people seems to be gone, a powerful Western leader (the Antichrist) suddenly steps in and, to the astonishment of the world and to the relief of Israel, signs a seven-year peace treaty with that nation!

Some believe he will not only guarantee Israel’s security, but help finance their centuries’ old desire to rebuild their temple.  Sadly, Israel will swallow this poison bait hook, line, and sinker.  But after 3 ½ years he will break the treaty and attempt to destroy all Jews worldwide.

• Finally, Jesus returns—this time to planet Earth—defeats His foes at Armageddon and institutes a one-thousand year reign of peace called the Millennium!

• In light of all this, what should be the response of all followers of Christ? 

Simon Peter provides the answer:  Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent  that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless (2 Peter 3:14).

WHAT JEWS, CHRISTIANS, AND MUSLIMS HAVE IN COMMON

It has been estimated that some 40 billion individuals have lived upon this earth since Adam.  What a contrast can be seen in this vast multitude of humanity.  It includes black men, white men, brown men, and yellow men.  These men have explored and settled in every corner of this earth.  They speak dozens of languages, practice multitude of religions, and have formulated numerous cultures.

But every single human being in this 40 billion number shares one vital thing in common.  His purpose of life down here and his eternal destiny afterwards depend completely upon his personal relationship with the subject of this study—the Lord Jesus Christ.  It is therefore absolutely impossible to overemphasize the importance of his life.  The key question of the universe continues to be, “What think ye of Christ?”  (Matt. 22:42)

As the songwriter has observed:

Jesus is standing at Pilate’s gate,
Neutral you cannot be.
Some day your heart will be asking,
What will He do with me?

The Enemy of my enemy is my friend

There is an old Arab proverb that says: “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” Simply stated, this refers to and occurs when two previous enemies team up against a common and more hated enemy.

Interestingly there is an occasion in the Bible where this actually happened. It involved two bitter political rivals, Pontius Pilate, Governor of Judea, and Herod Antipas, Governor of Galilee.

However, during the trial of Jesus, Pilate at first refused to condemn the Savior but instead recognized the authority of Herod to do so. The Gospel of Luke gives us the results:

“And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together: for before they were at enmity between themselves” (Luke 23:12).

All this of course happened 2000 years ago. Is there however, a modern Middle East parallel illustrating this parable? Consider: it has been estimated that over 50,000 Iraqi citizens have been killed since the U. S. invaded their country, and that some 90% of this frightful number met their deaths NOT by American soldiers, but rather at the hands of their own countrymen! Murderous mobs of Shiite Arabs and Sunni Arabs seek out and destroy each other daily! Continue Reading »