Satan (the serpent) speaks…

Genesis 3:1   Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

God speaks to the serpent…

Genesis 3:15   …And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He (Jesus) shall bruise your head, And you (Satan) shall bruise His heel.”

The prophet Isaiah predicts the crucifixion of Jesus…

Isaiah 53:5    …He was bruised for our iniquities

Christians don’t believe Jesus defeated Satan by stepping on the head of a snake. Christ defeated Satan by dying on the cross for our sins. Someday Satan will spend eternity in hell, but he can’t take the children of God with him.

Hebrews 3:14-17    Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in thingspertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

In Genesis, Moses uses a snake to describe what satan is like not what satan looks like. In the book of Revelation, John uses a dragon to show what satan is like, not what satan looks like. When we read the bible literally, it doesn’t mean we take metaphors literally. We read Scripture in the way that it was intended, in the most obvious and natural sense. Read Scripture in light of Scripture.

Was there a talking snake?      No.

Cited Resources: NJK Bible by God, Legacy Study Bible Notes by Hank Hanegraaff,

Some say there is no such thing as truth. By saying this, they contradict themselves by making a truth claim. Explain to them that just made a truth claim and then ask them if they  believe it is true. They may respond by saying, “I don’t know if the statement is true because I believe I can’t be sure. Again, the fact that they can’t be sure about the statement they made is another statement of truth. Do you believe it is true that you can’t be sure? In the irony of the ages, Pontius Pilot stood toe to toe with the personification of truth and yet missed its reality.

John 18:36-38 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”  Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, “I find no fault in Him at all.”

Obviously, this was a rhetorical question because Pilate didn’t want to know the answer. Postmodern people are much in the same position. They stare at truth and fail to recognize its identity. Truth is an aspect of the nature of God himself. To put on truth, is to put on Christ.

Os Guinness explains:

1) Christianity is not true because it works. That is pragmatism.

2) Christianity is not true because it is feels right. That is subjectivism

3) Christianity is not true because it is “my truth.” That is relativism.

Truth is anchored in the person of Christ. Truth is anything that corresponds to reality. It does not yield to the size and strength of the latest lobby group. It not not a matter of preference or opinion. Truth is true even if everyone denies it, and a lie is a lie even if everyone affirms it.

Cited Resources:  NKJ by God, The Complete Bible Answer Book by Hank Hanegraaff, Time for Truth by Os Guinness

The origin of the universe

In 1929 the theoretic predictions of Einstein were confirmed with empirical data. Up until this time, scientists believed the universe always existed. At the Mount Wilson observatory overlooking Los Angeles, astronomer Edwin Hubbel (1889-1953) studied light from distant galaxies. Hubbel determined that galaxies beyond our milky way, were moving away from us at a speed proportionate to their distance from the earth. The more distant the galaxy, the faster it is receding. If the universe is continually expanding, then at earlier points in its history it must have been smaller and denser. This marks the beginning of time.

The Kalam Cosmological Argument

1. Whatever begins to exist has a cause

2. The universe began to exist

3. The universe has a cause of its existence

“There is no ground for supposing that matter and energy existed before and were suddenly galvanized into action. It is simpler to postulate creation ‘ex nihilo’ . . . Divine will constituting nature from nothingness”       Edmund Whittaker (Physicist)

“The chain of events leading to man commenced suddenly and sharply, at a definite moment in time, in a flash of energy and light.”  Robert Jasrow (Astronomer)

“We can’t understand the universe in any clear way without the supernatural.” Allan Sandage (Cosmologist)

In 1953, Stanley Miller put methane, ammonia, hydrogen and water vapor in a test tube. He believed these were the gases in the atmosphere of the early earth. If living organisms can emerge by themselves without any outside assistance, there is no reason to believe in God. Over time these organisms could evolve into more complex creatures. This is an undirected process, completely devoid of any purpose or plan.

Can this be harmonized with Christianity?

How could God direct an undirected process?

However, in the 60’s chemists changed their view and believed the hydrogen would have escaped into outer space, where the earth’s gravity isn’t strong enough to hold it. What comes out of a volcano is most likely what the atmosphere of the early earth consisted of ; carbon dioxide, nitrogen and water vapor. Stanley Miller tried the experiment again with these gases and couldn’t produce any amino acids (the molecules that are the building blocks of life). Even if Miller’s experiment worked, no matter how many molecules are produced, you are still nowhere near producing the first living cell. If you put the perfect solution in a sterile test tube for a cell to live and then jab the cell with a sterile needle, all the molecules will leak out throughout the test tube. Now having all the molecules needed for a cell, you can’t make a living cell out of them. In other words, humpy dumpty can’t put himself back together again.

Does evolution disprove creationism?

When we speak of evolution we first must define whether we are talking about microevolution or macro evolution.

Microevolution is not a theory: it is a fact. We know that changes do take place within kinds.

Macroevolution is a theory that evolutionists will try to communicate as fact. This is the molecules to man theory. However, No verifiable transitions from one kind to another have yet to be found. Charles Darwin can be excused. In his day, fossil finds were relatively scarce. Today, we have an abundance of fossils.

Darwin’s Tree of Life

Darwin’s tree of life model appears nowhere in the fossil record.

If all living organisms descended from the same primitive life form, shouldn’t there be fossils in the earth to prove this great evolutionary chain?

This chain of small biological modifications ultimately leading to a spectacular diversity of life hasn’t been found.

Cambrian Explosion

This is a period in history where we see the sudden appearance of the major animal forms that contradicts Darwin’s tree of life model.

(Cited Resources: The Case for the Creator)

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 10:9 If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Romans 10:13 For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”

Romans 12:1-3 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

Restricted Nations

Cited Resources: Voice of the Martyrs

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Scripture clearly  teaches that curses are not passed down, however consequences of sin can be passed down through generations. For example, children of alcoholic fathers frequently suffer neglect and abuse as a direct consequence of their father’s sinful behavior. Descendants of those who hate God are likely to follow in the footsteps of their forefathers. Let’s read Scripture in light of Scripture and take to heart that those who are saved by God’s grace through faith in Christ are set free; free from the chains of a “curse”.

Ezekiel: 18:19-20   “Yet you say, ‘Why should the son not bear the guilt of the father?’ Because the son has done what is lawful and right, and has kept all My statutes and observed them, he shall surely live. The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

Exodus 20:5-6   You shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

When ancient Israel quotes the proverb “The fathers eat sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge” (Ezekiel 18:2) how did God respond?

“As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel…The soul who sins is the one who will die.” (3-4)

There is a sense in which the curse of sin has been passed down from generation to generation. This is found in Romans 3:23  For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Romans 5:18-21   Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous. Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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Once a misreading of a text is accepted, it can then lead to more extreme teachings. For example, it has become increasingly common for Christians to suppose that they have inherited demons of anger, alcoholism, laziness or lust. Once this has been accepted, it can lead to the next extreme. Only time will tell what that will be.

- Michael Hoover

Cited Resources: NKJ by God, Bible Answer Book 2 by Hank Hanegraaff