 TRAIL OF TIME A Trail of Education and Discovery Most recent edition January 27, 2008
INTRODUCTION Welcome to the Trail of Time. To us, time is usually something we are continually aware of. However, it is something that we, as a whole, know very little about... We carefully measure time as we know it in seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years. Obviously we have a great concern for it. For most of us, our focus is on the time we have each day in this life. On the other hand, God is concerned with our time as it relates to eternity. Make no mistake, He is concerned about our present, individual time schedules, but He looks at those things in their relationship to an eternity of time, where we humans only consider the present moment; the here and now. Since God is able to see the whole picture of our vast universe from its very beginning to infinity, and since He is also able to microscope in on our individual lives within that uncomprehendable vastness, He has determined (thank God) that there are some things of which we should know about, as a whole and on an individual basis, in regard to just where and how we fit into that big picture of time. And so, He has given us a historical account, from Himself, for time as we know it. It is the historical account and instruction manual for our existence. We call it, The Bible. The Bible is Gods' only written revelation to us, which makes it the most important "book" on earth. The Bible is our map unto life. It contains everything we need to know that pertains to life and Godliness (2nd Peter 1:3). It was given to us that we might come to understand both our individual and group place in eternity, within the grand scheme or purpose of things, within time as we know it and even beyond.— For a few thousands of years we have pursued our own concept of this particular knowledge. From a human standpoint, within human thinking or reasoning, we continue to proclaim that we've learned much about the earth and its surrounding planets, its stars in the heavens, and our own possibilities here on the earth for great technological advancements. We boast of great scientific and medical discoveries and of other achievements in our time. But in reality we, for the most part, don't really know anything... Our pride, arrogance and greed have blinded us to the truth of our undisputable foolishness (1st Corinthians 3:19). Since we are in fact blind and foolish, it is obvious therefore that we've been walking in darkness (1st John 1:6) — Our purpose then, while you're hiking here on the Trail of Time, is to transform you—to renew your mind to the Truth (Romans 12:2)—to allow you a profound journey into reality, that you might no longer walk in darkness, but be encouraged instead by the Spirit of Wisdom, and go forward in life with the light of understanding (Proverbs 3:13-15) Only Gods' words of truth can give sight to the blind and wisdom to the foolish, that we should see the true realities of time (Psalm 148:8 & Mark 8:23-25). This Trail of Time is indeed a difficult trek. In fact, it is perhaps the most difficult junction on the Trail of Truth that you will encounter. The winds of fear and doubt blow hard against your progress along this section. Your ability to remain true to your compass direction will also be threatened by the winds of opposition. It is a no-nonsense trail. It's a steep climb to the summit... but, at the summit, the most vivid panorama of time and life will be below you and around you. You'll see as you have never seen before. There won't be a lot of high country hikers up there with you; a few, maybe. And though you will have seen most all there is to see in life, you'll have to continue to live in this world. But your view of time will indeed change your outlook and course for the rest of your life. Brave it. Go for it. I'll be with you! Most importantly, God will be with you... As I said, I'll be there with you and for you on this hike. I've been assigned to you, so to speak. I'll be guiding you through those difficult lower escarpments, and will help you to maintain your direction along that summit trail. We won't be alone; God will go all the way with us. There are others who have hiked this trail and continue to live with its profound exhilaration, firmly planted within their minds. Remember when Jesus said, Don't be afraid, for I have overcome the world? (John 16:33) This hike should help you to understand what He meant.— Are you ready? Here's a checklist for your backpack. Pack it accordingly and we're on our way... CHECK LIST Your Bible an altimeter slip resistant hiking boots hard hat (for falling rock) sweat band of Courage hiking stick (preferably oak) power bars, some good trail mix, and lots of fresh water
The order of the universe and the preciseness which governs the movement of the sun, moon, planets and stars is usually more than enough to convince a rational mind. There's also the landscape of the earth, the beauty of the plant kingdom, the sights, scents and sounds of the natural order; numberless, yet, each one unique in its own individual way. There are the multitude of clouds, the thunder, the lightning, and the ever-changing winds, each of which bare great witness to the Creator's mighty hand. Then there's what we term "physical" life. From the fish and sea creatures to the birds of the air, to the multitudes of insect and animal species, to the highest order itself; mankind.— Who does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? (Job 12:9) Why would anyone ever doubt? The creatures of the earth have no doubt, in fact, they can actually teach us many profound things about God's order (Job 12:7,8). Yet, in spite of all this, modern man does indeed doubt. He does not learn from the creatures nor does he listen to the wind. Can you believe that? The highest order of creation on earth, the most blessed, the one created in the image of his Creator, the one given eyes to see with, ears to hear with, and a brain to think with, has, through the centuries, become inattentive and depraved within his/her thinking.— How can this be? Why has man seemingly forgotten his/her source of life, his/her source of every physical, material and spiritual blessing? The culprit is known as the sin nature; our natural inclination to rebel against the wisdom and authority of our Creator. Every person on the earth has this nature, no exceptions. How did mankind get this nature? If he was created in Gods' image (Genesis 1:27), how could he/she develop this wicked nature and turn out to be so ungodly? What happened to that complex brain, that immeasurable seat of knowledge within the human being that God originally created? After all, according to Scripture, we were, in the very beginning, an extremely intelligent species; created in Gods' image... Adam, the very first man, was exceptionally knowledgeable in that he gave formal names to all the creatures of the earth (Genesis 2:19,20). However, no man alive today can find all of these names within the chambers of his memory. No one can recite them verbatim. We could not correctly identify all of them if they were brought before us, unless we had years of formal education on every living thing, could we? Does anyone possess that ability? Sometimes we can't even remember certain words we've spoken the day before, or things we have observed within the last week. Can we in truth account for everything we thought about just yesterday? No. We certainly then do not have the superior mind of Adam, nor those of his immediate children (Genesis 4:19-22). We may be led to believe that our modern science and technology is an achievement, but if it takes us away from the knowledge of God, it turns out to be only foolishness. (1st Corinthians 3:19,20) On the sixth day of creation, less than a week after God had formed the earth, the plants, the fish, the birds and the animals, He formed the first man from the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7). What a specimen he must have been! Created full grown as he was, I picture the like of Arnold Schwarzenegger rising up from the dust, though Adam was much taller. Soon thereafter He formed woman (Eve), from a rib of Adam, and she became his friend and helper (Genesis 2:18, 21). They settled together within the garden of God, in a special place known as Eden (somewhere in Mesopatamia), and there they maintained that exquisite garden of fruit, being physically nourished from it as well, enjoying a life of incomparable blessings, freely given them by their heavenly Father who formed them and who often walked in the garden with them. This was paradise indeed! (Genesis, chapters 2 & 3). Most of us know the tragic account of what happened afterward, yet many of us do not really understand the depth of its significance nor of its consequences.— Eve was tempted by Satan, succumbed to the temptation, enticed her mate to join her in sharing the fruit of that temptation, and boom! The course of humanity was forever changed. Satans' deceptive character had allowed him to gain a victory over the conscience of Adam and Eve, causing them to choose to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, a forbidden tree, which gave birth to a fallen condition (sinful nature¹) within our ancestors, that produced a natural rebellion toward God and which spread to all future humanity.— One, single word, cunningly inserted into Gods' immutable instructions, changed the course of the entire human race; God had said; "You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will surly die" (Genesis 2:17 & 3:3). Satan countered with; "You will not surly die." (Genesis 3:4) — One word; not.— Keep this particular strategy within the awareness section of your heart and give it a front row seat in your conversation; one word can make all the difference. ¹A note on sin here; Sin, though appearing to be many things, may ultimately be defined as anything in the creature which does not express, or which is contrary to, the holy character of the Creator. Sin then is not merely what we do, but what we are. There is sin in our race and in our nature. It is an illness; a corruption. Therefore, since we are incapable of living without sin being present (Romans 7:18), we are, each and every one of us, in dire need of a Savior. Adam and Eve had each made devastating decisions. The consequences of their decisions need to be looked at with both eyes open and a very attentive brain... They were expelled from their home and from the very presence of God. They lost their close fellowship with Him and their right to the Tree of Life. God however still cared for them, making garments of animal skins to clothe them. I am sure that God was deeply grieved through all of this. Animals were first slain after the fall of man. It appears then that the skins of slain animals, made into clothing by God and kindly given (indeed a gift) to man, was a figurative expression of the Son whom God would eventually give up to be slain for the sake of man. The giving of this gift by God also may have something to do, at least in part, with the value God placed on animals who were later sacrificed as offerings to Him. This is a very thought-provoking consequence of mans' inability to love God as He loves us. I believe one of the most devastating consequences here, in addition to the closeness the couple had shared with God, in addition to the slaying of animals for clothing, was in Adam and Eve forfeiting their right to the Tree of Life. By an understanding of what this meant—by understanding how the inability to access the Tree of Life affected the future of physical man, we can move to a deeper understanding regarding the horrible consequences from the increasing depravity of human nature, and, the irreversible condition of sickness and decay that we all live with, as it relates to our bodies and to the physical world around us... When Adam and Eve were banished from the garden of Eden, God would no longer allow them access to the Tree of Life (Genesis 3:22-24). They would spend the rest of their natural lives in toil, cultivating the earth for survival. God stationed angels near the Tree of Life, which was in the center of the garden, to guard the way; to keep mankind from eating the fruit of that particular tree (Genesis 2:9 & 3:24). The angels (cherubim) yielded a flaming sword, turning every way, to guard the tree. Had man not chosen to dishonor God by going against His wishes, had he thought about and remembered that the Creator knows what is best, he would still, to this day, have access to the tree and would have lived on without experiencing illness or death. — The Tree of Life produced a fruit that would sustain their physical bodies forever (Genesis 2:22). So powerful was the nourishment from this tree that it took hundreds of years for its effect to wear off, even though man no longer had access to it... For simplicities sake, let's assume that the fruit of that tree contained a unique vitamin or similar nourishment that we'll label, theoretically, vitamin L; for life. After Adam and Eve were banned from the garden and could no longer eat of the fruit of the Tree of Life, their physical bodies still contained its sustaining nourishment... Adam lived to be 930 years old, however, the ages of his offspring began to gradually decline in the generations that followed... (Genesis 5, Genesis 10, and Genesis 11;10-32) The life-sustaining effect of the Tree of Life was indeed wearing off. The Scriptures show that longevity gradually decreased during a 1000 year period after Adam's death, where we find at that time a man named Abraham, who lived to the age of 175 years. After the time of Moses some 500 years later, who himself lived to the age of 110, it was written that the average life of man was to be seventy years (Psalm 90:10).— It is my belief, as well as that of a few others who have sought to uncover this mystery of long-life-shortened, that this gradual decline in the average life span of mankind was a direct result of the discontinued replenishment of vitamin L, as we're calling it, within the body's system, combined with the ever-increasing time that mankind has taken up residence "away" from the immediate presence of the Living God! This of course is a presumptive explanation but can however be reasonable for understanding the "long lives" of early Bible characters, as well as the "decaying process" that has evolved ever since. It not only teaches us the value of our fellowship with God, but it also opens our eyes to the reality of the real-life reason behind all physical illness and decay (2nd Corinthians 4:16, Job 34:14,15). The earth itself, along with its plants and animals, through the deceit of Satan and subsequent fall of Adam, have been cursed in this same way (Genesis 3:14,17, Romans 8:18-21).— Bottom line; we are not, no matter how you view it, physically or mentally what we were intended to be, nor are we what we're capable of being. We've been declining in all areas of life and in all bodily functions since the fall in the garden. Even modern medical science, though their knowledge is quite limited, tell us that we today, some 6000 years after the fall, use a very small portion of our brain. The Bible teaches that the Tree of Life is now in the midst of the Paradise of God. Whether it is a spiritual tree (Christ Himself) or a physical tree, I do not know at this point in time. Like all teachers I have my own personal thoughts on it. — The Bible teaches that those of us who overcome this world, through our faith in Jesus, will have the right to eat from that tree. It also teaches that if we do His Commandments, we will have right to the Tree of Life (Revelation 2:7 & 22:14). ¤ You have now ascended the first incline on the Trail of Time. A profound incline, is it not? Our lives are indeed short and full of trouble (Job 14:1). There's much to learn in the renewing and transformation of our minds (Romans 12:2), and so, we hike onward toward that purpose, that we might grasp onto the ancient, unending truths that will give us renewed understanding, clearer reasoning, right direction and everlasting hope.— With the foundational understanding then that God is the author of all things (John 1:1-3), let us hike on up to Discovery Rock, where ancient inscriptions confirm many more things we'll need to know as we continue our journey along the Trail of Time...
We've talked a little about the creation, about paradise lost and about those early inhabitants who lived extremely long lives. We've spoken also of the great worldwide flood of Noah's time (Day Hike #2 on the Lake Trail). There are additional inscriptions here upon this rock of time. They tell us something more of the pre-flood earth. We will look into reflections of those years in time, when we hike to Mirror Lake. There are unique inscriptions here of Noah's Ark, of Egyptian bondage, of the Red Sea crossing and of the Mt. Sinai wilderness. We will investigate those accounts and learn of recent, illuminating discoveries concerning them, when we hike up to Trailside Meadow. Inscriptions here also tell us something of the life of Jesus, the Christ. We will explore things pertaining to Him that will awaken us to a more touchable awareness concerning His life and ministry on the earth, when we reach Consultation Lake. There are too inscriptions here that have been altered. We will look into this defacing of the rock, at Trail Crest, where we'll learn the history of Christs' Church, and encounter the Raiders of the Ancient Text. There are lastly some inscriptions here that bring light to teachings regarding the end of the world itself. We will encounter these often misconstrued insights to understanding, along the Summit Trail. Discovery Rock is a place where we can learn to better understand things that God has done and will do. It is a place where we learn to both fear and respect the Lord, and therefore a place where true knowledge begins (Proverbs 1:7). Discovery Rock is a place where we can escape the pollutions of the worlds' flawed education and discover a part of the freedom that truth can bring. Discovery Rock is not just a physical rock adorned with petroglyphs. It is in reality a spiritual rock. It can be located within your own heart. It's your own personal rock, where you allow God to carve the truths that give stability to your being; truths that anchor you to reality. It is therefore an encouraging rock of refuge within your being, where you can go when anxiety, fear and doubt relentlessly pursue your spirit. In the many places that I have been allowed to hike over the years, I have sat atop a variety of huge boulders. They have always generated within me a sense of awe, and this sense of awe has greatly increased with a growing knowledge of the Scriptures. I have learned something of what rocks are all about; of what they can represent. Rocks are mentioned well over three hundred times within the pages of the Bible. They are so significant that Jesus identifies His very self as a rock (Matthew 16:18). God the Father is identified as a rock (Deuteronomy 32:4).— Rocks are the foundation of truth. They are hiding places and shelters from the storms of life. Rocks have produced honey, rivers of water, and fragrant oils. Rocks are houses, fortresses, dwelling places and refuge for a myriad of creatures upon the earth, including mankind. Rocks are indeed powerful and can destroy as well as provide, protect and encourage... From the tiny pebbles under my hiking boots, to the large boulders, slabs, and huge granite mountains upon which I have tread, I find an unequaled peace of spirit. Reaching out and touching any of these wonders that God has made, from the smallest pebble to the greatest rock, is more enlivening than I can describe. An excitement that literally burns within me, that yearns to radiate the wonder and joy and encouraging, comforting truth of God to the world... is the nearest I can come to describing it.— It is indeed a realization of the security and presence of God in His creation, echoing through my soul from this simple sense of touch that He has allowed me. The continuing discovery of these things of God, He has allowed me to relate to you throughout this series I have entitled; Hiking the Trail of Truth. These discoveries will become evident in your hikes along the Desert, Lake and High Sierra trails. Yet, this Trail of Time will enlighten you more as to the foundation of these life-giving discoveries... The discoveries I speak of here on the Trail of Time are the rocks upon which our faith becomes tangible. They are the truths that form the rock of knowledge within our hearts. A rock we can build on, ever increasing our appreciation, our understanding and our faith in our Creator and Friend. It is He who is known by these five glorious titles; Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).— Truly, along the Trail of Time, the stones indeed cry out! He who has ears to hear, let him hear! (Luke 19:40 & Mark 4:9) ¤ Let us hike on then, to Mirror Lake and beyond, shall we?
We're going to use our imaginations along the Trail of Time as we gaze into this particular lake today. Like a magic mirror, we want to use it to see the reflections of a pre-flood earth; the earth just after creation, which survived approximately 1,656 years before the great worldwide flood of Noah's day uprooted it. That cataclysmic, global deluge, about 2460 BC, overturned the geography of the entire earth. The written information we have concerning the physical condition of the world before the Flood is very meager, however, the subsequent revealing (and infallible) fossil record indeed tells much of the story. In addition to the telltale fossil record, the presently remaining features of the earths' surface can help us to create a discernible reflection of the past... Within the Biblical book of Genesis we read: And God saw everything that He had made, and He saw that it was excellent in every way (Genesis 1:31 NLT). When God had finished creating, He inspected, as it were, the works of His hand and was delighted with the things He had made and pronounced them very good. What God pronounces very good, means that it is good in the absolute, or excellent. God had created a perfect abode for man, the crown of His creation. It was perfect and complete in every detail. There were no "thorns and thistles" in that world. The earth brought forth abundantly of everything that was needful to provide for the wants, comforts and pleasures of mankind. There was no need of a struggle for an existence; either between man and man, man and beast, or between any of God's creatures. There were no Saharas, no barren wastes, no bleak and sterile hills, nor rigors of the arctic, and no disease-breeding heat of the tropics. The most enchanting islands in the subtropical of the South Seas today are but an imperfect mirror replica of what that world was which received the verdict "very good" (excellent) from its Creator. It is true, sometime after God had spoken these words, sin came into the world and with sin, the blight and curse of sin. The curse which God pronounced (Genesis 3:14-24) became effective at once, but its consequences were not immediately apparent to their fullest extent. — God had said regarding the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil: The day that you eat of it you shall surely die, and when man ate, death was upon him and in him, but, man did not die immediately. The body created unto immortality defied death for nearly a thousand years. He lived as though he would never die. And as with men, so it was with the rest of creation; Though the blight of sin was upon it, its original glory did not depart at once, and the groaning and travailing in pain in the creation of which Paul speaks (Romans 8:22) was not yet as audible as it is now. The fossils have stimulated the imagination of men ever since the early Greeks. Many others since then have had very fantastic ideas about them, but to us, in this modern day of archeological and true scientific discovery, their language is clear. The fossils offer conclusive proof that the physical condition of the world before the flood of Noah; the climate, animals and plant life, was vastly different from that of our world today. Fossils do not lie and have certainly been preserved by God for a purpose; They are, if you will, the inscription on a tombstone erected to that magnificent world and, at the same time, a warning to the world which was to follow. With respect to physical condition, it was a world with more "living space" for the human race than this present world offers. The world of Adam and his immediate descendants contained proportionately more habitable land than the world of today. There were no enormous waste areas, such as the great deserts of Africa, Asia, America and Australia, nor were the land masses separated by such vast expanses of ocean water, which today constitute about seven tenths of the earths' surface. The earth after the flood was not only reduced considerably in land area, but the fertility of the soil and the natural resources necessary for human progress are now unequally distributed, so that the people in some areas live in plenty while others eke out a miserable existence, thus giving rise to jealousies, rivalries and bloody wars between the nations. The pre-flood earth probably had only one very large super continent, covered substantially with lush vegetation (Genesis 1:9). There were seas and major rivers. The mountains were smaller than today's, but perhaps 9000 feet high. This is established by the fact that marine deposits of great thickness, formed in deep water, have been and are now continuing to be found elevated from ten to sixteen thousand feet above the current sea level. With respect to climate, the fossils show that there was a uniformly mild climate in high and low altitudes of both the northern and the southern hemisphere. That is, there was a perfectly uniform, non-zonal, mild and spring like climate in every part of the globe. This does not mean that the climate was of necessity the same in all parts of the earth. There were differences, but not even near the present extremes. — There is but one climate known to the ancient fossil world, as revealed by the plants and animals entombed in the rocks, and that climate was a mantle of spring like loveliness which seems to have prevailed continuously over the whole globe. That our earth at one time in its history enjoyed a uniformly mild climate in all of its parts is a fact which can be thoroughly demonstrated. It can also be made evident that a change in climate activity came suddenly, in fact, very suddenly and globally, originating at the time of the universal flood; It is believed that our earth was tilted 23½ degrees on its axis at the time of the flood, bringing about a change in the relation of the earth to the sun and thus creating the climatic zones and weather regimes as they now exist. There were a far greater variety of birds and animals in the pre-flood world. In point of size they ranged from the stature of a small dog to that of monsters over eighty feet in length. In point of diversity they represent almost a world of their own. In Alberta alone twenty-six different species of the pre-flood world have been identified. There were those that lived on land, others in water, and still others in the air. Thousand of marine specimens have been found in our own western Kansas, which was covered by a sea in the pre-flood earth. Of the flying reptiles, one has been found with a head a yard long and with a stretch of wings of over twenty feet. There were giant land reptiles that stood eighteen feet tall, with claws similar to eagles' and dagger-like teeth. A Brontosaurus, a member of the dinosaur family found in South America, measured nearly 150 feet in length. Similar discoveries have been made in Russia, in different parts of the United States, Africa, and elsewhere. The fossils show that thousands of animals died suddenly in all parts of the world, the majority buried alive under tons of sediments. The number of animal fossils in the earth is indeed staggering. It is said that the vast tundra of Siberia contains so many animal bones that it is assumed that the frozen ground matter consists entirely of them! Masses of fish fossils have also been preserved, caught by sediment and instantly fossilized in swimming positions, uninjured, eyes bulging and fins extended in terror. Many of these fish fossils are still being found in America, and are quite prevalent in the red rock of the desert southwest. Inexperienced rock hunters and souvenir collectors come across them frequently when breaking open the sandstone rocks, which are abundant in this area. I have seen many of these impressive fish fossils, while visiting rock and gem shows in southern Arizona, and they go for a substantial price.— Note: Oil is found in fossiliferous strata and is therefore not an original creation, but a product of organic matter. Some scientists conclude that myriads of fishes, destroyed in the cataclysmic cycles of the Great Flood, are the source of practically the entire supply of crude petroleum. Plant life on the pre-flood earth was of a much greater variety. Plants and trees were also much larger and more widely distributed over the face of the earth. An irrefutable proof of the unmatched density of plant life in that world are the great coal beds found in every continent of the earth today. Coal is simply compressed vegetable matter. It has been estimated that it requires from ten to fourteen feet of vegetable matter to produce a seam of coal just one foot in thickness. That's fourteen to one. There are seams of coal throughout the world ranging from forty to fifty feet in thickness. The Byrd Antarctic expedition found a whole mountain of coal at the south pole. In a strip mine in Wyoming, a seam measuring from sixty to ninety feet in thickness has been discovered. This means that a solid mass of vegetation, trees and other plants, from five hundred to a thousand feet in thickness, was required to make possible the creation of coal seams of such magnitude. — It becomes obvious then why God, with exceeding grief, would not allow some of his larger living creatures to resume life after the flood. They were predominately vegetarians who would no longer have the great abundance of lush vegetation available to them on the post-flood earth. The fossils also teach us that mankind before the flood had not only multiplied and become a great people, but had also taken possession of the earth and had reached a higher stage of civilization and culture than we know today! Pre-flood mankind was, in spite of their eventual fall into depravity, a much greater and more intelligent species. They were not, as commonly taught by modern educational institutions, cave dwellers who were physically deformed and didn't know how to speak. The fossils tell us that it was actually the golden age in the history of man, of which the various mythologies of later ages are but a faint and indistinct echo.— But, there is another side to this picture... For parallel with these great material and cultural achievements, there runs a steady course of moral decay and spiritual degeneracy (Genesis 6:5). Their thoughts were bent only upon doing evil continually. Also, though depraved in their thinking, the generation before the flood may not necessarily have been a pagan or idolatrous race. Archeology of the pre-flood earth tells us that in no single grave has there yet been any figure of a god, any symbol or ornament that strikes one as being of what we call a religious nature today. ¤ I hope you now have a somewhat better understanding concerning the pre-flood earth. I have only presented here a very limited but factual overview. For an in depth study on this subject I suggest you obtain a book titled; The Flood, by Alfred M. Rehwinkel. It considers the entire subject of the flood in great, enlightening detail, and in view of the Bible, geology, archaeology and other sciences. The work includes a variety of excellent resources.— For a simple but informative overview of the cause and initial activity of the Great Flood itself, you may want to hike the Lake Trail, Day Hike # 2 (Waters' Wonders), on this website.— Again, the physical world before the flood was excellent; beautiful beyond our present conception. As I also mentioned, the race of men then living had increased to great numbers and had taken possession of the earth. It was a superior race in maters of this world; progressive, cultured and enterprising, but also arrogant, godless and wicked. Because of their wickedness, God wiped them away and blotted out their memory, and along with them, destroyed the earth and everything that was in it (Genesis 7:19-23). The Biblical record of this catastrophe, supported by the fossil record, serves as a warning to us in this present world... Thank you for journeying with us here to Mirror Lake, for pausing here with us to look at these reflections in time of the pre-flood earth. Let us now continue our journey along the Trail of Time, where we're about to hike among some extremely motivating post-flood discoveries... We're on our way to the next junction, just ahead—Trailside Meadow...
The very first photo of the 4500 year old remains of Noah's Ark, a very impressive one to say the least, appeared in the September 5th, 1960 issue of Life magazine. The photo was taken by an aerial reconnaissance airplane in 1959. The pilot was not looking for anything like this... This large boat shaped object, near the 6500 foot level in the mountain range of "Uratu" (Ararat), far from any great body of water, caused quite a stir!
Seventeen years later, Ron Wyatt and his companions made their first trip to Turkey to investigate the site. After many years of painstaking and costly research, there and throughout the middle east, this group was able to produce astounding evidence in the search and discovery of not only Noah's Ark, but also the plain cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, the Red Sea crossing, the real Mt. Sinai in Arabia, the rock at Horeb which miraculously produced enough water for over a million people, and the most cherished artifact in the history of archeology; the Ark of the Covenant. We shall consider each of these great wonders, as well as some additional illuminating discoveries, while on this monumental hike through Trailside Meadow... These discoveries actually belong to you, the people of Gods' world. They are His gifts to His sinful children, an act of mercy, so that all those who choose to know the truth will have many obvious reasons to believe. Of course, those who truly believe can see God in the wonder of the moon and stars, in the mountains, forests, flowers of the field and geography of the earth (Romans 1:20), yet, these more humanly familiar "hands on" discoveries serve to confirm for us the truth of Gods' written word and His relative operations in the earth throughout history as described therein. These great treasures, preserved by the hand of God, may serve as great "attention getters" for those who have been discouraged in total belief of the Word of God. With that thought in mind, let us examine these profound evidences, shall we? — We shall also later examine why the majority of the world refuses to acknowledge them... The discovery of Noahs' Ark is one of the most important archeological finds of all times, a tremendous testimony to the trustworthiness of the Bible. The petrified formation was positively identified as a boat by a number of skilled photogrammetry experts from a set of aerial photographs. On the ground, twelve years of electronic and mechanical probing have positively identified it as a boat. Its 515 foot length and its 138 foot width (splayed) are the precise measurements of Noahs' Ark as recorded by Moses in the book of Genesis. Repeated chemical analysis of many different samples, taken at different times by different people and analyzed at different laboratories, positively prove it to be composed of very ancient wood and metal. Though the entire ark is filled with mud and lava, subsurface interface radar has located many chambers or rooms still within the structure. Artifacts have been recovered which carbon-date to the time of Noah. A large number of ancient and medieval inscriptions near the site positively identify it as Noahs' Ark. In addition, many ancient post-flood historians record that the remains of the Ark could be visited in this area.
¤ The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and their fate was not a fairy tale. It was a historical event that occurred exactly as the Biblical account presents it. The remains of these cities can be found on the southwestern side of the Dead Sea, just below Masada. There are no roads in these areas and walking through the ash is difficult, but well worth the trek. Numerous ashen formations amid tons of ash containing imbedded sulfur balls and salt are all that remain of these cities that were destroyed by fire from heaven (Genesis 19:12-29). There are ashen remains here of a variety of towers, of sphinxes, of buildings and city walls. It is an incredibly revealing sight for the truth seeker. It is estimated from the burnt sulfur content that these cities burned at temperatures ranging from 4000 to 6000 degrees, vaporizing gold and actually melting stone. The Bible says that in her flight from Sodom, Lots' wife looked back on this destruction and was turned into a pillar of salt (Genesis 19:26). A first century historian by the name of Josephus claims to have seen her remains, as did Clement of Rome and Irenaeus in the 2nd century. — At one time this area was a "happy" land, well watered and bearing much fruit like the garden of Eden (Genesis 13:10). Now, about 4000 years after its destruction, there are still the strikingly evident reminders of that divine fire which thoroughly destroyed five ancient cities full of wicked and perverted people. The Bible tells us that the area would remain as an example of the judgment of God on human depravity for all future generations to witness, and so it has. (2nd Peter 2:6) ¤ The location where the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea, under the leadership of Moses, is found on the Gulf of Aqaba, Saudi Arabia, not on the Gulf of Suez that many so-called scholars suppose. At the Gulf of Aqaba location there is an underwater land bridge, where parts of coral covered human and animal (horse) skeletons have been retrieved. Several coral covered chariot wheels, axles and chariot boxes of Egyptian construction have also been found. The underwater land bridge is the only one of its kind within the Red Sea and confirms the Biblical account of the "dry ground" or "path" in the midst of the walls of sea water that God provided, allowing the children of Israel to escape to safety from the pursuing Egyptians. The prophet Isaiah called it "the road" which God had made in the sea for the redeemed to cross over (Isaiah 51:10). There were two matching pillars, one found on each side of the water at this crossing site. Inscriptions on one of the pillars indicate that they were placed there by King Solomon (500 years after the actual crossing) to commemorate the crossing site. The pillar on the Egyptian side is still standing. The one on the Saudi side (with the inscriptions) has been removed (probably by thieves of ancient artifacts), but has been replaced by a marker. The Egyptian side of the crossing is an area, and the only area along the west coast of the Gulf of Aqaba, big enough to hold the 1-2 million people of the Exodus. There is also an impassable mountain range there, and this entire geography is described in Exodus 14:1-4. ¤ The traditional Mt. Sinai in the southern Sinai peninsula, visited by thousands each year, is in reality not the Mt. Sinai of the Bible. The Bible clearly tell us that Mt. Sinai is in Arabia (Galatians 4:25), and so it is... The real Mt. Sinai is Jubal al Lawz (mountain of the law). It stands statuesque above a broad desert plateau, a mystifying relic of antiquity in a land the Bible calls, Midian, east of the Gulf of Aqaba. The first thing one notices upon approaching Jubal al Lawz is its startlingly visible and mysteriously blackened peak. On the summit of the mountain, the dirt and rocks are burnt into a black and shiny marble glaze from the fire of God described in Exodus 19:16-19. These rocks atop the mountain can be broken in half, revealing an inner core of plain brown granite, clearly not of volcanic origin.— On its craggy slopes are a mind-boggling array of ancient man-made structures and tantalizing geologic formations that come right out of the pages of Holy Scripture... Near the base of the mountain, a quarter mile into the plain, there is a huge altar of stacked granite. Etched on the altar are distinct shapes of cows and bulls, resembling the Egyptian Hathor and Apis bull gods... Cattle have never been a domesticated livestock in Saudi Arabia. The cattle memorialized in stone here were driven there by the Israelites at the time of Moses. This is the site where Aaron, Moses' brother, formed a golden calf from molten gold and made offerings on the altar proclaiming; "Oh Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of Egypt" (Exodus 32:1-5). At the base of the mountain there are orderly piles of stone markers, arranged at four-hundred-yard intervals in a perfect semicircle about the mountain. These are referred to in Exodus 19:12, where the Lord ordered Moses to put boundary lines around the mountain, so that the people would not go near the mountain, beyond the markers, where they would be put to death. At still another point at the foot of the mountain is a huge, V-shaped altar, clearly man-made. This was an altar of worship, built by Moses to include twelve stone pillars that represented the twelve tribes of Israel. To this day, twelve hand-hewn stumps remain there, the pillars themselves toppled over and broken into sections of which the majority still lay in disarray near the altar. ¤ If you are not familiar with the rock at Horeb (meaning drought or desert), approaching the rocky western slopes of Sinai in a camp called Rephidim (Exodus 17), it was the rock that Moses struck with his staff to fulfill the promise that God would provide water in that parched, desert wasteland for the 1-2 million people of the Exodus.— The split rock is indeed there, along with the evidence that the rock itself erupted like a great geyser, creating deep furrows of water erosion. The rock sits in a shallow depression at the mouth of a ravine. It is a towering pillar of rock, split laser-fine down the middle, the split exactly nineteen inches wide from top to bottom... Its appearance alone staggers the imagination, but the rock's implausible berth at the crown of an ancient headwater raises gooseflesh... It appears as if the riverbed indeed sprang from the rock itself! There are water polished boulders in the natural stream bed that runs down from the split rock, an ancient watershed furnishing clear evidence of a fast-rushing stream, indeed large enough to serve the Hebrew multitude. There is a sprawling plain at the base of the mountain that would have provided an ample campsite for the Hebrew people, a feature missing from the peak of the "traditional" Mt. Sinai at St. Catherines' Monastery.— While enroute to this rock at Horeb in Arabia, the Israelites camped at a place called Elim. There were 12 wells of water and 70 palm trees located at that particular camp site (Exodus 15:27). The 12 wells and numerous palm trees are still there in that remote area to this day. ¤ Most of us have heard of the Ark of the Covenant. Remember Indiana Jones? Jones was the fictional archeologist of the blockbuster movie; Raiders of the Lost Ark. He indeed seemed to be the type of man we would want to find the Ark. His character and adventures have inspired many into new and renewed interest in Biblical artifacts, and that's a good thing, because they are the only truly valuable artifacts of any type.— But as far as the Ark is concerned, the true Ark of the Covenant was discovered in 1982, before Indiana Jones ever came into existence on the screen. Very few people have known about the actual discovery of the Ark, due to the nature and corruption of the unbelieving world in which we live. The Ark was thought to have been carried away from Jerusalem sometime around 587 BC, when the city fell to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. But, it was not carried away. It was in fact hidden in a cave with other temple furniture, perhaps under the direction of Jeremiah the prophet. This cave or room was part of an ancient stone quarry later called, "Jeremiahs' Grotto". The cave is located beneath the actual calvary escarpment, "the place of the skull", on Mt. Moriah in Jerusalem. The Ark of the Covenant was the only piece of furniture within a "back room" of the original Hebrew Tabernacle or tent of meeting. This room was separated from the front room by a curtain or veil and known as the "Holy of Holies". The front room pieces of furniture included; the alter of incense, the seven-lamp candlestick, and the table of shewbread. The Ark (within the back room), was a wooden chest overlaid with gold and at one time contained the Ten Commandments on stone, a pot of manna that never spoiled, and Aaron's rod, which once had budded miraculously overnight. The top of this Ark was called the "Mercy Seat". The High Priest could enter inside this room only once each year to make a sin offering for himself and for the people. Here, the blood of animals was sprinkled onto the Mercy Seat for the sin offering.— This information is indeed important for you to understand as I attempt to explain to you about the location of the Ark, as well as the significance of its discovery within that particular location... Keep in mind now that the Ark was hidden in a cave or chamber that existed in Jerusalem about 597 BC. Its whereabouts were not discovered by the invading armies, as indicated by the Biblical list of the captured treasures which had been broken and carried off by the Babylonians (2nd Kings 25:13-17, 2nd Chronicles 36:18,18 and Jeremiah 52:12-23). In that year, the city of Jerusalem was completely destroyed and its inhabitants hastened away into captivity. The city has been rebuilt upon several times since then, each time over top of the previous ruins. In 1979, an excavation began atop previous ruins at the Calvary escarpment (place of the skull), or Golgotha, where Christ was crucified. No known excavations had ever taken place in this particular area since the crucifixion. The traditional site is not located here, where it should be. This particular location was being used as a "dump". — The 1979 excavation was headed by Ron Wyatt... Tens of feet down (under ground) from what Wyatt believed to be the approximate site of Calvary, his team discovered the walls of a small building surrounding the original crucifixion site. This building was apparently constructed during the first century to memorialize the location. In the center of the rock floor within the structure there were four cross holes. Three were in parallel, a fourth was found under a small stone covering, elevated somewhat behind and centered on the other three. Black spots, later positively identified scientifically as human yet unusual bloodstains, were found near this elevated cross hole, in a crack in the bedrock floor underneath the small stone covering. A large round "seal stone" was also found within the room, lying flat on the floor a short distance in front of the cross holes. This stone is believed to be the one rolled in front of Christs' nearby garden tomb. It appeared to be memorialized here as well. Over a period of time, excavation continued below this room. In 1982, Wyatt's team discovered a room or chamber, some 20 feet below the cross holes. In this chamber some dry rotted timbers were found, just under a pile of large rocks. Under the timbers were the dry rotted remains of animal skins. The animal skins were covering a gold veneered table which had a raised molding around the side, consisting of an alternating pattern of a bell and a pomegranate. This later proved to be an object from the original Tabernacle, used in the Temple of Solomon; the table of shewbread. Later, the golden alter of incense and the seven lamp candlestick were identified within the chamber, covered and protected in the same manner. Other objects were also found, some of which related to the original Tabernacle furniture. The greatest find was a large stone case to the rear of the chamber. It had a flat stone covering on top, which was found to be cracked completely in two. The smaller section of the flat stone covering had been somehow moved aside, creating an opening in the stone case. Black spots were found splattered on the cracked lid of the stone case, later identified as bloodstains, the same type as that found at the cross hole. Immediately above the stone case there was a crack in the rock ceiling, obviously caused by an earthquake. This crack in the rock was directly above the open lid on the stone case. Beneath the opening and inside the stone case was the golden Ark of the Covenant ! Bloodstains of the same type were observed to be splattered onto the Mercy Seat of the Ark! — Later, Ron Wyatt, Biblically informed and excited by what these discoveries might reveal, carefully pushed a tape measure up into the crack in the ceiling, which went up through some 20 feet of solid rock. The end of the tape eventually appeared within the elevated cross hole in the room above and was pulled up by an utterly amazed member of the research crew... The most overwhelming realization of this entire discovery was this; (a) As Christ hung on the cross there was a great earthquake, just at the time of His death. (b) Much later, a Roman soldier thrust a spear into Jesus' side as he hung on the cross and His blood was shed for the remission of our sins, fulfilling Old Testament prophecy. (c) His blood ran down from His pierced body onto the base of the cross and into the recently cracked rock, following the crevice some 20 feet down into the hidden chamber and onto the now broken, opened top of the stone case, where it splashed inside onto the Mercy Seat of the one, true Ark of the Covenant, thereby forever fulfilling Old Testament law regarding the sin offering. (Matthew 27:50-54, John 19:34, Hebrews 9:22,23, Leviticus 16:12-17). The presenting of Christs' blood to His father was perfectly fulfilled. No human hands presented the blood offering... 600 years before Christ would die, God arranged to have His earthly throne, the Ark with its Mercy Seat, hidden deep within the earth, just below where His Son would die on the cross. And upon this Mercy Seat Christ's blood would fall, acknowledging the claims of God's eternal Law. In the earthly service, the high priest offered the blood, but Christ, the True High Priest, was dead. Yet, His Father had arranged that, even in His death, Christ would sprinkle the required blood upon the Mercy Seat.— When Christ died the earth quaked. The rock was split, directly below His cross, and this crevice extended right down into the hidden chamber which contained the undefiled earthly Throne of God (the Ark of the Covenant). When the centurion stuck his spear into Christs' side and pierced His spleen, the Blood and water came out, running down His body onto the ground, on down through that crack in the rock, and was sprinkled onto the Mercy Seat. The original stone tablets upon which the Ten Commandments were written by the finger of God are believed to still be within the Ark. However, due to political corruption, greed, violent unrest in the area and other providential happenings, including mysterious and untimely deaths, these ancient Temple treasures remain unearthed to this day, well guarded amid the broken rock walls of their underground tomb. There are those who believe that eventually this tomb will be completely excavated, that the whole world will be able to physically see this profound evidence. But, who can know the mind of God? (1st Corinthians 2:15,16) ¤ Why have all of these particularly profound Biblical archeological discoveries, and many more throughout the world, remained "silent" to the majority of the world? Why hasn't more of the world reacted positively? Ron Wyatt was an exceptional man and we owe him an unprecedented respect for his supreme contribution to Gods' children... These discoveries are indeed unquestionable proof regarding the accurate testimony of Gods' written word! Where is everybody?! Where are their minds?! Jesus gave His true followers this answer; To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to those who are outside, all things come in parables. The Scriptures are fulfilled; They see what I do, but they don't perceive its meaning. They hear my words, but they don't understand. So, they will not turn from their sins and be forgiven. (Mark 4:10-12) This simply means that the true followers of Jesus will see and understand the evidence of His truth. Those who do not follow Him in truth, those of the world who are of the world, will be spiritually blind to the truth and not be allowed to see it. Though the truth may be right in front of them, they will not be able to see it, nor will they be able to understand it, nor will they be able to comprehend the significance of it. This is because, in their heart of hearts which only God can see, they truly just don't care about it. They don't really want it. They are not among the chosen of God. This is, sadly, the unfortunate condition of the majority in our world today. ¤ If you would like to know more about Ron Wyatt and his discoveries, you can click on the link to his site (Wyatt Archaeological Museum) at the bottom of the Home Page on this website... We're hiking on now to Consultation Lake. It is there, among the great rocks, where we can gain some uplifting and needed insight, that as we become more aware of these truths concerning Jesus, we might learn how we can become more like Him...
Jesus told this saying one day to the twelve disciples who followed Him; Would anyone light a lamp and then put it under a basket or under a bed to shut out the light? Of course not. A lamp is placed on a stand where its light will shine (Mark 4:21). He later told them concerning Himself; I am the light of the world. He who follows me won't be stumbling through the darkness, because he will have the light that leads to life (John 8:12).— Just who was Jesus? He was in fact many things; The Son of God, the light, our light, our hope, our redeemer, our friend, our brother and yet our King. He was many other profound things not mentioned here, but most relevantly, He was our example (1st Peter 2:21). Deep down, no matter who we are or where we are or what we are in the world, we all crave an example. Jesus was with the Father and the Holy Spirit in the creation of the world and everything in it (John 1:1-3). He later left His grand heavenly estate and came willingly to the earth, taking on the form of a human being. He taught us, through His attitude and His actions, how to live on the earth; how to endure life in a fallen domain ruled by the prince of darkness. There could then be no better example to live by than the one who formed us and died for us. He was, if you will, our instruction manual who actually came to life and stepped out of the pages, walking among us. The Biblical writings tell us everything we can know about Him. They can awaken us to a profound yet touchable awareness concerning His life (1st John 1:1-4). Let us then show the utmost of wisdom and endeavor to take a good look at who He was and is, shall we?... Jesus told John in a revelation to him, I am the living one who died. Behold! I am alive forever and ever (Revelation 1:18). Of all the religious leaders in the world who have died and are buried to this day, Jesus, whom we've labeled a religious leader, is the only one not to be found still in His tomb.— His burial place is empty because He has risen! But Jesus was not in reality a religious leader. He was the author of life, the creator of the world. That's a long way, a much higher plain from the religions of yesteryear or the religions of today. Christianity, founded by Jesus, is in fact not a religion. It is simply the name worn by those who believe and know the truth, because Jesus Christ is the truth... "Christian" was a name given to the first century followers of Jesus (Acts 11:26) and rightly so, as the Greek word means "adherent of Christ". Religion, on the other hand, is the adherence to ceremonial practices, constituting man's relationship with other powers and principles of the universe. It can also refer to superstition. Belief in Jesus involves neither ceremonial nor superstitious practices. It involves obeying the living truth. Many have made ceremonial practices out of Christianity and continue to do so, but that is in keeping with the tradition of men. True Christianity is found in imitating the attitudes of the person of Jesus, not in ceremonial practices regarding Him. Jesus said, The time is coming and is already here when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth (John 4:23).— I grew up in a church group that met in a certain building each Sunday, the first day of the week. They sang hymns, offered prayers, participated in the Lords' Supper (a communion or remembrance), took up a collection, taught a lesson or preached a sermon, invited believers forward for prayer or baptism, sang hymns again and closed with prayer. Most everyone left the assembly shaking the preachers' hand, saying, "well done", though some just left without saying anything. Some would hang around and visit with one another. Sometimes there would be a community dinner after the service, or a breakfast prior. There was usually a midweek worship service and other classes offered during the week. Though well organized these gatherings were never ceremonial (ritualistic). Yet, they can become ceremonial when they become all that we do in any given week in the name of Christ. They can become ceremonial and untruthful when glass cathedrals or expensive construction become "church work", when special clothing is worn or titles are used that elevate one person above another, and certainly when the worship of candlesticks, jars of water, statues, pictures, symbols and other man made objects are added to the festivities. Ritualistic or ceremonial practices literally take the "heart" out of worship. Ceremonial practices and traditions made vain the worship of the majority of religious leaders at the time of Christ. Jesus referred to those practitioners as a generation of hypocrites and vipers (Luke 11:39-54, Matthew 12:34), for they did not honor God within their hearts. What then is worshipping God in Spirit and in truth? The Greek word worship means "to adore". Therefore, worshipping is displayed through adoring who Jesus was and adoring what He did. Jesus Himself said, My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing His work (John 4:34). Worshipping in Spirit and in truth then is what is accomplished when we imitate the behavior and attitudes of Jesus through His Spirit which is in us. The apostle Paul said, Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ (1st Corinthians 11:1). This requires a daily focus on one specific goal of accomplishment; to walk in the Spirit (attitude) of Jesus; proclaiming and living His truth. Since we all have certain God given talents or abilities, let us consider an overview of Jesus' life, that we might learn where, when and how to allow the Holy Spirit to apply those specific talents or abilities as worship which allows us to honor Jesus... When Jesus was just twelve years old, he was found one day to be sitting among the teachers in the temple, listening to them and asking questions of them. All who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and His answers.— His parents had been looking for Him for three days prior to finding Him there. His mother scolded Him in that she had entertained much anxiety in searching for Him. However, His answer to her anxiety was, "Why do you seek me? Did you not know that I must be about My Fathers' business?" After those days Jesus went home with His parents. The Bible teaches us that He was an obedient son and that He increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. We hear no more of Him again until He is about thirty years of age. (Luke 2:41-52, & 3:23) — Personally, I did not imitate Jesus in my youth. I attended church, thanks to my mother, but I didn't take Gods' Word seriously then. I wasn't about my spiritual Fathers' business. I am sure life would have been much more rewarding had I done that, and things would have turned out quite differently. Like most boys, I was a "son of the world", and that has cost me so very dearly from my youth. The next recorded event in Jesus' life was His water baptism by John the baptist, at the beginning of Jesus' earthly ministry. It was here that the Holy Spirit descended on Him in the form of a dove. This is exactly how we begin our Christian journey. When we are water baptized into Christ we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). Though not in the same measure nor visible form (a dove) as that of Christ, the Spirit enters us, saves us, and empowers us to do God's will (For an in-depth look at our salvation or entrance into God's spiritual kingdom and the work of the Holy Spirit within us, you might consider hiking the New Birth Trail at this website). Immediately after Jesus left the Jordan River where He had been baptized He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where He was allowed to be tempted by the devil for forty days. (Luke 3;21,22 & 4:1,2). We, too, spend time wandering in the wilderness... The early stages of our Christian life are probably the times we are most susceptible, not just to temptation itself, but to failure to overcome the heavy onslaughts of Satans' inducement at that particularly vulnerable time. We're so use to living in this world and loving the things of the world that it is indeed difficult to separate ourselves from the desires of the world; We fail to concentrate solely on spiritual growth. It definitely takes time to mature through those wilderness wanderings to the point where we can gain the ability to discern good and evil (Hebrews 5:14). It is most evident then at the earliest stage of our Christian life that we need to put our faces into the Bible on a full time basis and learn the Scriptures! Jesus defended against each temptation delivered by Satan through replying to the temptation with Holy Scripture (Luke 4:4-13). That is because, contrary to popular opinion, Only Gods' words can defeat temptation. I have never found human attitude alone to be effective. There is nothing within our human nature that we can use to resist temptation (Romans 7:18). When Jesus departed from the wilderness and began His ministry, He was first and foremost a teacher. He taught in the synagogue buildings where people met. He taught in city neighborhoods, on city streets, in rural neighborhoods, in gardens, in deserts, on mountains, and while on the waters; from a boat. Jesus taught mostly to strangers, everywhere and anywhere. He was not entirely welcomed in his own hometown area (Mark 6:4). Jesus also taught in various homes. He associated with the weak, the poor, and with notorious sinners. He healed the blind, the lame, the crippled, the sick, the hungry and the thirsty, both physically and spiritually. He helped the brokenhearted, taught spiritual freedom to prisoners, taught the spiritually blind to see, set free in heart those oppressed (mistreated or burdened), and announced (proclaimed) that the favor (grace) of God had at that time arrived (Luke 4:18,19). Through all this activity He was not untouchable! Though He too spent much time alone and in prayer amidst the beauty and serenity of the creation, He still took time out for anyone... In His dealings with men and women on the earth Jesus' efforts were not limited as we might limit ours. He was a friend to all races and ranks, even considering what some might call the "socially unworthy" as worthy of His time. Anyone could approach Him. He did not favor wealth or poverty, but treated all persons as brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers. He confronted hypocrisy with rebuke and truth. He showed patience with His worst enemies. He showed kindness, gentleness and forgiveness to those who ignored His dignity, to those who deserted Him, to those who mocked Him, to those who lied about Him, beat Him and allowed Him to be hung on a Roman cross. Jesus was indeed a man of sorrows, well acquainted with grief, yet He totally emptied Himself for the good of others. He could accomplish all these things because He trusted in His Father's promise of His own resurrection and return to heaven. In all things I have briefly spoken of within this writing, the greatest teacher of all time has indeed taught us to go and do likewise (Matthew 28:18-20, Luke 10:37, Ephesians 5:1.2). No, in this century we cannot, through our own power, miraculously heal the sick, the lame or the crippled, nor cure the physically blind or raise the dead, but, we can certainly pray to God about those things and perhaps see them happen while we are in this life. We can give of ourselves both physically and spiritually for the betterment of this present world. — Do you want to honor and worship God in Spirit and in truth? Then You must change (renew your mind) and be a new and different person, starting within your own heart and working outward. You will most likely have to unlearn what the world has taught you concerning religion. You must also nail the passions and desires of your sinful nature to His cross. You must die to your interests in this present evil world and carry your own cross.You must endeavor, with your whole heart, to imitate the life of Christ through His promised Spirit within you, looking forward to and embracing all of the promises of God. This is true worship. (Romans 12:2, Galatians 5:24, 6:14-16, Matthew 11:29, Colossians 1:27) ¤ You won't find too many people in this world who are willing to make the sacrifice of truly crucifying themselves to the world and living for Jesus, in the manner of His example, which we have briefly discussed along this trail. In fact, Jesus himself said; The gateway to life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it. (Matthew 7:14) — Can you find genuine servants of God in this world? Yes, you truly can, though they are few.— We're going to pack up our gear now and leave Consultation Lake behind. We'll be hiking up to Trail Crest, where we'll take a look at the history of Christs' Church. Perhaps once you view this from up there, you may have a better understanding as to what happened to Christs' followers through the centuries, and you may further learn how you might find the real "people of God" in this present world...
How many people do you know who can give you the history of their particular church organization? The reason I ask is, if one does not know the history of their church organization, how can they be sure that it is a continuation of the church Jesus began in 33 AD? If it is not, then there could be some serious problems. If it does not follow the Biblical pattern set down by the chosen Apostles of the first century, who were given that particular authority, then how can its teachings and practices be trusted? After all, do you not recall that Satan is the angel of light, that arch deceiver of old? (2nd Corinthians 11:14, Revelation 12:9) The Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatian Christians in the middle of the first century because there were people in their midst who were perverting the gospel of Christ (Galatians 1:6,7). The New Testament letters confirm that this perversion was taking place in many areas of the Christian world at that time. The Apostles consistently and repeatedly warned that the authority they had received from Christ was for a final, "once for all time" gospel, and that no man had a right to pervert or to change any of their teachings. (Galatians 1:11, 12, Ephesians 3:3-5, 1st Timothy 1:3,4, 2nd Timothy 4:3,4, Jude 3, among many other references) If we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than that which you have received, let him be accursed (The Apostle Paul, Galatians 1:8,9). Paul also warned that, in later times as well, some would depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy... (1st Timothy 4:1-3). This warning emphasized the fact that very powerful and influential false teaching would arise from within the very ranks of Christians themselves! How perverted then are the majority of Christian teachings of today, some 2000 years later?! They've certainly had time to get down right rotten... Again I ask you, is it important to know the history of your Christian organization? Only a fool would respond with a "No, it's not important". Since the devil can appear as the angel of light, and his ministers as ministers of right, we had better be deeply concerned with what we are hearing, what we are believing and what we are practicing. Jesus warned that many would come to Him in the day of judgment and proclaim; Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? Jesus followed with this statement: I never knew you. Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness! (Matthew 7:22,23) It does make a difference what we have been taught to believe, what we are currently being taught to believe, what we truly believe and what we therefore do or practice. We will each face God individually, in which case going "along with the crowd" or continuing in old traditions may not be in our best interest. What happened to the true first century Church? Can we find it today? If not, then what? For each of these questions there are good, solid answers. As for the first century Church, to my knowledge none of those congregations still exist. They were broken, scattered, and some were replaced by congregations formed under Roman authority, created by human rules and doctrinal statements of men, which were not according to the established authority of Christ or His apostles... God has given a complete pattern for His Church in the New Testament. Jesus built His Church exactly as He wanted it, including its worship, creed, rule of faith, unity, organization, names and mission. Those who wish to honor Jesus and to walk in God's way will want to see that todays' church follows the New Testament pattern. No man or group of men anywhere have the right to change this pattern. Those who have tried to do so have merely produced churches different from Christs' true Church. According to God's pattern in the New Testament, Jesus Christ is to be proclaimed as the only Head of the Church, both in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). Each congregation, under Christ, is ruled by elders who are ordained by God to oversee the local church of which they are members (Acts 20:28). Deacons, teachers, preachers and other members work and worship together under the oversight of their elders. (Hebrews 13:17). No one was ever given an exalted position above anyone else, but all were to live as brothers and sisters in Gods' family (1st Peter 4:8-11 & 5:1-5). The words elder, bishop, over-seer, deacon, etc. of the 1st century are not titles, but simply words used to describe the various qualifications of Christians and types of services they render. No one is to be called, "reverend", for the word describes only the name of God (Psalm 119:9). Jesus said, Do not be called 'Rabbi" for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone on earth "Father", for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.— God did not then, nor does he now, authorize the use of "religious" titles or special clothing to elevate these men above any of the other members. Jesus also said, There shall be one fold, and one shepherd. (Matthew 23:1-12, John 10:16) He prayed for unity. He prayed for His disciples of the 1st century, but He also directed His prayer toward all future followers of the one, true faith; Pleading with God, He said; Father...I pray for them...Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth... I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that You have sent Me (John chpt 17).— For many years the original Church enjoyed a "oneness" through many congregations. However, late in the 1st century, soon after the death of the Apostles, uninspired men began exalting one elder above another within the local congregation, and reserving for that elder alone the title of "bishop". From this seemingly innocent beginning, a dangerous trend developed which ultimately triggered a struggle for power among church leaders. In spite of Christs' teaching, soon individual "bishops" were presiding over several congregations within a district which came to be known as a diocese. Eventually, these so-called bishops within certain regions started meeting together to discuss mutual and current problems. By the 3rd century formal meetings were taking place, attended by the bishops within a given Roman province. These meetings, innocent at first, soon gave rise to the formation of human rules and doctrinal statements to be used by the churches. However, these church laws were doctrines and commandments of mere men, not those of Christ and His Apostles (Matthew 15:9, Mark 7:7). By 606 AD, when the evolution of these "religious" power structures came to an unfortunate climax, the people were looking to one mere man as head of the church. This occurred when Boniface III took the title of "pope"— universal bishop of the "Roman Catholic Church". Even among the Apostles, some 600 years earlier, there was not one who dared to claim such power. In 1054 a division occurred in the Catholic Church resulting in the formation of two groups; the Roman Church and the Greek Orthodox Church. Not only did these groups have differences between themselves, but both differed remarkably from the Church which Christ had established in the days of the Apostles. The trend away from the original doctrine and organization given by Jesus in the New Testament preceded the division and continued to characterize both groups. As these groups evolved through the centuries, new doctrines, practices, and ordinances of uninspired men continued to appear, just as Paul (through the Holy Spirit) said they would (1st Timothy 4:1-3). Eventually, a separate priesthood was established that permitted those who considered themselves "special representatives of God" to pronounce forgiveness or retention of sins. A person was required to confess his/her sins to one of these "priests" in order to receive forgiveness. However, the Bible teaches that every Christian is a priest, that Christ is the only Mediator between God and man, and that sins are to be confessed, not to an earthly priest, but directly to God through Jesus Christ (our High Priest), or mutually to one another. (1st Peter 2:5, 1st Timothy 2:5, Hebrews 4:14-16, James 5:16, 1st John 1:7-9) Following those dark ages, a sweeping reform movement began in the 16th century, known as the Protestant Reformation. This movement resulted from protests by the people against the Catholic and Greek Orthodox doctrines. A new era began at which time many new "Protestant" churches had their origin. These have evolved and split many times during the succeeding centuries, until they number well over 300 today. There are in addition "non-denominational churches" that are rapidly increasing in number, as well as various cults, who give homage to so-called modern day prophets.— Most all of these groups give allegiance to their particular chosen names, church manuals and creed books, rather than to the Scriptures as final authority. For justification they cling to those portions of the Bible which seem to them to support their own particular creeds. Some have gone a little further and written their own bibles, such as the Book of Mormon or the New World Translation by the Jehovah's Witnesses. Most show greater loyalty to their beliefs or to their charismatic leaders than they do to God Himself! Being an "old" Indiana Jones fan, I believe I have reasoned appropriately and consequently therefore given all of these contrary teachings discussed within this writing a label that describes their primary activity up through the centuries; The Raiders of the Ancient Text.— Since the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, true Christians, and they are few in number, have remained faithful to Gods' word by rejecting the creeds, doctrines, and philosophies of men. They have always been scattered throughout the world and are usually found in minority groups. They have often times, through the centuries and even to this day, been referred to as heretics. You can find them meeting in some building congregations, in various home congregations, among the poor and the homeless, and living as loners, wandering the towns, rural and wilderness areas in our nation, as well as in other nations of the world. In summing up, Gods' word is authoritative and must be respected if the unity which Jesus prayed for is to be established. In nation after nation, people should today respond to His prayer by throwing off the shackles of denominationalism and various world religions, and seek to become members of the one, true body of Christ; the Church for which He died. Some have courageously done this through the centuries. This is Gods' way.— To those people who say; "It's my way or the highway", God responds with: "My way is the Highway". God is surely not pleased with the religious division in the world today. It goes against everything Jesus taught while He was on the earth. We can only hope to correct this problem when we, as individuals and as groups, take a courageous stand for truth... Dear Hiker, I have given you a very brief overview of the history of the churches of the world. But the half has not yet been told. There have been, through the centuries and still to this day; betrayals, murders, gross executions, mass burnings of Bibles, alterations and pollutions of Biblical manuscripts and translations, along with unimaginable tyranny, greed, sexual indulgence and misconduct, and false teaching under a cloak of humility—all of these atrocities committed by so-called "church" organizations in the name of Christianity. — They are definitely Raiders of the Ancient Text. Since most religious organizations today are less than 500 years old, where is Christ's Church of the 1st century now? Can it be found today? Yes; I told you sincerely in a preceding paragraph where it can be found. When men and women forsake all human elements in religion, remove the barriers of division from between them, and then return completely to God's Truth, the pure New Testament Church of Christ can be re-established. (Romans 16:16) No Church of Christ can be perfect, because it is made up of human beings with individual flaws just like you and me. None of the 1st century congregations were perfect, as evidenced by the New Testament letters. Yet, they were all originally of one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all (Ephesians 4:4-6). If you are unable to find an organization of Christ's Church which fits that description, you can become the first member of your local congregation. Yes. You can establish a part of the body of Christs' Church, the Church of the New Testament, even in your own home, beginning with family and friends. The New Testament book of Acts can teach you how to accomplish this. You don't need a college education or any type of earthly license for the task. For help in understanding some of the concepts in the book of Acts, I encourage you to visit the New Birth Trail and Bible Map at this website. ¤ We're dropping down off the Crest now, hiking a short distance on the John Muir Trail to the Summit Trail, the last adventure on our journey along the Trail of Time. This trail will put us at the top of the mountain, a good place to look at the truth concerning the end of this present world. There is so much misunderstanding in that regard. A view from the summit will shed much light on the actual simplicity of it all...
In concluding our hike along the Trail of Time, it's only fitting that we look, from this elevation and from a Biblical perspective, at the end of time; the end of this present heavens and earth as we know them. As beautifully captivating as the panorama is from up here on Whitneys' summit, it remains a fact that that our earth is in the process of decaying. We have only added to this course through our reckless mishandling of both the landscape and environment. Most of the air we now breathe is mingled with pollutants as are the seas and major rivers. — Is this how it will end? Will we destroy our own world and thus destroy ourselves? No, not hardly. The end of this present world is reserved for the Creator alone, and He has chosen to inform us clearly of what will take place. When people are saying, "All is well—everything is peaceful and secure," then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a womans' birth pains begin when her child is about to be born, and there will be no escape (2nd Peter 3:7, 1st Thessalonians 5:3). There are many theories on the end times. Hundreds of books have been written on the subject and, since we live in a world where sensationalism abounds, various authors have focused on that within their "fantastic" writings. Unfortunately, I have read few books that teach the simple truth on the matter. I have visited so-called "Christian" book stores that contain more books on the end of the world than any other books, yet, have found none which have told the simple truth. Much like watching the evening news, their best selling writings are more books of fiction than reality, as are their diverse interpretive collections on the Biblical book of Revelation. Bottom line is that you do not have to be deceived. What is the end time reality? As to the day and hour of the end of the ages, no man can know (Matthew 24:36, Mark 13:32). The angels don't know, Jesus doesn't know—according to Scripture only the Father knows. Much like us, with their hope based on Christs' return and the resurrection of the dead, the early Christians were equally concerned about the end times. The New Testament writers answered their questions through authoritative written narratives. These narratives (found only in the New Testament collection) describe all of the main events concerning that time. God is not the author of confusion (1st Corinthians 14:33). He has left us well informed through a condensed version of what we are to know concerning those events, written in practical and understandable language. We will discuss here what He has said, in chronological order, concerning the end times, the return of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, the physical changes of the Christians for entering into eternal life, their departure into the air, and the final destruction of this present heavens and earth... The "second coming" of Christ is mentioned over 300 times in 260 chapters of the New Testament. Jesus referred to His return approximately 20 times in the four gospels. The words "second coming" do not actually appear in the Scriptures and tend to make the message sound like Christ is actually going to set foot on the earth again. Christ will not set foot on this present earth again. The Hebrew letter says that He will appear a second time, which supports the truth that he will only appear in the sky (in the air) and not on the surface of the earth (Hebrews 9:28, 1st Thessalonians 5:17). He would also have no reason whatsoever to step onto this present earth; The purpose of His coming is to render up His spiritual kingdom (the Church) and deliver it to God (1st Corinthians 15:24). The Church is the only thing Christ intends to rescue out of this material world, and it by nature is a spiritual kingdom—His spiritual kingdom, which came into existence about 33 AD, and has continued since then to grow. Christ never intended to build a physical kingdom on this present physical earth. All material substances will be burned up (John 18:36, 2nd Peter 3:10)... The return of Christ is going to be a personal, visible, world-wide appearance; completely the opposite of His first appearance as a helpless babe in an animal shelter. There will be no advance warning to give people time and opportunity to get ready; For as lightning comes from the east and is seen even to the west, so shall be the coming of the Son of Man. The world will be caught off-guard. The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. A thief strikes when we least expect it. Our pleasure mad, physically oriented society will be spiritually asleep. Jesus will come suddenly on the clouds of heaven and every eye shall see Him. Not a person in the entire world will miss out on this, shall we say, "life changing" event! (Matthew 24:26, 27, 1st Thessalonians 5:2, Luke 12:39,40, Revelation 1:7) Though Christ is most assuredly coming to redeem the saved, He is also coming to judge the unsaved; The hour is coming when all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth; those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. God's written Word, the Bible, will be the measure of that judgment. This judgment will be according to ones' deeds as they relate to Gods' Word. Those who have been ashamed of the person of Jesus and His teachings in their lives will at this time find Him to be ashamed of them, even confessing to them that He never knew them. (John 5:28,29, 12:48, Revelation 20:12, Matthew 16:27, 7:23) According to the Bible, the moment Jesus appears, Christians will be changed... When the Lord appears an archangel will shout and the trumpet of God will be heard. The dead will then come forth from their graves, all the dead from both land and sea. The Christian dead, along with the Christians who are alive, will undergo, in the twinkling of an eye, a miraculous change in the body that will cause body and spirit to be both incorruptible and immortal. They will see Christ as He truly is for they shall be like Him. Death is swallowed up through this victory and will be no more. All Christians will then rise from the earth together, into the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. From then on, into eternity, they will always be with the Lord. (1st Corinthians 15:35-55, 1st Thessalonians 4:13-18, Revelation 20:13, Ist John 3:2) The day will not go well with the unsaved dead who have risen, nor for the unsaved which remain alive at His coming. For them, it is judgment day, the day they face everlasting death. Since their names were not written in Gods' Book of Life, they will be cast into what the Bible calls the lake of fire, for their ultimate destruction. Satan and his angels will also be destroyed. This is an everlasting destruction; Their flesh, their soul, their spirits, their being, will be no more. It will be as if they never existed, for there will be no memory of them. (John 5:28,29, Acts 24:15, Revelation 20:10-15, Job 7:8-10) This present earth and its heavens will also be completely destroyed. The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it shall be burned up (2nd Peter 3:10). Nevertheless, according to the promise of God, there will be new heavens and a new earth. This will be a paradise, perhaps similar to this present earth prior to the devastating and reshaping flood of Noah (For more on the pre-flood earth, hike back down to the Mirror Lake junction on this trail). (Isaiah 65:17, 66:22, 2nd Peter 3:13, Revelation: chpt 21) The teachings regarding the main events of the end times have been made simple (easy to understand) through the words of Jesus and the New Testament writings of the Apostles. It was intended to be easily understood that we might be well prepared. What makes it, for the majority, difficult to understand are the volumes of interpretations found on the shelves of your local "Christian" bookstore. Sensationalism abounds here, and that is the tool the enemy of truth uses to insure that you are unprepared. Through various authors, he cunningly weaves the philosophy of the so-called educated of the world, and false Christian philosophy of the world, together, into and tightly around the words of God. The main problem with these false teachers is their inability to discern the spiritual from the physical. Granted, there are some things within the Bible regarding the end times, especially within the book of Revelation, that are hard to be understood. These particular teachers and their students, being actually untaught and unstable, twist these teachings to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures (2nd Peter 3:16). While we are in our present bodies the realities of heaven are unseen, and we know them only by faith. The hope founded on what faith teaches gives us the courage to endure and to dream. We can form an idea of the perfect life of heaven only from what we know imperfectly at this time... Our communion with God and with other Christians will be unbroken. There will be no pain, no sorrow or death. Life will never end. We will see and know Jesus as He truly is... forever. Both Paul and John had a glimpse of this paradise and described it as inexpressibly glorious... It is difficult for us to comprehend what it will be like there, but not unimaginable. Perhaps, as you hike along this earthly trail, you might closely examine the intricacy of a wildflower. The goodness, kindness and completeness of Gods' creative ability is written all over it. His love and compassion radiate from within it. I don't know about you, but to me this makes the glories of heaven somewhat more imaginable. (2nd Corinthians 12:4, Revelation 21:22) I will praise you, my God and my King, and bless Your name forever and ever. I will bless You every day, and I will praise You forever. Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! His greatness is beyond discovery! Let each generation tell its children of Your mighty acts. I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and on Your wondrous works... The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. (Psalm 145:1-5 & 18)
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