Category Archives: Gospel

March 17, 2014 · 17:10

I Am A Christian

Cross in Tunnel

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. (Romans 1:16)

I am a Christian. I do not adhere to a religion. I submit to, dedicate and devote my life to a person – the Person of Jesus Christ. He is my Creator (John 1:1-3), my Lord (Philippians 2:11), my Master (John 13:13) and my God (John 20:28). I owe my entire life (John 1:4), in this present physical state, and in a future and glorified state, to Him. I have this assurance because I have placed my complete trust in Him for my present welfare and my future security (Romans 10:11). There is nothing that I have done or can do to procure that right. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9, emphasis added). I know this to be true because, “as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12), and that applies to me. I know the truth of this because He placed His Spirit within me and His Spirit confirms with my spirit that this is indeed true. “Now he which [establishes] us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts” (2 Corinthians 1:21-22, emphasis added), and “The Spirit [Himself] beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” (Romans 8:16).

I am a Christian. I believe that the Bible is THE Word of God. That being the case, it is without error (inerrant), and it is faithful and true (infallible). The Bible may include some things that I cannot understand or explain, but I accept it nonetheless because, coming from God, it is true. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:26, emphasis added). The Bible did not come to us by the device of man, but rather by men as inspired and directed by God. “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed … Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 2:19-21, emphasis added). The same Spirit of God that inspired the scribes of God’s Word also gives understanding to those who have “ears to hear.” Jesus promised, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26, emphasis added). As a Christian, I reject that a Pope or any other so called “spiritual leader” has greater insight into the Word of God than what the Holy Spirit has given me, so long as I submit to His leading and not to my personal preferences. Those who reject the Bible do so not because they do not understand it, but because they do understand and are unwilling to comply with its teachings. But regardless of what men say, the Word of God will stand when all others fall. God says, “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11, emphasis added). Jesus echoed the same assertion this way: “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Matthew 5:18, emphasis added). So, when Genesis 1 records that God created the universe and all that is in it – earth, sun, moon, stars, plants, animals, and man – in just six 24-hour days, I accept that as truth, regardless of whether or not science can confirm it, which, by the way, it does. When Jesus says “I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:3), I know that is true.

I am a Christian. I know that Jesus will return as He promised (John 14:1-3) to snatch away those who have placed their trust in Him. “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1Thessalonians 4:16-17, emphasis added). Those who have placed their trust in their own devices or gods of their own making are destined to an eternity separated from God in Hell. The Apostle Peter puts it this way:

The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord. But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; (2 Peter 2:9-12, emphasis added).

However, this is not the will of God. “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9, emphasis added). But there is only one way to obtain eternal life, not many ways as many would prefer. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6, emphasis added). “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12, emphasis added). While many see this as narrow and intolerant, I would be quick to point out that the holiness of God demands that all sin be punished “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23, emphasis added). It is only through His grace and mercy that we even have this “way” of salvation.

I am a Christian. I am not sinless. I am not perfect. In my own strength I am no greater that the worst offender. Any right standing that I have before God is only through the covering (atoning) blood of Jesus Christ my Lord who shed His precious blood in my stead to completely pay my debt of sin, and not mine alone but “whosoever” will believe in Him (John 3:16).  However, even though I am not sinless or perfect, my heart’s desire is to please my God and emulate my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and that distinguishes me from someone who is not a Christian. Even this is the result of God’s Spirit in me rather than something I manufacture through my own effort.

I am a Christian. I continue to learn and grow as I strive to follow the example of my Lord. The Bible tells us that the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch (Acts 11:26). A “disciple” is a student or pupil. In the first century, a disciple did not sit at a desk taking notes from an instructor. Rather, they attached themselves to a teacher and tried not only to learn the “teachings” of their teacher, but they tried to emulate his life style. These students at Antioch learned indirectly from Barnabas and Saul (Paul) the teachings of Jesus, and they tried to emulate the life of Christ to the point that outsiders took notice and assigned to them the moniker of “Christian.” My desire, as a Christian, is to so live my life in such a way that others will see Christ in me.

Will you join me and take on the name of Christ? You will not be in the majority. Jesus said, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). The Greek word translated “strait” is stenos which means “narrow” and it carries the idea of a very tight passage through which one must squeeze with great effort. Thus, it is easily overlooked. The Greek word translated “narrow” is thlibō which means crowed, not because many are on the way, but because it is narrow (like a deer trail) and the few that are on the path overcrowd it easily. It is a road fraught with affliction, tribulation and trouble. It is a perilous road that will alienate the traveler from friends and family and the world. It does come with a cost, but Jesus said:

Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. (Matthew 10:34-38, emphasis added)

I am a Christian. My first allegiance is to Christ. Yet, as severe as these words of the Lord are, there is a paradox. Jesus also said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30, emphasis added). There is nothing that the Lord takes away, that He does not replace with something much better. Those others along the crowed narrow way are your brothers and sisters in Christ, and often, they understand the struggles you face because they have faced them too, and they are there to help you along the narrow way. God’s family is greater than any earthly family or any worldly friends. That is just one more reason I am glad I am a Christian.

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Filed under Apologetics, Christianity, Creation, End Times, Evangelism, Gospel, Heaven, Hell, Religion, Salvation, Second Coming of Christ, Theology

March 9, 2014 · 12:00

Praying In Jesus’ Name

Prayer

And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. (John 14:13)

Recently a “new born” Christian expressed concern that “everyone” in his church, beginning with the pastor, concluded public prayer with the innocuous phrase “in His name. Amen” instead of “in Jesus’ name.” In his young Christian walk, he had been taught we should always pray in the name of Jesus, but this was not what he was witnessing in his church, and he was offended. I encouraged him to try not to judge because we cannot know the true motives of the person voicing the prayer; that judgment belongs to God, but I also encouraged him to follow through on his conviction, and when he has opportunity to voice a public prayer, to boldly pray in Jesus’ name.

Following my counsel to this young Christian, I thought about what he had said, and I recalled observing the same thing in my own Christian circles. I often hear those who I believe are strong Christians pray publicly – even among other Christians – and close their prayer with the generic “in His name we pray.” Why is that? In whose name are we praying? “His name” could be George, or perhaps Francis of Assisi. Now, I have heard many people pray that way when they are in a “mixed” crowd. Perhaps they do it to be politically correct and not offend someone who does not recognize Jesus as God, but why do it in church or among other Christians?

I am not one who adheres to or promotes special formulas for prayer. The prayer of Jabez (1 Chronicles 4:9-10) is no magic formula – although it was for Bruce Wilkerson. Neither is the so called Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) – more aptly named “the Model Prayer” – something that need not be oft recited. Nor does prayer have to need to be uttered in King James English; God understands modern English perfectly, even coming from a teenager. 🙂

To me, prayer is simply carrying on a conversation with the Creator of the universe. What an awesome privilege we have to do that! Paul encourages us to “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). How does one do that? Well, how do you carry on a conversation with a close friend or relative? How do you talk with your spouse? A conversation with God should be no different, albeit more reverent and respectful – after all, you are speaking to God. I speak to God all day long, and it does not require that I bow my head and close my eyes, or that I voice my prayer audibly. God knows our thoughts (Psalm 139:4), and He cares about every detail of our lives. No one else may care about the terrible traffic you face on your daily commute, but God does, and He doesn’t mind hearing about it. So, prayer isn’t something mystical that need be approached with some magical manipulative formula. Just talk to God!

But there are those occasions when we need to have more than a casual conversation with God. There are needs that come into our lives or the lives of those for whom we care. Perhaps we have a friend or a loved one that is lost and in need of the Savior. Prayer may be needed for some ministry effort. Naturally, God knows about and cares about all of these needs, but He wants us to care about these needs just as He does, and He wants us to talk to Him about those needs. Perhaps He wants us to join Him in the effort to meet those needs, and He will not impose those things on us unless we care about them too. When we talk to Him, He speaks to our hearts as well. But when we pray about these things, Jesus says that we should ask all these things in His name. “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you” (John 15:16, emphasis added). It should be obvious that this is not meant for frivolous requests like: “my house needs a new roof,” or “I need new tires for my truck” or “Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz?” (I threw in that last one for those who might remember Janis Joplin. 🙂 ) Notice that Jesus called us for a purpose “that ye should go and bring forth fruit.” “And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight” (1 John 3:22, emphasis added). “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us” (1 John 5:14, emphasis added). Part of that will is that we pray in Jesus’ name.

The name of Jesus is powerful when invoked. Following Jesus’ ascension into heaven, the first miracle performed by the Apostles was when Peter healed the lame man at the Temple by praying in the name of Jesus: “Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk” (Acts 3:6, emphasis added). Paul cast a demon out of a young woman by calling on the name of Jesus: “Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the [demonic] spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour” (Acts 16:18, emphasis added). “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Colossians 3:17, emphasis added). “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord [Jesus]” (James 5:14). So powerful is that name of Jesus, that it should not be uttered carelessly. Paul called the Corinthian church on account of an incestuous marriage between a man and his father’s wife – probably his stepmother. Paul instructed the church to withdraw fellowship from the couple if they would not repent and further, “In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” (1 Corinthians 5:4-5, emphasis added). Without doubt, these people were saved, but were living in sin that damaged the testimony of Jesus Christ; therefore Paul called for prayer that God would punish them harshly, perhaps even by premature death, rather than have such sin infect the rest of the church (1 Corinthians 5:6). But notice that the power is in the name of Jesus.

So, there is no magic formula for prayer, but if the prayer is of a serious nature, something that requires Divine intervention and something that is in accordance with God’s will, it should be asked in the name of Jesus and not just “in His name,” but “in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.” This is true for all of our petitions to God, but more importantly, when praying publicly where others can hear. You cannot know who is listening to your prayer. “His name” informs the hearer of nothing. They may not know who “He” is. I would further exhort all believers when called on to pray in public in the hearing of a mixed audience, do not be ashamed to invoke the name of Jesus loudly, and boldly.  Recall Jesus’ words: “Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels” (Mark 8:38). Pray in Jesus’ name.

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February 23, 2014 · 12:00

Age of the Earth

Genesis 1

“For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is …” (Exodus 20:11)

There is no argument that the age of the earth debate between evolutionists and creationists has no resolution because there can be no middle ground for compromise on either side. At issue is the question of origins: did all that exists come about by random chance over billions of years through natural causes, or did an omnipotent, omniscient Creator bring it all into being? It is one or the other, and the one who holds either view holds that view religiously and tenaciously. There is no “give.”

Lamentably, the real battle exists in the Christian camp (among “brothers”) where a variety of opinions persist. Is the earth 4.5 billion years old as the evolutionists claim, or is it only 6,000 years old as the Bible seems to indicate? Most Christians accept that God created all that exists, but beyond that opinions vary as to how God created. That God spoke everything into being as the Bible records is too simplistic an answer for some. There are basically two major divisions in this debate. The first group contends that God created everything in six 24-hour days around 6000 years ago. The second group comes in several flavors, but basically they agree with the evolutionists that God created everything over 13.7 billion years ago and used evolution in one form or another to create life. However, they will contend that man was a “special” creation of God and did not evolve from lower life forms. My intent here is to give a brief defense of the first group. The second group is indefensible in my opinion.

I wish to respond to three questions recently posed to me. (1) Where, exactly, does the Bible say that the earth is only six thousand years old? (2) How do we know that the creation spoken of in the Bible took place in six literal 24-hour days, as opposed to uncounted eons of time? (3) In 2 Peter 3:8, it says “that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”  Is this passage pointing to God as being outside of time, or is it the basis for the 6-day/6-thousand years belief?

In answer to the first question, the Bible does not give an age for the earth per se. God did not exactly “date stamp” His creation. Archbishop James Ussher determined that the earth was created in the year 4004 BC by using the genealogies found in Genesis along with other sources.[1] When one begins with the Genesis account of creation (Genesis 1) and counts the generations from Adam to the Flood, one gets about 1656 years. From the Flood to the birth of Abraham was 297 years for a total of about 1953 years.[2] We can round that off to about 2000 years. Then we have about 2000 years to Jesus and from Jesus until now we have another 2000 years for a total of 6000 years – give or take a couple of hundred years.

Second, God created everything in six literal days. The Hebrew word used for “day” is yom, and it almost always means a normal 24-hour day. On those few occasions when it does not mean a literal 24-hour day, context lets us know that, as in the case of “the day of the Lord.” Furthermore, just in case it is not clear enough for us, God further specifies that “the evening and the morning was the first day, second day, third day,” etc., making it clear that God means a literal 24-hour day (Genesis 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31). Later, in Exodus 20:11, as God gave the commandment concerning the keeping of the Sabbath, God says, “For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.” In other words, God is saying, “I gave you the example by creating in six days and resting on the seventh, and I want you to follow My example.”

The third question deals with what a “day” means to God. When we look at 2 Peter 3:8 we need to keep the context in mind. Peter is talking about the Second Coming of Christ, and he is encouraging his readers, in the midst of persecution, not to lose heart in waiting for Christ’s return. In essence he says that God does not mark time the way we do; He is not bound by time as we are. Furthermore, Peter employs simile when he says “one day is with the Lord as [or “like”] a thousand years, and a thousand years as [or “like”] one day.” Notice what he DID NOT say: “one day is with the Lord a thousand years, and a thousand years is one day.” We need to take care when reading the Bible not to read into Scripture what is not there.

There is no scriptural reason not to believe in a young earth, nor is there any scientific reason to not to believe in a young earth; but I will let the scientists at the Institute for Creation Research argue those finer points of science. Trust what God says in His Word – ALL of it! Seriously, who would you rather believe? The words of fallible man or the Word of Infallible God?

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February 16, 2014 · 12:00

The First Sacrifice

For Adam and Eve, this was the first time the first couple witnessed death. Innocent blood spilled to cover the consequence of their sin. (Romans 6:23)

For Adam and Eve, this was the first time the first couple witnessed death. Innocent blood spilled to cover the consequence of their sin. (Romans 6:23)

“Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.” (Genesis 3:21)

Recently someone asked me a very interesting question: “Did God use human form to sacrifice the first animals, or was that done spiritually, without a body?” Of course, this is one of those questions for which we cannot give a definitive/authoritative answer. The problem is that the Bible does not provide enough detail for us make an assertive statement one way or the other. Consider our text above: “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21). That is it. That is all we have to go by. Anything beyond that is pure speculation on anyone’s part.

However, having said that, I believe that God took the form of the pre-incarnate Christ and performed the sacrifice before them – in their sight – so that they could witness for themselves the price or cost of their sin. Some innocent animal’s blood had to be shed in order to cover (atone for) their sin. Since they had never killed anything or experienced death in any way, they had to see how this was done in order for them to continue the practice. That they continued the practice is evidenced in the following chapter where Abel sacrificed a lamb from his flock (Genesis 4:4), while Cain offered “the fruit of the ground” (Genesis 4:3). Cain’s offering was rejected by God because it did not follow what God had prescribed in the beginning (Genesis 4:5).

This same practice of sacrifice was followed by Noah after the Flood (Genesis 8:20), by the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel), and finally by the children of Israel after they came out of Egypt. I believe this practice of sacrifice was handed down, generation after generation beginning with Adam, and it was learned by the example given by the pre-incarnate Christ who would ultimately be the perfect Lamb of God.

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February 10, 2014 · 00:46

The Exceptions

Fallen Angels

“… and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world …” (Revelation 17:8)

In my last post, “The Book of Life” I talked about the Book of Life that will be opened at the Great White Throne Judgment. Anyone whose name is not found written in the Book of Life is sentenced to an eternity in hell. I also expressed my understanding that everyone who has ever been born has their names written in the Book of Life initially, but whether they remain there depends on how they respond to God’s offer of salvation.

I said this was true with some exceptions, but I did not want to go into the details at that time. The reason I did not elaborate on the “exceptions” is because it might sound a little strange or even weird to some people, and trying to explain it in one or two paragraphs would be next to impossible. In fact, books have been written on the subject, so it would be difficult to explain in just a few words.

Just by way of disclaimer: what I am suggesting in the following paragraphs should not be taken as “gospel.” These are simply my thoughts based on studies that I have done, and are not meant to represent any kind of ecclesiastical dogma. There are many things in God’s Word that are not made clear to us, and to attempt to build a case on a shaky foundation is simply foolish. So, I recommend a healthy dose of skepticism before continuing. You may think I am full of bologna, and that is fine. This is something I “think” is true, but I wouldn’t bet my next paycheck on it. So, read on.

You remember in Genesis 3 that Satan came to Eve in the form of a serpent and tempted her to eat of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. She then shared the fruit with Adam who also ate of the fruit so that both sinned by disobeying God’s only commandment – that they should not to eat of that tree. God punished them, as He had warned them, by causing them to die in two ways: (1) they would no longer live forever (when God created man, He intended them to live forever), and (2) they were separated from their Creator. This is what we know as original sin, and all generations since Adam and Eve have inherited original sin. We all have a “sin nature.” That is why the Bible says that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23, emphasis added). God also cursed the ground from which man was taken so that all of God’s creation suffers because of man’s sin. “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now” (Romans 8:22, emphasis added). Adam’s punishment was that work would be hard for him, and Eve’s punishment was that she would have pain in bearing children.

Following that (about 1600 years later), we are told that violence increased in the world. “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart” (Genesis 6:5-6). That was bad enough, but the first verses of Genesis 6 talks about something that is very strange, and has puzzled biblical scholars for ages . It says:

1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose …
4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. (Genesis 6:1-2, 4, emphasis added)
 

The “sons of God” in the Hebrew is bene elohim. This term always refers to angels in the Old Testament. (See Job 1:6; Job 2:1; and Job 38:7.) There are two kinds of angels: Satan’s angels (demons) and God’s angels. (Something to keep in mind is that even the devil is God’s devil. God created him, and he rebelled against God. But the devil (Satan) cannot do anything without God’s permission. This is demonstrated in the first three chapters of Job.) So, these demons “mated” with human females to create a mighty race of men. Now, angels cannot procreate directly, so what probably happened is that these demons possessed human males in order to mate with the human females. This somehow altered the DNA of the children born from these demonic unions so that they created “giants.” The Hebrew word used for “giants” is nephalim, and it literally means “fallen ones.”

Imagine just how bad things got that God felt He had to destroy them all. “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD” (Genesis 6:8) and “Noah was a just man and perfect in all his generations, and Noah walked with God” (Genesis 6:9, emphasis added). The phrase that Noah was “perfect in all his generations” does not mean that he was sinless. Remember, “all have sinned.” What this means, then, is that his blood line was not contaminated by the satanic unions of the others.

When I say that there are “some exceptions,” this is to what I’m referring. Revelation 17 discusses the apostate church during the Tribulation who the Antichrist will eventually destroy. About those who follow that apostate church it says, “The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is” (Revelation 17:8, emphasis added). It is very clear that these were never written in the Book of Life – “from the foundation of the world.” It is as if these were never meant to be born.

One would think that the Global Flood should have taken care of all of the “bad seed.” Well, perhaps not all of them. As we continue the narrative in Genesis 6, God sent the Flood that covered the entire earth for almost a whole year. The Bible tells us that Noah and his wife and his three sons and their wives were in the Ark for 371 days, before the earth was once again livable.

Then follows an incident where Noah got drunk, and his son Ham saw him naked (Genesis 9:20-29). Ham, instead of covering his father went and told his brothers, Japheth and Shem. So they went into Noah’s tent backward so as not to see the nakedness of their father and they covered him up. When Noah awoke from his drunk and discovered what Ham had done, he cursed Canaan, Ham’s youngest son. So the question is, why did Noah curse Canaan and not Ham or Ham’s other sons? The answer may be that Ham’s wife may have carried some of the “bad seed” of the Nephalim in her, and it showed up in Canaan. One of the characteristics of Nephalim is that they had six fingers. (Goliath’s father had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot (2 Samuel 21:20).) Canaan was probably born with six fingers and when Noah saw it, he cursed him. So, some of these probably still exist in our world today with or without six fingers, but God knows who they are. These would not qualify to be written in the Book of Life.

Canaan’s descendants settled in the “Land of Canaan” which was given to Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 13:14-18; 15:18-21). Genesis 10:15-20 describes who these people were and where they settled. “And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha” (Genesis 10:19). These are the people that the children of Israel had to face when they entered the Promise Land. As they prepared to enter into the land, 12 spies were sent in to spy out the land and report back what they encountered. The book of Numbers records the bad report returned by 10 out of the 12 spies. “And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight” (Numbers 13:33). Again, here the Hebrew word for “giants” is nephalim – the “fallen ones.” In The Henry Morris Study Bible, Dr. Morris makes this note about this verse:

There were also other tribes of giants in the land. “That was also accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonites call them Zamzummims; A people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims” [i.e., sons of Anak] (Deuteronomy 2:20, 21). Here, and in a number of other passages, the word for “giants” is Rephaim, evidently a tribe descended from the “Rephaims” associated with the “Zuzims” and the “Emims” of Genesis 14:5. The Emims also were called “a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims” (Deuteronomy 2:10).

All of these references indicate that there had been another irruption of the fallen “sons of God” just as in the days before the Flood. This time the irruption was probably in connection with the events surrounding the rebellion at Babel and the subsequent worldwide dispersion of the occult religious system introduced there. These demon-possessed men and women became the progenitors of tribes characterized by giantism, just as in the antediluvian days. (http://www.icr.org/bible/numbers/13:33/)

So, it is apparent that these nephalim somehow managed to survive the Flood. These who survived were descendants of Canaan, which explains why Noah cursed Canaan and not Ham. Oh, and by the way, Ham begat other sons before Canaan: Cush, Mizraim (Egypt), and Phut. Canaan was the youngest, but evidently, he carried the “bad seed.”

Now, to further complicate things, I am sure you have heard of UFOs and of aliens abducting humans. I believe (and I am not alone in this) that these are demons that are doing the same thing today as they were doing back in Genesis 6. (See my article “Aliens?”) These creatures, that may look very human, were never meant to be born, so their names are not written in the Book of Life.

Unless you are one of the nephalim (and you probably are not, if you are reading this), your name is written in the Book of Life. My question to you would be, is your name permanently written in the Book of Life, or is there a possibility that it could be blotted out? That choice is up to you.

Watch “On the Trail of the Nephalim” on YouTube with L.A. Marzulli.

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