The Gap Theory/ Interval Revisited 519-2 - 3 -

The Gap Theory/ Interval Revisited, a favorite topic for me. The only argument I would have against the gap theory is that, I really don’t have one and after digging deeper into the Word I believe that there is merit to it. Also, the Gap Theory/ Interval could represent a middle ground between the Young and Old Earth advocates. However and in my opinion, a major problem with this theory is most people would reject it along with fallen angels and the existence of descendants of those fallen angels. Easier to believe in ET!

By truncating footnotes I’ve taken some liberties with what I consider to be a unique and informative version of the Word, The Holy Bible Recovery Version. Left out are numerous passages cited by the authors in support of their footnotes.

1. God’s Original Creation 1: 1

Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

Footnotes:

Genesis 1: 1 beginning, referring to the beginning of time. Time began at the creation of the universe and continues until the final judgment at the great white throne. Time is for the accomplishing of God’s eternal purpose, which God made in eternity past for eternity future.

Genesis 1: 1 Created here, denoting to bring something into existence out of nothing, differs from made and formed, not taking something that already exists and use it to produce something else. The motive of God’s creation was to fulfill God’s desire and to satisfy His good pleasure. The purpose of God’s creation is to glorify the Son of God and to manifest God Himself.

Genesis 1:1 heavens In the process of God’s creation, the heavens and the angels therein were created first, and the earth, probably with some living creatures, was created.

2. Judgment and Corruption 1:2

Genesis 1 2, “But the earth became waste and emptiness, and darkness was on the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was brooding upon the surface of the waters.”

Footnotes:

Genesis 1:2 waste, whenever the words waste and emptiness are used together in the Old Testament, they denote a result of God’s. The darkness on the surface of the deep also is a sign of God’s judgment

Genesis 1:2 deep I.e., the deep water. In the Bible water symbolizes either life or death. The water here signifies death. As a result of God’s judgment on the preadamic universe, the entire earth was covered with deep water, signifying that the earth was filled with death and was under death.

Genesis 1:2 Spirit - ruach, variously translated spirit, wind, breath. This is the first mentioning of the Spirit in the Bible. The Spirit of God, as the Spirit of life, came to brood over the waters of death in order to generate life, especially man, for God’s purpose. In spiritual experience, the Spirit’s coming is the first requirement for generating life.

[Living Stream Ministry (2012-09-18). Holy Bible Recovery Version (contains footnotes)]

Genesis 1:1-2, "In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth. 2 But the earth was unsightly and unfurnished, and darkness was over the deep, and the Spirit of God moved over the water."

[Brenton, Sir Lancelot C. L. (2010-09-05). English Translation of the Greek Septuagint]

God would not create a mess so this suggests that Satan rendered it “unsightly and unfurnished.” So a possible gap to between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2? I read somewhere that, the original Hebrew reads “And the earth became without form” implying that when Satan fell and took a third of the angels with him, he caused disorder on God’s creation. So “the earth became without form” so the Spirit of God once more had to move upon the face of the waters.

Nehemiah's approach to prayer 513 - 5 - 5

Hanani, one of Nehemiah's brethren shared with him that "the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire." Like Daniel, Nehemiah went to his prayer closet.

Nehemiah 1:4, “And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,” Nehemiah said,” I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments.”

Nehemiah prayed without ceasing confessing “the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned.” Nehemiah included himself as a sinner perhaps in keeping with Isaiah 64:6, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”

Again drawing in part upon Donald K. Campbell list of 21 effective leadership exhibited by Nehemiah, several dealt with prayer.

5. He patiently waited for God’s timing.

7. He prayed at crucial times.

11. He took time (three days) to rest, pray, and plan.

21. He courageously used the authority of his position knowing that he was confronted with a situation he could not solve by himself. However, Nehemiah also knew that with God all things are possible.

Lessons learned include fasting is often done in combination with intense prayer creating a synergistic effect. Prayers are answered in God’s timing.  Isaiah 40:31, “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

Prayers are to be passionate as in Nehemiah saying “I beseech you” and recognizing who God is, “the great and terrible God that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments.” Twice I cried out to God at crucial times after injuring myself. I reminded God that “with his stripes we are healed.” Twice I was healed, with God all things are possible.

Getting proper rest is a failing with me. I allow myself to become so tired that when I start to pray at bedtime, I fall asleep. That said, I pray often during the day, however, falling asleep on God? Resting in His protection.

The Nethinim 513 - 5 - 2

Set aside for service, compared to bastards in Talmudic times, brings to mind Psalm 69:12, “They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I was the song of the drunkards.”

In Luke 4:18 Jesus came as the suffering servant, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,"

However, in verse 19 Jesus adds "To preach the acceptable year of the Lord."

The name Nethinim is a plural form derived from the verb נתן (natan) meaning to give. They are mentioned as early as 1 Chronicles 9:2, “Now the first inhabitants that dwelt in their possessions in their cities were, the Israelites, the priests, Levites, and the Nethinims.”

As for their genealogy, Ezra 2:43, “The Nethinims: the children of Ziha, the children of Hasupha, the children of Tabbaoth,” Ezra 2:58, “All the Nethinims, and the children of Solomon's servants, were three hundred ninety and two.”

They had their own city. Ezra 2:70, “So the priests, and the Levites, and some of the people, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinims, dwelt in their cities, and all Israel in their cities. According to Nehemiah 3:26 the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel.

Surfing the Internet for "Who were the Nethinims" resulted in only about 20,000 hits.

“Nethinim (or Netinim, or Nathinites or Nathineans) (Hebrew: הַנְּתִינִים‎‎, "the given ones") was the name given to the Temple assistants in ancient Jerusalem. The term was applied originally in the Book of Joshua (where it is found in its verbal form) to the Gibeonites who converted during the time of Joshua, later in the Book of Ezra they include the Avdei Shlomo ("Servants of Solomon") the descendants of the remnant of the Canaanite people in the land.”

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nethinim]

“Nethinim, the name given to the hereditary temple servants in all the post-Exilian books of Scripture. The word means given, i.e., "those set apart", viz., to the menial work of the sanctuary for the Levites.”

[http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/nethinim/]

Not so kind was this description. “In Talmudic times the Nethinim were put on a level with bastards, and their descendants, male and female, were interdicted from marriage with Israelites for all time; this is said to have been established by David) or by Ezra. Nethinim were allowed to marry only proselytes, freedmen, bastards, and foundlings In tables of precedence they are reckoned very low, coming after bastards.” Interestingly, Jesus had two proselytes in His genealogy.

[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/11451-nethinim] Talmudic references deleted.

Nehemiah permission from Artaxerxes and Daniel 9:25 513 - 4 - 2

Daniel 9:25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

Nehemiah was given permission to go to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls and gates of the city providing protection for the temple.

The Decree of Artaxerxes March 14, 445 BC was a commandment to restore Jerusalem (walls) and marked the start of the 69 weeks calculated 173,880  days until The Triumphal Entry April 6, 32 AD of Jesus. [PDF, The Book of Daniel by CM]

Jesus’ Triumphal Entry was in fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.”

Earlier Jesus looked down on Jerusalem and said: Matthew 23:37, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!”

And Jesus wept over the city and pronounced judgment: Luke 19:41-42, “41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, 42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.”

Israel was and is blinded and scattered among the nations. “until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” Luke 21:24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” Israel became a state May of 1948 so the clock is ticking towards times of the Gentiles being fulfilled.

Less than a week after the Triumphal Entry Jesus was crucified (cut off) as prophesied by Daniel: Daniel 9:26, “And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.”

Jesus was cut off “but not for himself.” Jesus was and is the propitiation for sin and without His sacrifice I would not be justified before a righteous God.

leadership qualities of Nehemiah 513 - 4 - 5

CM shared Donald K. Campbell concise list of the many characteristics of effective leadership evidenced by Nehemiah including:

7. He prayed at crucial times: The Book of Nehemiah opens and closes with prayer.

2. He had a sense of mission:

Psalm 137:1-4, "1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. 2 We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. 3 For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. 4 How shall we sing the LORD'S song in a strange land? 5 If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. 6 If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy. "

3. He was willing to get involved as 5. He patiently waited for God’s timing.

Nehemiah waited for four months, from Kislev (Nov-Dec) to Nisan (March-April) for an opportunity to appeal to the King concerning Israel. Nehemiah 2:2, “Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart."

6. He showed respect to his superior:

"Then I was very sore afraid,” and with good reason, appearing before the King with sadness might be interpreted as dissatisfaction. However, Nehemiah respectfully answered a question with a question, "why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?"

9. He was well prepared and thought of his needs in advance:

That Nehemiah knew the name of the man in charge of the King’s forest near Jerusalem implies that he had researched both problems and the possible solutions.

These are just a few of the 21 characteristics of effective leadership listed by Donald K. Campbell. As Christians do we have an equivalence in the Psalm, “Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth” if I forget….

As God’s ambassadors are we willing to get involve and do our research while being in prayer and waiting upon the Lord? Do we respect others’ beliefs while witnessing? Nehemiah did not argue with opponents.

Do we, as did Nehemiah, “display God’s confidence in facing obstacles and not become discouraged by opposition?”

Perhaps most importantly Nehemiah courageously used the authority of his position provided by his earthly king, do we Christians use the authority given us by our heavenly King Lord Jesus?

Isaiah 43:16 “a way in the sea and a path in the mighty waters” 519-2 - 14 - 2

Isaiah 43:16-18, “16 Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters; 17 Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they are extinct, they are quenched as tow. 18 Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.”

Verse 17 seems to be a reference the parting of the Red Sea for the Israeli and the closing of same on the army, chariots and horses of Pharaoh.

Psalm 8:8, “The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.”

Matthew Fontaine Maury, the “Father of Oceanography,” took the Bible seriously. He noticed that in Isaiah 43:16 God spoke of “a path in the mighty waters” and in Psalm 8:8 “the paths of the seas.” Maury sensed a remez and sought to answer the question of the existence of pathways in the seas. He entered the Navy in 1825 as a midshipman. And eventually was in charge of the Depot of Charts and Instruments, later the U.S. Naval Observatory and Hydrographic Office.

He gather information on maritime winds and currents and in 1848 he published maps of the main wind fields of the Earth. He produced charts of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, a profile of the Atlantic seabed, and the first modern oceanographic text.”

A number of passages in the Bible imply technological advances. Oceanography is just one of these technological advances discussed in the teaching “Technology and the Bible,” one in a series of six in the “Beyond Series.” The other five teachings in the Beyond Series are Beyond Coincidence, Beyond Newton, Beyond Perception and Beyond Time and Space.

It is very exciting when technology confirms the Bible. 

“I am the First and the Last” 519-2 - 14 - 3

Exodus 3:14, “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”

"I the Lord, the first, and with the last" is found in Isaiah 41:4, 44:6, 48:12 and Revelation 1:11, 1:17, 22:13. "The Alpha and Omega" is found in Revelation 1:8, 1:11, 21:6, and 22:13. "The beginning and the end" is found in Revelation 1:8, 21:6 and 22:13.

It is said by many that Jesus never claimed to be God, not so. John 8:58, "Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you,Before Abraham was, I am."

Old Testament:

Isaiah 41:4, “Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.”

Isaiah 44:6, “Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.”

Wow! “Beside me there is no God, The great ‘I AM THAT I AM.”’ The great Jehovah God.

Isaiah 48:12, “Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.”

Isaiah 46:10, “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:”

New Testament:

Revelation 1:8, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” Jesus who was and is and to come.

Alpha is of Hebrew origin; the first letter of the alphabet and Omega is the last letter of the Greek alphabet.

Revelation 1:11, “Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: ……”

Revelation 1:17, “And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:”

1 Corinthians 15:3-4, "3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4  And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:" Jesus that was and is. Jesus will come again as “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.” Revelation 22:13.

As with Jehovah God of the Old Testament, Jesus is the First and the Last. Jesus is fully man and fully God!