When it feels like heaven, is it really?

When we initially meet someone who absolutely makes us feel light on our feet and puts extra energy in our veins by rushing blood through parts of your body and brain which have been left dormant for a while it causes our body to be excited. It feels different in a GREAT kind of way, like heaven possibly would make us feel. This excitement can cause our brain to release what is called “endorphins” which explode in the brain at just the thought of that special someone, or seeing them, or talking with them, or spending time with them. The endorphins give us a feeling of peace. It really is a natural chemical produced in the brain and it has a marked affinity for opiate receptors. An opiate is a chemical, a type of drug, made from Opium, a plant, and is something that induces rest or inaction or quiets uneasiness. Our brain can produces endorphins, which causes other chemicals to be produced in our brain, opiates, which have the effect of making us feel relaxed and at peace. This is what you are really feeling when you initially meet that special someone. It is all in your head. However, it is manifested in your entire body.

I wondered, “Why did God make us this way?” Through many studies and personal experiences that we all have either been through or seen first hand in our families and friends, we know that being on drugs long term is not good for us. Yet, God allowed us to have this mechanism to be on a natural high, all of the time! Wow. I think this is deep, so I decided to study it a little more and look at it from a biblical and human perspective.

When do we feel this incredible, heaven like, change in our mind and body?

The first thing I wanted to understand was does this incredible heaven like feeling happen to us on other occasions, other than when we meet someone we want to fall in love with? I checked it out and found out that we actually don’t feel this specific feeling at any other time. There are things that come close, like when you or someone you love is in danger, you will have this feeling of peace and strength to do whatever it takes to save yourself or your loved one. It is not the same as that feeling of being in love though.

What does the Bible have to say about it?

Was it Gods plan for us to have this sort of incredible heaven like feeling? I came across a few scriptures in the Bible that led me to believe that God intended for us to have this incredible heavenly feeling. Proverbs chapter 18 verse 22: “Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.” Wow! Right off the top, the LORD gives favor to a man who finds a woman and makes her his wife. The Bible calls it “a good thing”.

It gets even better folks. I John, chapter 4 verse 16: “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” Double Wow!! God is love and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him. This topic became more than a notion to me at this point. Now I am putting 1 + 1 together to get 2. Could it be that the heaven like feeling that is induced in our brain and manifested in our body when we are in love with someone is a Godly response to his plan being carried out in our human lives? It’s just a question. Let me know what your answer is? As I continued reading I John chapter 4 verse
18: “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” “There is no fear in love” I immediately reconcile this quote with the opiate feeling of peace and strength. It makes me realize that God has given us everything we need and more to be all we can be. To the extent that our brain and body work together to complete our mission toward Godliness by letting us know physically when someone is compatible with us. “He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” Compatibility is something that is subjective, but only you know for sure, you have to take into account all of the circumstance. Think about it, why is it that when you fall in love with someone, you have no fear of anything? You are ready to take on the world, as long as you have your sweet heart by your side.

I believe it is Gods plan for men and women to become a perfect union. The love is essential, but God knew that there had to be something else, something to give the man and the woman the drive they needed to sustain a God loving relationship. He gave the ability for humans to fall in love as a plan to show us how we must be able to love God and follow his commandments. Read Ephesians chapter 1 verses 3 - 6:
“3″: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
“4″: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
“5″: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
“6″: To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. Wow! wow! wow! Being holy and being in love are the things that GOD wants for us as human beings.

Is being in love enough?

As I concluded my research on this heaven like feeling, I discovered that even with the mental and physical tools that are God given, people need more than just that heaven like feeling to stay in love.

The key to staying in love is being able to accept the truth about who you are and get to know all about the person you are in love with in a constructive way. You have to know who you are in order to share you with someone else.

Ephesians chapter 4 verses 1 - 4: “1″: I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
“2″: With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
“3″: Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
“4″: There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;

Here the Apostle Paul is telling us how we should behave with each other in love. This is a crucial element to being able to stay in love. Paul also elucidates on how we strive to be in the one spirit of our calling. If a man is called to be a husband and a woman is called to be a wife, then they should continually be endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There it goes again y’all, that word “peace” going back to how you felt when you first met that special person you fell in love with in the context of this article.

I believe what tends to happen with us is this: We fall in love and then time goes by and we need to get more and more endorphins to sustain the level of heaven that we want to be at. Something like a crack addict wanting to get higher and higher, but realizing that they need to smoke more and more crack to get to that high they were at before. What happens is we get use to it. Our body is regulated. Too much of anything is not good for us. The Bible says in Philippians chapter 4 verse “5″: Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Our body has a built in mechanism to regulate how much heaven we can feel at one time. When we go pass that threshold, we usually have dire consequences, if not death.

We have to have balance as human beings. We are not God! We are trying to be Godly though and to that end we need Jesus Christ. At the core of a good relationship or marriage is a true belief in God and his awesome power to do everything and anything. Believe that. Ephesians chapter 3 verse 17: says “17″: That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
“17″: That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love.

We need Jesus in our life to get to GOD and GOD only deals with the inner man, what is in our deepest heart. The core of it all is to know the love of Christ. Remember, Christ died for us! That is the sort of love you need to have always for the person you are in love with.

It’s not heaven, but it’s heaven like

In conclusion, I found out a lot and I wanted to share it with all of you. The Heaven like feeling is GOD given to help us know when we are in love with someone. I hope you understand the heavenly feeling you get when you meet someone is GOD given and not to be wasted on just anybody, literally! Remember, “The Lord is at hand.” Remember, too much of anything is not good for us humans. We need a balance that is centered on Jesus Christ and his advocacy with GOD for us.

Nevada York has based one of her characters: “Pastor Ethan”, in her book Mahogany’s Revelation on Ethan Berry, A.K.A. “Pastor Ethan.” He resides in the Bay Area of California. http://nevadayork.com.

The Christian faithful are being encouraged to attend special seminars while on a cruise in the Caribbean, Mediterranean and the Pacific aboard luxury liners. It’s a kind of “meet the Lord on the Lido Deck” moment. According to one of the brochures, you can get intensive leadership training, worship training, apostolic instruction and prophetic insights “without the normal pressures of daily life and the familiar surroundings of the home church.”

Another brochure reads, “Throughout your cruise with us, attentive cabin stewards provide discreet, unobtrusive service replenishing ice and arranging fruit, turning down beds and delivering pillow chocolates. Anticipating your every wish, our gracious crew members dedicate themselves to providing you the best…” As an “out of church” guy, the idea of luxury (Luxurious: definition. 1. lecherous - 2. Marked by or given to self indulgence.) and religious training cohabitating seemed incongruous. But I suppose with no viable alternative even the most ascetic among us would have a hard time turning down those pillow mints and iced diet Pepsis.

What we need here is another option more in the stream of real spirituality, yet keeping with the theme of getting away from the routine and pressure of daily life and the familiarity of the local church. I want to help people dodge the bullet of self-indulgence, which seems the main focus of luxury liners, and be able to truly have a life-changing experience.
Now of course, to keep us on an even spiritual keel and economically conservative, we would have to forego expensive “face time” with religious celebrities, those who ride free on our collective dime. They may still want to join us, but I doubt it. That unobtrusive service and those seafood buffets for free might be hard to resist, but such delectable perks wouldn’t be part of my alternative solution.

So what is the alternative to the luxury cruise? It is ” Go Greyhound”, or as an urban friend of mine called it, “ridin’ the dog”.

One cruise in particular caught my attention: “Join our prophetic Cruise Team on Holland America to the Caribbean.” Why do we need a prophetic team on a luxury liner of notable predictability? Instead, the team might want to reconsider their Caribbean adventure. On the cruise ship everything is already scripted. There isn’t much need for them, since the folks that run these ships pride themselves in having taken care of all the details. Maybe they are there for other reasons.

But for sure they would be needed on the ‘Dog. There most of the passengers are living lives of notorious unpredictability. On the ‘Dog, you’d be ridin’ with the folks that turn down your sheets, those minimum wage people trained in discretion and unobtrusive service. The housekeepers, bus boys, short order cooks and janitors. The invisible people. They could use a bit of prophetic assurance, and you could use a bit of prophetic practice, away from the predictable, the vain, and the pretentious. Isn’t that what drives most people to escape the familiar surroundings of their local church?

I remember ridin’ the ‘Dog many years ago. I met a man on his way to a VA hospital. He was in a foul humor, drinking from a bottle in a brown bag. We were across the aisle from each other.

“You know you lay down your life for your country, and what do you get?” His voice rose. Before I could answer, he continued. “I’ll tell you what you get, you get this piece of sh*t.” From down around his right side suddenly a long prosthetic arm appeared in the air. The bolts were loose and the cables limp. He turned to me, rattling the plastic arm in front of my face. “Here, give that cable a pull.”

I weakly protest, “No I shouldn’t.”

“No, go ahead,” he said rattling the arm again. So I gave in and gently pulled on one of the cables. The claw at the end of the arm squeaked open and then squeaked closed. “See what I mean? G*ddamn government,” he muttered, turning and taking a pull from the bag.

That is what was great about “ridin’ the ‘Dog”. I got a lesson in politics, war and the handicapped in about one minute, one that I will never forget. On the ‘Dog nothing is contrived. It is gloriously unpredictable. You probably won’t meet people like that on the cruise, well, because the boat really doesn’t go anywhere. And one armed, disappointed vets can’t afford it. The purpose of the cruise is to suspend reality. In contrast, the ‘Dog travels low and lean on the highway and is notoriously slow but very real. A trip on the ‘Dog will wean you from the spectacle, the narcissistic and ritual drama found frequently in contemporary Christianity.

Because kindness and attention are sold by the ounce on luxury liners, they are probably in short supply on the ‘Dog. But small kindnesses that are expressed will go a long way. On the ‘Dog you are the ear of God, listening to troubles most likely beyond your capacity to help, where lunch is on you, and where everyone is truly going somewhere. Except you of course; you would be there because of a desire to get out of the familiar routine and escape the pressures of churchianity.

So if you want to relax, go on a cruise. If you want to do something meaningful and potentially spiritual, go Greyhound.

Copyright Tim Honan - All Rights Reserved 2006

My name is Tim Honan. I got my first introduction to Christianity outside of Catholicism on a commune in 1978. There I learned about apostles, prophets and a level of religious “manifest destiny” that had laid dormant since the crusades. Since then I have been wrestling with the institutional version of Christianity and losing most of the time. Obviously losing hasn’t stopped me.

I have tried to befriend the spirit of capitalism with little success. I doubt I am destined for real business, although God knows, I have tried. However, I have lived large and have had the priviledge of being able to experience life like big chunks of cheese cake. I have been in the Army, religious communes, waterfront unions, politics, traveled extensively at will and founded The Dutch Harbor Fisherman, a weekly still being published in the Aleutian Islands.

To check out other short pieces I’ve written, go to http://www.outofchurch.com.

The tour guide led the small group deep into Round Spring Caverns. He pointed out the dazzling formations, sometimes called speleothems, and explained how they took ten thousand years to form one inch. Several minutes later, the guide showed the group a mosquito trapped within flowstone (Orr). Flowstone forms as water deposits calcite over any object, and looks much like a frozen waterfall. The two facts do not match up. Either the guide’s growth rates are false, or the mosquito is either nonexistent or just dirt.

Through the eyes of old age believers, each speleothem represents long eons of time, slow natural processes, and rare accidents of nature. Through the eyes of young earth creationists, each speleothem represents a few thousand years, the fingerprint of God, and the shocking power of a global catastrophe. Evolutionists and creationists alike have tried to discover the age of speleothems. Today’s growth rates, out of place stalactites, and errors in isotopic dating methods, all point to quickly formed caves.

Many formations around the world defy the old ages of evolution. At Knaresborough, England, a waterfall is fed by an underground stream high in calcite. Since 1630, people have suspended various objects under the water. Calcite became deposited on the keepsakes within three to twelve months, depending on the size and material of the item. Everything from teddy bears, ties, and hats, to even umbrellas dangle in the water. Today a hat from 1853 is almost entirely engulfed in flowstone. The stone grew over it so the hat is now nearly invisible. This waterfall deposits calcite much faster than evolution time estimates (White).

Another example of fast growth rates occurs in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. Formations at the hot springs develop 23 mm per year (Meyers 8). This is faster than evolutionary estimates of .1 to 3 mm per year. The Kelly Caves on Kangaroo Island, Australia, grow about 7 mm every four years (”Focus:” 7). This may seem slow but is still faster than evolutionary time estimates. Also, caves observed in the tropics experience faster growth rates due to a warmer climate and increased rainfall. The evidence here is clear. These caves and many others around the world contain formations that just grow too fast, and evolutionists cannot explain them.

Evolution also cannot explain speleothems hanging from monuments, staircases, bridges, mines, and other unnatural objects. George Rogers Clark Memorial in Vincennes, Indiana, contains several out of place formations. Rain water erodes minerals from this limestone monument and drips into the basement. The result of the water draining into the basement creates the same effect as water dripping into a cave.
Stalactites form when water deposits calcite on a surface such as a ceiling, and builds up into a stone cone. The water dripping from this deposits more calcite on the floor causing an upside down stalactite, called a stalagmite, to form. When the two formations grow together, they create a column. Those three formations decorate the once bare basement, including five columns eleven feet tall! Surprisingly, construction of the monument began in 1929 and the memorial was dedicated in 1936 (”Speleotherms:”).

Stalactites also are found under bridges in Philadelphia and they sometimes reach lengths over 30 cm (1 ft.) long (Meyers 8). These bridges were built in the last one hundred years. The growth rate of one foot per one hundred years defies evolutionary growth rates. In addition, stalactites are growing from the cement steps between two halls at Temple University, Philadelphia, built in 1973 (Meyers 7). A mine in Queensland, Australia, was void of decoration fifty five years ago, but is now covered in dazzling stone icicles (”Speleotherms:”).
Speleothems have also been known to form on walkways in caves (”Stone Waterfalls”), on rainwater tanks in Australia (Meyers 8), and on lab tubes used to collect drip water from leaky pipes (Wieland 15). Stalactites are even growing from the electrical wires in Jenolan Caves, Australia (”Focus:” 4)!

The Mollie Kathleen Mine at Cripple Creek, Colorado, was once very productive until its gold petered out in the early 1960’s. The mine closed in 1961 and was sealed off. However, portions of the mine are now open to public tours. Gary Livesay toured the mine with his wife and gazed upon fabulous formations of many colors and sizes. Soda straws stretched to lengths of 60-90 cm (2-3 feet), and several columns grew 2.7 m (9 feet) tall and 10-12 cm (4-5 in.) in diameter. Stalagmites were even growing from an old chair! All of these formed in just forty years (Livesay 45). Later, a couple from Colorado who read about the mine went to see it and received quite a shock.

Those two people toured the mine but saw none of the formations mentioned above. Their guide denied the existence of such wonders. Upon phoning the mine later, the couple was told the beautiful portion of the mine was not open to the public (Livesay 5). Another tourist, Sarah Bennet, went to see the formations and also saw none. One of the tour guides informed them the speleothems had been ‘removed’. What happened to the wonders at the Mollie Kathleen Mine is unclear. The owners may not have wanted people to see such formations because they were a testimony against evolution. Whatever happened, long age advocates have no explanation for the quickly created formations, but they still assign long ages to speleothems by using various isotopic dating methods.

The first method measures C-14, and, based on how much Carbon isotope 14 is found in a speleothem, evolutionists can determine its age. However, the C-14 method cannot correctly date any formations from the last one thousand years to the present, and due to other sources of Carbon in a speleothem, the method “is unreliable at best” (Baskaran). Pb-210 or Lead isotope 210, a second dating method, is also limited in that it cannot date speleothems deposited more than one hundred years ago (Baskaran).

So evolutionists use a third dating method, Thorium/Uranium (230Th/238U), which supposedly dates samples up to five hundred thousand years old (”Age determination of speleothem”). Five formations in Scarisoara Glacier Cave, Romania have been dated using Thorium/Uranium and they ranged from 14,800 to 126,300 years old. However, these dates have many problems. All of the samples were low in uranium content and, as a result, were difficult to date. So the scientists compensated by using “larger samples and prolonged counting times” thus making more room for error. The article containing the above dates of speleothems in the Glacier Cave, even admitted “…some of the dates still have large analytical errors” (Onac). Clearly this method is not accurate.

Also, using the Thorium/Uranium method, a stalactite from Winnats Head Cave, Peak District was dated (”Age determination”). The same formation returned a date eighteen thousand years less than when it was dated with a fourth method measuring Lead/Uranium (206Pb/238U) isotope (”Age determination”). This fourth technique is reported to only correctly date speleothems from a few million years old to the earth’s age of 4.5 to 5 billion years according to evolutionary time (”Age determination”). Therefore, the few most recent million years are ’skipped’. Since young earth creationists believe the earth is six to twelve thousand years old, this method skips all of time!

The problems in these four methods are simply amazing. Carbon 14 can only date formations older than a few thousand years and often gets mixed up with other carbon sources, while Pb-210 can only properly date speleothems deposited in the last one hundred years. Thorium/Uranium dating is limited to the evolutionary age of five hundred thousand years and is inconsistent with Lead/Uranium dating which skips a few million years of evolutionary time. These systems are full of major time gaps, inconsistencies with each other, and many assumptions.

Several assumptions must be made to date a speleothem using any of the above methods. These are often very risky, and can lead to large errors. First, the specimen being dated is assumed to be free from external influences like major climate change and pressure changes. Second, no pressure or climate change is assumed to have “reset” the decay of isotopes. Third, before the unstable isotope was deposited in the speleothem, similar elements were assumed to be absent. Fourth, it is assumed the radioactive isotopes in the formation protected and maintained the original radioactive material, and the isotopes produced as the original elements break down. Fifth, nothing like weathering, leaking, heat, etc. is assumed to have caused the formation to loose its original elements or product elements (Seymour).

If the assumptions are not true, then the evolutionary dates are thrown off entirely by the delicate variables necessary to produce an accurate date of a speleothem. Even if isotopic dating was generally accurate, speleothem dates would still be too old. Dr. Silvestru, a creationist, points out, “even the tens of thousands of years assumed by evolutionists would mean we should see many more massive stalagmites than we actually find” (Wieland 15). Using the evolutionary growth rates, the speleothems we see today are actually too small!

According to the 3 mm standard, one of the world’s tallest stalagmites, located in Armand Cave in France, would have taken only 12,700 years to reach its towering 38 m height. This contradicts the dating method ages. Therefore, the stalagmite grew faster than it should have and the dating method on this formation did not work (Silvestru 48). Even though dating methods and their subsequent growth rates have been proven wrong by young earth creationists, evolutionists still back up old claims that caves, and speleothems, are tens of thousands to millions of years old.

Evolutionists actually attack creationists and claim caves cannot possibly form, much less their speleothems, in just four to six thousand years or so after the flood. They say acidic water cannot eat away hundreds of thousands of feet of dolomite or limestone in that “short” time because the water would loose its carbonic-acid. Therefore, evolutionists deduce tens of thousands if not millions of years are required for acidic water to reach present day cave depths and carve them out (Oard 279). Yes, this is a logical conclusion. In the time since the flood, carbonic-acid water is simply inadequate to eat away that much limestone and dolomite. But what if that acidic water had some help from volcanic actions? What if the flood provided a way for water to reach caves quickly? The result of those what ifs are speedily formed caves!

Several thousand years ago, God destroyed the earth completely with a global flood. Genesis 7:11b describes, “…on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.” Water rushed up from the earth’s crust; volcanoes spewed magma into the air and sea. The very geography of the entire earth changed. Limestone and dolomite were quickly deposited along with many other types of stone. The movement of land masses caused cracks to form in the limestone and dolomite (Silvestru 47). Water followed those fissures underground to where it carved the caves we see today. By following crevices formed during the flood, the water did not need to “dissolve” all that limestone. Volcanic actions also contributed to carving caves.

Volcanoes released hot sulfur and other gases into the water causing them to mix. The water, called hydrothermal water, ate through stone very quickly because of its heat and sulfuric content. Ten percent of caves in the world today contain evidence indicating formation by hydrothermal water (Oard 279). Many caves are just too wet to preserve any sulfur traces, but, according to “Caves for all Seasons” by Emil Silvestru, probably more than ten percent of caves were formed in this way. Once the flood waters carved the caverns, speleothems formed quickly (Silvestru 48).

Furthermore, massive amounts of water drained off the surface of the earth and flowed through the crust into caves and other reservoirs. With tons of water streaming into caves, speleothems such as soda straws, stalactites, stalagmites, and flowstone formed swiftly. Because of the flood, the beautiful creations in caves today did not take “forever” to form. Caves and speleothems are clearly not very old.

Caves today show speleothem growth is not consistent with the evolutionary rate of .1 mm to 3 mm per year. The beautiful stone icicles suspended from man made bridges, buildings, and mines demonstrate the possibility of stalactites forming in a short time. Errors and inconsistencies in isotopic dating prove the evolutionary methods unreliability. Evolution as a whole just does not work. Many evolutionists think they have life all figured out, but they are blinded from the truth by their own teachings.

Imagine a man winding his way deeper into a cave and finding his light slowly dimming. When it went out, he stumbled and wandered, hopelessly lost. Everything he did and everywhere he turned only made his predicament worse. Moments later he found himself teetering on the edge of an eternal abyss. The man was left with a choice. Death or life. Millions of years of evolution or six days of creation.

The choice is ours. A freak accident or a Creator. The speleothems help us see evolution is wrong. Caves are delicate structures and one little change or shift can upset them. Evolutionary ages provide plenty of time for those shifts to take place. However, there are still many active caves today, indicating that caves are not very old. Jonathan Wells commented on evolution, “…the problem of assembling the right parts in the right way at the right time and at the right place, while keeping out the wrong material, is simply insurmountable” (Strobel 39). Long years of evolution are not possible. The Bible tells us the truth and that truth leads to a path of righteousness; not one to an eternal abyss.

Works Cited

“Age Determination of Speleothems Using Th, Pb and U Isotope Ratios.” 28 April 2002.
<http://karst.planetresources.net/filling_a_gap.htm> (5 January 2005).

Baskaran, M. and Lliffe, Thomas. “Age Determination of Recent Cave Deposits Using
Excess 210Pb - A New Technique.” 16 August 2003. <http://www.tamug.edu/cavebiology/reprints/Abstract-81.html> (5 January 2005).

“Focus: News of Interest about Creation and Evolution.” Creation November 1983: 4-5.
Livesay, Gary. “Feedback: Cave Conundrum.” Creation December 2001: 4-5.

Livesay, Gary. “Mollie Kathleen’s Marvelous Mysteries.” Creation June 2001: 44-46.

Meyers, Stephens and Robert Doolan, “Rapid Stalactites.” Creation September
1987: 6-8.

Oard, Michael. “Rapid cave formation by sulfuric acid dissolution.” TJ December 1998:
279-280

Onac, P. Bogdan. “Mineralogical Studies and Uranium-series Dating of Speleothems
from Scarisoara Glacier Cave (Bihor Mountains, Romania).” 2000. <http://www.uib.no/People/nglbn/scari.pdf> University of Cluj, Dept. of Mineralogy: Institute of Speleology. (8 January 2005).

Orr, Bryson. Personal experience in Round Spring Caverns, Missouri. July 2004.

Seymour, G. L. “Absolute Dating of Speleothems - Words of Caution.” 28 April 2002.
<http://karst.planetresources.net/absolute_dating_of_speleothems.htm> (7 January 2005).

Silvestru, Emil. “Caves for all Seasons.” Creation Volume 25 issue 3. June-
August 2003: 45-49

“Speleotherms: (sic) stalagmites and stalactites.” <http://www.bible.ca/tracks/speleotherms-
stalagmites-stalactites.htm> (7 January 2005)

“Stalactites do not take millions of years!” Creation Issue 20 Volume 2.
March 1998: 27.

“Stone Waterfalls and Cave Carrots. The Story of Speleothems.”
<http://www.umsl.edu/~joellaws/ozark_caving/mss/speleotm.htm> (5 January 2005).

Strobel, Lee. “Doubts about Darwinism.” The Case For A Creator. Grand Rapids,
Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 2004.

The Student Bible. New International Version. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan
Publishing House, 1992.

White, Monty. “The Amazing Stone Bears of Yorkshire.” Creation June-August 2002:
48-49.

Wieland, Carl. “Caving in to Creation.” Creation June 1999: 10-15

I’m a 17 year old homeschooled Junior in Highschool. I enjoy writing and have written three essays for Midwest Creation Fellowship Essay Contest, placing each time. My research papers usually concern creation/evolution topics because I believe its important for one’s faith and also is a way to lead others to Christ.

One of the many things that I observe in the debate between young-earth and old-earth creationists, is the constant appeal to the works of past theologians. People are constantly appealing to this church father, or that medieval theologian, in the hopes that they will justify their belief in an old or young earth.

Old-earth creationists have pointed to Justin Martyr, Origin, Augustine, and others from the first four centuries after Christ, as believing in an old earth. At the same time, young-earth creationists have defended these past Christians as believing in a young-earth. Both cases look strong, leading me to believe that these men were seeking the truth, and may not have reached a conclusion.

Why Does it Matter?

Why do people seek out the beliefs of Christian that have gone before us? A Christian who is struggling with these issues may need the support, so that they can make up their minds one-way or the other. Or, a person may simply be trying to be as thorough as possible before committing to a choice.

People today have been conditioned to fully research their beliefs. This is good. But in many cases, I get the distinct impression that people will not commit to a belief, unless they can find a crutch to lean on…fellow Christians, past and present, who believe the same thing. We must move beyond this “crutch” mentality, and decide issues for ourselves.

Be Decisive!

But there eventually comes a time when the believer must make a choice of their own. How important is this search for support from the Christians that have gone before us? Not important at all. In the end, we must rely upon our own conclusions, based on the evidence that we have. In fact, with advances in science, and new archeological discoveries, we are in a better position to decide this issue than any of the church fathers that have gone before us.

Geology as a science did not really get going until the 1800’s, therefore none of this scientific data was available to these past theologians. What would Justin Martyr have decided, if he had the evidence we have today?

I’m not saying to ignore the church leaders of the past, but I am saying that we have much more evidence than they ever had, and can reach our own conclusions. Don’t be afraid to come to your own conclusions about creation and the Bible.

I have concluded that the earth is 4.5 billion years old. If you believe that the earth was created in six 24-hour days, great! Hold fast to that belief. If you have evidence and believe that the days of creation are each 3.76 seconds each, great!

Conclusion

Each of us has the evidence in the Bible and God’s creation. We don’t need to appeal to the theologians of the past to support our belief…they didn’t have the same evidence that we have, due to scientific and archaeological discoveries…why then are we seeking to trust in their views which were based on limited evidence?

You have the evidence yourself, and it’s up to you to come to your own conclusions.

Greg Neyman is the founder of the website ministry Answers In Creation. The source article is located on this page.

The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun. For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me.

The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens. From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord’s name is to be praised.

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.

The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the
eyes.

The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.

They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.

Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion.

Wisdom is good with an inheritance: and by it there is profit to them that see the sun. Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun.

Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners? I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the vine flourished, and the pomegranates budded. Or ever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib. Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies.

Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound. That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, and there is none else.

They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them. So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.

Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The Lord of hosts is his name: For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts.

But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God.

Glimpses of God © by Joyce C. Lock
http://our.homewithgod.com/heavenlyinspirations/
This writing may be used in its entirety, with credits in tact,
for non-profit ministering purposes.

About the Author

Joyce C. Lock is a published author, poet, and columnist. In addition, she founded and maintains the e-mail ministries “Heavenly Inspirations” http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HeavenlyInspirations/ and “Share a Smile” http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smilesharing/. Joyce’s writings encourage us in our relationship with God and each other.

The Apolitic Nature of Revelations pt.3.
The next question that we will look at is,
5. Why are so many interested and captivated by the Book of Revelations ?
Revelations is a book of many things, prophecy, symbolism, joy, terror and mystery. It captivates people because it is the only book in any religion that gives specifics on the coming end of the world. This book is the only one in the world that can be proven by History and current events of its prophecy’s. Scofield said of Revelations; “Interpreters of the Revelation should bear in mind two important passages: 1Pe_1:12; 2Pe_1:20-21. Doubtless much which is designedly obscure to us will be clear to those for whom it was written as the time approaches.” Of which I agree. Many of the passages of Revelations are and will be intrepreted as the day of Christ gets near. What our brothers of the past could not understand is made clear to us.
6. What is the synagogue of Satan ?
Rev 3:9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. Isa 49:23 And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me. Isa 60:14 The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee, The city of the LORD, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
So what is the synagogue [A building or place of meeting for worship and religious instruction in the Jewish faith.] of Satan ?
They who say they are Jews(Christians) (Saved, Redemed,Christ Like), pretending thereby to be of the synagogue of God, and consequently his true and peculiar children.1Jo 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: A congregation of sinners led by Satans will, persecutors of Christians and Jews, “the assembly of Satan.” We see many today around the world, false religions that say they are of God but dont know Him. God warned us of these in scripture. Jer 14:14 Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart. Jer 23:32 Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD.
Zec 10:2 For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd.Mal 3:5 And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of Host.
7. Who is the Great Whore ?
Rev 17:18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth. Rev 17:3-5 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.[Jer_46:10] Lets look at the phrase,”the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour” We know that the woman is a false religious system for the clothing she wears, signifies a religious system of pious hierarchy.Corruption of all that is rightious.
The next phrase, “BABYLON THE GREAT” shows us also of a false idolitic system. In Rev 17:18 we see that she is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth. A city of great power, wealth and influence. “Sitting upon a scarlet coloured beast” signifies that this city will ride with the anti-Christ into world power. Rev 17:9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
The seven Hills of Rome. Rome at one time in her hystory, was composed of seven kingdoms, seven kingdoms, seven, kings, seven hills. The Anti-Christ shall emerge out of one kingdoms of the old roman empire. To prove that rome not only had an Emperior but also kings we look into Romes Hystory archives;(ISBE) “By the final testament of Herod, as ratified by Rome, the kingdom was divided as follows: Archelaus received one-half of the kingdom, with the title of king, really “ethnarch,” governing Judea, Samaria and Idumaea; Antipas was appointed “tetrarch” of Galilee and Peraea; Philip, “tetrarch” of Trachonitis, Gaulonitis and Paneas.” end pt. 3. ars

About the Author

Temple of Spirit & Truth Ministries
A.R.Smith Sermons International
http://www.ourchurch.com/member/a/arsmithsermons/

I believe that I can hold conversations with God. In my dreams, he hears my prayers. His sweet words, they answer my questions.

I asked God why he allowed terrible things like natural disasters to kill so many innocent people? He answered me as follows.

“Because you do not understand, I forgive you.”

I do not understand dear God, Please forgive me.

God answered, “I know you do not understand. I see your fears. I know your prayers. I am always with you, but why do you doubt me?”

I doubt you because I do not understand? When will I begin to see the light?

God smiled. A flash of blazing glory crossed the horizon and he said, “Be of good faith. You must believe, then you will begin to understand.”

I find it hard to believe in that which I cannot see or understand dear God.

God said, “If you have enough faith you will learn to understand. And if you have enough faith you will recognize my glory that is within you.”

With this last pronouncement a warm glow of pure joy seemed to fill every fiber of my being and I said, “thank you dear God.”

And God said, “be not afraid because I am always with you. I have given you the ability to think independently. Use this gift wisely.

Thank you God, but how can I use your gift wisely if I do not understand?

God replied, “If you have enough faith you will begin to understand. If you have enough faith, all things are possible. Why do you question me?”

I have so many questions dear God. When will I begin to know the answers?

“When you are ready, when you have evolved into the thinking human being I meant you to be,” God replied.

I feel that I have been ready to believe in you my entire life dear God.

God said, “Than where is your faith? Why do you question me who has created you?

I do not have the answer dear God; all I have is more questions.

God said, “If you still question me than you do not have enough faith in yourself. For I have made you in my image.”

At this point I felt as if the whole world was shaking and trembling. I asked God if he was mad at me?

God said, I am not mad, I share your pain, I share your dreams, I know your frustrations, why do you still question me?

Dear God, I do not know why I am so insecure. I only know that I wish with all my heart to believe in you.

God chuckled and the whole nights sky seemed to light up with his merriment. He said, “You will, for I believe that you are evolving into a good and worthwhile person.”

I told God that I found it hard to believe that God had faith in me considering all the weaknesses of spirit that I suffered from.

God said, “You are entitled to be a Person of Faith because I created you in my own image just as all of these seemingly random acts of nature are part of my grand design for the evolution of your world in the interests of the greater good. Do not question my intent.

With this a feeling of pure bliss took hold of me. I felt a sense of contentment and peace of mind that I had never known before. All I could do was to murmur, “thank you dear God.”

God encompassed me and said, “Why has it taken you so long to find my grace? Why have you had to fight yourself to become a Person of Faith?”

I guess even God has questions when it comes to dealing with his own creation.

God must have heard me for he said, “It is all part of my grand design. As you begin to evolve into the thinking human being that I have created you to be, you will begin to understand. Tell all your friends that question their faith that they are all part of my creation. They are part of my grand design.

I didn’t want to tell God that I still didn’t understand why bad things happen to innocent people, so I decided to take his pronouncement as correct as a matter of faith. He must have heard my thoughts because He said,

“Now you are starting to get the message, spread the word.”
*****

© Copyright Arthur Levine 2006

Arthur Levine is the author of the Faith Patch Manual. To discover other ways to understand and have faith in God, please access:
http://www.faith-patch.com/stp/undergod

The two witnesses are mentioned in the Book of Revelation 11.
Within Revelation 11 it reveals the two witnesses are referred to in the Book of
the Prophet Zechariah, specifically Zechariah 4:1-5 and
Zechariah 4:11-14:

Zechariah 4:1-5

1 Then the angel who talked with me returned and wakened me, as
a man is wakened from his sleep. 2 He asked me, “What do you
see?” I answered, “I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at
the top and seven lights on it, with seven channels to the
lights. 3 Also there are two olive trees by it, one on the right
of the bowl and the other on its left.” 4 I asked the angel who
talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” 5 He answered, “Do
you not know what these are?” “No, my lord,” I replied.

Zechariah 4:11-14 11

Then I asked the angel, “What are these two olive trees on the
right and the left of the lampstand?” 12 Again I asked him,
“What are these two olive branches beside the two gold pipes
that pour out golden oil?” 13 He replied, “Do you not know what
these are?” “No, my lord,” I said. 14 So he said, “These are the
two who are anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth.”

Both stand before the Lord of all the Earth ready to serve Him
and obey His every command, like Elijah the prophet. Both men
are filled with the Holy Spirit and generously share their
God-given light of understanding with the nation Israel
(collectively speaking of all Twelve Tribes of Israel) and to
the world of Gentiles.

The two witnesses, wearing
sackcloth (not suits and ties) will be in the one holy spirit,
mission and purpose of “Elijah” - specifically the chief
spokeman between the two who will hail from the Royal House of
David (the other joins him from the Tribe of Levi - anciently
these were the only two anointed positions in Israel). These two
men, standing virtually alone against the wicked world, will be
opposed by greedy Ahab (partially Israelite Europe) and pagan
Jezebel (the Vatican), by Europe’s wannabe divine emperor (the
Beast) and the False Prophet (pope) who promoted him into high
office having misled the masses to support him.

These two prophets of the Most High God will be able to control
the weather for 3 1/2 years and afflict supernatural disasters,
as necessary, anywhere on Earth as our Great Creator God has so
decreed! He backs up their message with His miracles! Yet most
of mankind will hate their guts for trying to get God’s message
across and undoubtedly jeer them saying, “You think you’re right
and the whole world is wrong?” And the whole world will be
wrong, dead wrong, since Revelation 11:7-10 show them
celebrating their murder and exchanging gifts with each other!

If you’re interested in knowing more about the two witnesses,
God’s greatest servants just before the return of Christ, who
powerfully herald the coming of our King, boldly speaking the
plain truth however unpopular and dangerous, feel free to look
around the Two
Witnesses blog or download for free Beyond
Babylon: Europe’s Rise and Fall or read Beyond Babylon online for free since it contains
their main message, as I understand it.