The Articles of Configuration: What happened before Genesis began? The scriptures amazingly describe the material building blocks of the earth before our earthly sphere was formed. But, even more amazing, is that the invisible blueprints describing the formation of the universe and its lifeforms are hidden in plain sight in the scriptures-in the form of flashback descriptions of what happened before Genesis 1:1. The problem of mankind understanding these blueprints has been that advancements in science were necessary to understand what has been written from antiquity. Science and theology has been locked together in a mighty struggle of ideas. The process, at times, has been ugly as a caterpillar chomping on leaves, regurgitating and trying to build a cocoon of how the universe is really constituted. But this cocoon, like the human brain, has an inside tension between left brained logic and right brained dreaming. A mighty struggle ensues and at last a butterfly emerges from the cocoon and its glistening wings dry in the sun. As the butterfly discovers its destiny and ascends in flight into the brilliant blue sky filled with fluffy white clouds, a serene revelation of peace envelops the butterfly. It realizes that its one wing of science and its other wing of theology are working in harmony under a Master control. Thrilled and awed, the butterfly uses both wings to ascend far above worldly ideas into realms that it once only dreamed of.
The Articles of Configuration
The Genesis ProjectBy Carl D. ArmstrongAuthorHouse
Copyright © 2010 Carl D. Armstrong
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4520-5457-5Contents
Chain of Custody of Genesis...........................................1Earth's Magnetic Shield In The Bible?.................................11Are You Smarter Than a PhD Theoretical Physicist?.....................19The Light At The Top Of The Mountain..................................29Expanding Universe In Scriptures?.....................................39The Lord's Time Travel Paradox........................................49Do Life Forms Exist Among The Stars?..................................57If I Try And Bend That Far, I'll Break................................65MRI Of Brain Seen By Hebrew Prophets?.................................77Unseen Dimensions Life Source?........................................87The Articles Of Configuration.........................................96
Chapter One
CHAIN OF CUSTODY OF GENESIS What Happened Before Genesis?
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. These are the opening words of the Bible—but what happened before the heaven and earth were created? From what were they created and how did they come to be? Current scientific theory and observations suggest that the universe is about 13.7 billion years old and that the earth is about 4.5 million years old. Radiometric age dating of the oldest known earth materials, meteorite materials, and lunar materials have placed the earth age at about 4.5 billion years and the sun's age being slightly older at about 4.8 million years.
So, which is it for our heaven and earth? The Bible tells us that a day with the Lord—instead of 24 hours—could be equivalent to one thousand years. So, if we take 1000 years for each of the seven days of creation and add our recorded history time elapse of about 6,000 years, then we could even propose a max earth age of around 13,000 years. This is a far cry from the about 4.5 billion years that the scientists are suggesting. What a paradox! Is the Bible wrong, or—are scientists wrong in assuming that radiometric dating applies? Or, could both be right? Apparently the jury is still debating this paradox?
In a court case, there is a concept called 'chain of custody' which describes the process for insuring that evidence from the original scene remains secure so that the facts can be truthfully presented before a jury. So, science has its samples and methods to present as evidence. But, what about the Bible? Before Genesis chapter one, verse one, we have no information to examine—we are stuck! Not so, we just haven't known where to look for the pre-Genesis information!
Most everyone is familiar with the scripture: And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. So, if man was created from the dust of the ground, where did this dust come from? Yes, we know that dust comes from the earth, but where did the dust in the earth come from?
Now, we are ready to present our chain of custody and it comes from an unlikely place—from near the middle of the Bible. It is presented as a flashback in Solomon's book of wisdom — Proverbs. And it is narrated by wisdom who gives an account of the creation process which began with the dust of the world (cosmos).
PROVERBS 8:1 ... 31 Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice? She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths. ...
The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.
Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth: While as yet he had not made the earth nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth:
When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep: When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth: Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him; Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men.
We are presented with an 'eye witness' account of a process that began before as yet he had not made the earth—but it doesn't end there. The highest part of the dust of the world would seem to refer to a time when the itty bitty dust-like elements were formed within the stars of the galaxies — the likely result of super nova explosions. And then, we have the formation of these elements into dust particles agglomerating into asteroid clouds around a central star. The asteroids agglomerate into roughly shaped planets which existed before the mountains were settled.
As multi-spectrum optics became available to peer into the depths of our Milky Way Galaxy, large clouds of dust and gases have been observed. It has been estimated that about 15% of the galactic disc consists of dust and gases. Scientists have observed that the constellation Orion is a star 'birthing' nursery and our sun is in the Orion spur of the Milky Way. Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea ...
And then, where did the water come from? Did not the element of water come from the ice in the asteroid belts when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: (Sorry, to disappoint anyone in the flat earth society, but a compass does draw a circle and the deep oceans do have a spherical face)?
Now that we have established the scriptural chain of custody from the highest part of the dust of the world to the beginning verse of Genesis, what conclusion can we draw about the age of the elements in the earth? What was the time period from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was? The scriptures don't say—it could have been 4.5 billion years, 4.5 trillion years—or perhaps everlasting is completely outside of time and space. Therefore, the process of creating the elements that were used to create the heaven and the earth in its configuration would seem to be independent of the age of elements used to assemble it. Now, our scientists can go busily about their work of determining the age of the elements from the dust of the world.
But, we feel a tap on our collective shoulder from ardent scientists and the question is posed, "You forget one little detail – don't the scriptures say that the sun was created on the fourth day? This flies in the face of what astronomers observe about planetary formation around a central star. How can we trust the scriptures, if they get the sequence wrong?"
A good question, we must admit. No doubt many scientists and theologians have struggled with this over the centuries. First, we will look at the pertinent scriptures involved from Genesis One.
GENESIS 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. ...
4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. ...
13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.
14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
So, it seems like an open and shut case. If we believe the sun was first formed, then the planets were formed from the space debris orbiting around it, so the Bible must be wrong. Or, is it?
To delve into this, we must ask some very pertinent questions. Just what is happening in verse 14 when the night is divided from the day? Does this have something to do with the rotation of the earth on its axis? How are the verse 14 signs and seasons brought about? Does this have something to do with the tilt of the axis of the earth as it orbits around the sun? If the sun were created first, why would there be the verse 1 darkness on the earth on the first day?
To begin to answer these questions, we will visit other 'flashbacks' to Genesis and before which are given in the 26th and 38th chapters of Job. These chapters give us information on how the earth was assembled together and nursed into being habitable.
JOB 38:1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, 2 Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? 3 Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.
4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. 5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? 6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; 7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? 8 Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? 9 When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,
When we lay the foundations of a house, we use construction elements that have been preassembled for building the house. For example, if redwood from a thousand year old tree is used, it doesn't means that the house itself is one thousand years old, it simply means that its construction includes one thousand year old plus members. And, just in case anyone from the flat earth society is reading this, it is instructive to read Job's pre-Galileo and pre-Copernicus description of what a modern day NASA astronaut might have seen in observing the earth from afar. Who can forget NASA beaming the Christmas Eve pictures of the earth hanging upon nothing and the division of the day and night on the compassed surface of the earth? Note that at first there are thick clouds and then he spreadeth his cloud until day and night come to an end.
JOB 26:7 He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing. 8 He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them. 9 He holdeth back the face of his throne, and spreadeth his cloud upon it. 10 He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end.
Now, that we have visited the flashbacks regarding creation from Job, we will take another look at the first verses of Genesis.
GENESIS 1: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness,. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
So, let's summarize a scenario of how this process came about by using our flashback information and the first verses of Genesis. Initially, darkness was upon the face of the deep and thick clouds are the material used when the LORD said, I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it ..." Then, God divided the light from the darkness and the evening of darkness and the light of day resulted in the measuring unit we call a 'day'.
If you lived under the thick shroud of clouds on Venus and someone told you could choose a lifetime of 100 Venus years or 100 Venus days—which one would you pick? Strangely enough 100 Venus days would be equivalent to 24,300 earth days or 66.5 earth years. On the other hand, 100 Venus years would be equivalent to 22,500 earth days or 61.5 earth years. One daily rotation of Venus takes longer than its time to complete an orbit around the sun. Its thick swaddling band of clouds diffuses the light in such a way that even the 'dark side' has a soft luminance or ashen tint. The rotation of Venus is opposite that of the earth and most other planets making the sun come up in the west and set in the east – some think a chaotic collision caused it to have a retrograde rotation.
Why are we flying off on a tangent to consider the parameters of Venus? The Apostle Paul wrote these words: Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead;
Perhaps what we are seeing on Venus today parallels what occurred in earth's ancient past. First there is darkness on the face of the deep => a swaddling band => earth begins rotating so day and night come to an end => the evening and the morning were the first day =>God spreadeth his cloud => sun, moon, and stars become visible from earth => sun is made to rule the day and moon is made to rule the night.
A more urgent tap on our collective shoulder comes from ardent scientists saying, "By agreeing that the sun was created first and then the earth, you have proved the scriptures wrong. For they plainly say the sun, moon, and stars were created on the fourth day!"
Ooh, this is a big problem—or is it? It is understandable how one might arrive at that conclusion. Let's go back to our source scriptures and look carefully and we will add emphasis by examining the Hebrew source words for CREATED [bara'] and MADE ['asah].
GENESIS 1:1 In the beginning God CREATED [bara'] the heaven and the earth.
2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. ...
8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. ...
13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.
14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
16 And God MADE ['asah] two great lights; the greater light TO RULE the day, and the lesser light TO RULE the night: he made the stars also.
17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
The scripture unambiguously says in verse 1 that God CREATED and 'created' is translated from the Hebrew word: bara'. However, in verse 16, it says that God MADE and this is translated from a different Hebrew word: 'asah. But, we have a question. In verse 16, did God make the sun, moon, and stars – or did he make them to do something. What was the 'something' that he MADE them to do? God MADE the sun TO RULE the day. He MADE the moon TO RULE the night. How did he bring about this rule – by fine tuning cloud dispersion, rotation of the earth, and orbital tilt of the earth for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years?
For example, when we say, "My boss made me work overtime." – does it mean that he created me? Or, does it mean my boss made me do something? The distinction is very clear! And so it is with the sun and moon – For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made ... We should check out the visible things first in order to understand what—in our limited understanding—is truly the miraculous invisible. St. Augustine once phrased it this way, "that in the first founding of the order of nature, we must not look for miracles, but for what is in accordance with nature."
(Continues...)
Excerpted from The Articles of Configurationby Carl D. Armstrong Copyright © 2010 by Carl D. Armstrong. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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