Why History Is Great

According to a recent article in Huffington Post, there are some people who think the United States of America is two thousand and fourteen years old. Actually, 2014 is the current year in the Christian Calendar because it is based on the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And hopefully most people know that. And by the way, just in case anyone is confused on the matter, Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem, Judea, Israel; not to be confused with Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. The Christian Calendar, also called the Western Calendar or the Gregorian Calendar, was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. But the Calendar is thought to be off by something like three, four, or six years. So the birth of Jesus Christ was not precisely two thousand and thirteen years ago.

The United States of America, though, did not exist when Jesus was born. The United States of America was officially formed in the year 1776. That makes the nation only two hundred and thirty-eight years old. And the Pilgrims of Mayflower fame landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620. That's three hundred and ninety-four years ago. And it was "in 1492" (five hundred and  twenty-two years ago) that "Columbus sailed the ocean blue". That is the year that he is said to have become the discoverer of the New World, though he never actually set foot anywhere on the continent that is now known as North America. He actually landed in the Caribbeans and mistakenly thought that he was in India.

It is important to know about history; real, accurate history. It is important to know the truth about the past in order to know where we came from and where we are going. As the saying goes, "The only way to understand the present is by understanding the past". God's people, the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; understood that. That is why they preserved their history in writing. That is why when God gave the Law to Moses, instructing him to write the Pentateuch; he inspired Moses to write down the history of all things. 

Under Divine guidance, Moses wrote history; from the Creation of the universe, to the Fall of Man into a sinful state, to the Flood of Noah. He recounted from the Flood to the calling of Abraham by God, to the immigration of Jacob's family into Egypt when Joseph saved Egypt from a severe famine. Moses then reviewed the subsequent enslavement of the people of Jacob (a.k.a Israel) in Egypt, and his own birth, upbringing, and Divine calling to lead Israel out of Egyptian slavery into the Promised Land.

And why did Israel become enslaved in Egypt. Because a new Pharaoh came into power, who did not know the history of how Joseph the Hebrew saved Egypt from starvation. So he was ignorant, and without proper gratitude to the Hebrew people. As Jesus Christ the superlative Savior said "Salvation is from the Jews" (John 4:22). Paul the apostle said that the Gentiles owe material gratitude to the Jews because it was through the Jews that Jesus Christ and His spiritual blessings came into the world (Romans 15:26-27).

But the historically ignorant Pharaoh feared the Hebrews and enslaved them. And he ordered the massacre of all Hebrew first-born son's at birth, much the same way as Herod "the Great" would later do when Jesus Christ was born in Israel. History has a way of being repeated like that. As another saying goes, "Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it". But Moses, like Jesus, was rescued from infanticide. His mother hid him in a basket, coated with pitch and put him on the Nile River. He was then discovered by Pharaoh's daughter, who took him in and raised him as her own. She gave him the Egyptian name, "Moses" which means "drawn from the water". 

Centuries later the Israelites were again in captivity (this time in Babylon/Persia) because of their unfaithfulness to the LORD. But during that time they were saved by history from annihilation. Haman was seeking to turn the king, Xerxes, against all the Jews. But on a sleepless night, Xerxes called his servants to come and read to him from the history of his kingdom. It was through this reading that the king learned, or was reminded of Mordecai's loyalty to the king (Esther 6:1-3). Mordecai was a Jew. And as a result of Mordecai saving the king's life on an earlier occasion, Esther, Mordicai's relative, was able to persuade Xerxes to favor all her people. Haman's evil plan backfired on him with fatal result. 

In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul reviewed some events recorded in the Books of Moses. And he said "Now all these things happened to them as examples, and were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come" (1 Corinthians 10:11). History is recorded for the sake of our generation to learn from the past. There are many examples of how historical ignorance is detrimental, while historical knowledge is indispensable. But the historical sequence of Creation, the Fall, the Flood, Israel and Jesus Christ is the superlative example. 

As I demonstrated in an earlier post, Why Science Is Great; the scientific laws are a testament to the truth of our orderly Creator and sovereign God, and the brokenness of the world due to sin - the need for salvation. Archaeology also testifies to the historical reliability of the Biblical texts. And the events recorded therein are of utmost importance.

Of Pharisees and Physicists Part Two

At the beginning of last month I wrote about the Pharisees (teachers of the Law of Moses) who rejected Jesus; the Messiah that was predicted, foreshadowed, and prefigured in the writings of Moses, under the direction of the Holy Spirit. And I wrote about the teachers of the laws of nature who, in these modern times, reject Jesus through whom all things were created. He is the Author of the laws of nature. 

So I showed the similarity between the two sets of law-teachers. Both groups have missed the point of the laws which they have studies. And therefore both groups have rejected God who made the laws which they have taught. Now I want to continue with that observation. 

Jesus once indicted the Pharisees of those days by comparing them to "children sitting in the market place and calling to one another, saying:

'We played the flute for you,

And you did not dance;

We mourned to you,

And you did not weep.'

For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'He has a demon'. The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'" (Luke 7:32-34).

This same illustration is applicable and relevant to the discussion of today's "teachers of the law". I say this because when we tell of the amazing miracles that where performed by Jesus Christ, and all the other miracles described in the Bible, as well as God's ability to perform miracles at any time and place He chooses; the naturalistic teachers of the law will scoff and ridicule these claims. They will say that the universe operates according to orderly sets of laws. 

When we tell the truth that God Himself instituted the laws of nature which He created and owns, and that He carries out most of His work through the laws which He has instituted over nature; they will scoff and ridicule this. They will call it "an argument from silence" for a "God of the gaps". But as Dr. Georgia Purdom of Answers in Genesis has recently pointed out in her blog, "we do not use God to fill in the gaps because there are no gaps". And there is no silence (Psalm 19:1-4). There is only God and His creation, which He made and owns.

It is simple. God instituted the laws of nature, they are His laws. And He also reserves the right to command the natural universe, which He created and owns, to behave differently at specific points in time and space. When He does, we call the result a miracle. 

But now, whether God works by way of miracles, or if He works by way of the ordinary laws of nature which He instituted; the wicked, corrupt self-deceivers will reject Him either way. If they ever did see a miracle happen before their very eyes, they would say "There must be some scientific explanation for this".

They ignore the truth that if all the universe is entirely the result of random, unguided processes, then our their brains are also the product of random, unguided process. In that case all their thoughts are the accidental products of random, unguided processes. 

And in that case they have no reason to believe that any of their thoughts are valid observations of the universe in which they accidentally exist. And that undermines their supposed observation that the universe is a result of random, unguided processes. In short, their naturalistic worldview undermines itself.

Science - the orderly, systematic study of the natural universe is possible because the orderly, sovereign Creator of the universe made nature to operate according to orderly sets of laws. And He also created our minds to be able to function in an orderly way that allows us to think and make valid observations.

Jesus said to the Pharisees who denied Him, "You search the Scriptures, for in them you think that you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me" (John 5:39). His modern enemies claim to believe in the laws of nature. But the laws of nature point to the orderly, sovereign God who created nature to operate according to orderly laws. 

So the problem is not a lack of evidence. It is only the hardness of a fallen, corrupt, sinful heart that blinds anyone to the truth. These teachers of the law, in their heart of hearts, do not love God who is love (1 John 4:8), and who created humanity in His own image (Genesis 1:26-27) for the purpose of love (Matthew 22:37-40). They demonstrate their fallen nature in that they do not love God who is love.

Laws, Traditions, and the Natures of God and Humanity

The Scriptures tell the truth that the laws and statutes of the LORD are perfect, and that we are to delight in them (Psalm 1:1-3, Psalm 19:7-11, & Psalm 119). But some of the commandments of the LORD might seem more human to us than Divine. 

For example, there are laws in the Pentateuch that detail how masters should treat their slaves. And there are ceremonial laws concerning women's menstrual cycles, and which animals were considered "clean" or "unclean" for eating or for sacrifice, and things like that.

I think that the Law of Moses, as a whole, is kind of like the layout of the Tabernacle (portable temple) which God commanded the Israelites to to construct. The Tabernacle, and later the Temple in Jerusalem, had the outer courtyard, into which the people could enter to offer their sacrifices. 

Then there was the tent itself which was divided into two parts; the Holy place, and the Most Holy place. Both parts were more sacred, and restricted than the outer court. And the Most Holy place (or the Holy of Holies) was so sacred and restricted that only the High Priest was ever allowed to enter it; and only once a year.

Similarly, it seems that the Law of Moses is comprised of what we might call common laws, comparable to the code of Hammurabi, as well as more holy laws. It is also important to consider the role of human traditions which can differ from time to time, and from place to place. Because when God gave the Law to the Israelites through Moses, He accommodated their human traditions. 

For example, some cultures (including that of the ancient Israelites) have practiced arranged marriage. I live in a culture that allows couples to date and to choose each other, without the parents betrothing them. I think both cultural practices have their pros and cons to them. 

Neither practice is morally wrong, in and of itself. In a culture of arranged marriage, the parents ought to be considerate of the needs and welfare of their son or daughter in choosing the right spouse for them. In the culture in which I live, it is up to each person to be wise or foolish in choosing a spouse.

Now the Ten Commandments, which were carved in tablets of stone by God's own finger, might be comparable to the Holy place of the Tabernacle. They are holy in nature, not cultural. And then the heart and soul of the Law is found in Deuteronomy 6:5, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength"; and in Leviticus 19:18, "...you shall love your neighbor as yourself." Jesus said that these are the two greatest commandments, and that all the other commandments hang on them (Matthew 22:37-40).

In order to understand the Law of Moses, it is important to realize what the purpose of the Law was in the first place. The apostle Paul, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, informs us that the Law was made for sinners, to make clear our inability to attain righteousness (1 Timothy 1:9, Romans 3:20). 

Jesus Himself made that pretty clear when He preached the Sermon on the Mount, which is recorded in Matthew chapters 5-7. He said that if you look at a woman to lust after her, you have already committed the sin of adultery with her in your heart. And if you hate someone, you have already murdered that person in your heart. 

So the Law was given to Moses for sinners, to make them aware of their sin. By the law we become conscious of our alienation from God. It reveals the discord between our fallen human nature and the perfect, immaculate nature of God who is love, and who made humanity in His image, before the Fall. 

The Law shows us that as fallen humans, our nature is no longer in tune with the Divine nature, the nature of God who is love. As it has been said, love toward God and each other is the foundation of the whole Law (Romans 13:9-10).

Since the Law is made for sinners, the ceremonial laws serve as symbolic reminders of the impurity of our fallen human nature. The prophet Isaiah tells us that because of our fallen nature, even our attempts at righteousness are like filthy rags to God (Isaiah 64:6). And the term translated "filthy rags" refers to dirty menstrual rags. 

According to the Law of Moses, a woman in the midst of her menstrual period was considered ceremonially "unclean", and she had to go through a whole ceremonial cleansing process before she could participate in public worship.

I remember once finding an article in a magazine that claimed that the biblical writers did not understand a woman's menstrual cycle, and that they thought of the biological process as shameful and bad. But in actuality, the author of that article is the one who does not understand the Law of Moses at all. 

The ceremonial laws were given by God for their symbolic value. It's not that there is anything wrong with, or shameful about a woman's biology. But the messy nature of it was used as a symbol for the impurity of our fallen human nature. The same idea is behind the laws concerning which animals were, or were not considered fit for ceremonial or dietary use. And the animal sacrifices prescribed in the Law of Moses are foreshadows of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross (read Hebrews 10:1-25). 

Also, because the Law was made for sinners, there is a certain level of forbearance in it. God gave laws concerning treatment of slaves. And today we may wonder, "Why didn't He just forbid slavery altogether?" But these Laws were given as a Divine concession because human nature is hardened against doing right.

However, it should be noted that according to the Law of Moses, no one could lawfully be a slave for life. The people of Israel were required to free all their slaves at various intervals of time. And besides that, in the human traditions of those days, people were not enslaved because of their race. Ways that a person could become a slave, in those days, included being captured in battle during war-time; or a person might sell himself into slavery in order to pay a debt.

The pharisees who were opposed to Jesus once asked Him a question concerning the divorce law that Moses handed down to the people. According to the Law of Moses, if a man wanted to divorce his wife for any reason, he just had to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away. The pharisees asked Jesus if He agreed with this law. 

Jesus told them that Moses gave them this law because their hearts were hard. He told them that "from the beginning of creation God 'made them male and female.' 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'; so they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let no man separate" (Mark 10:2-9).

And so here is an important point. God's desire is reconciliation between Himself and us. So the giving of the Law was a step in His plan to bring us back to the way it was in the beginning, before the Fall. The point of these laws was to make us aware of our sin and prod us toward returning to God who is love, and who made us in His own image. 

But the Law alone could not accomplish that ultimate goal. As the Scriptures tell "a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified" (Galatians 2:16).

The Law only reveals our need for reconciliation with God. It points us to Christ, who is the only Savior from sin. As the Scriptures tell "Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith" (Galatians 3:24). This is what Jesus meant when He said "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law and the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill" (Matthew 5:17). 

Jesus the Son of God, through whom all things were created, came into the world and lived a pure, perfect, sinless life. And then He gave Himself as a perfect sacrifice to the Father for our sins. Now everyone who trusts in Him is clothed (so to speak) with His righteousness, just as He was clothed (so to speak) in our sin. 

And as we are clothed in His righteousness, and practice righteousness in Him, we will grow to be more and more like Him as we surrender to Him living in us. Our fallen nature is being put to death, while the Divine nature, in the image of which humanity was originally created, is taking over in our hearts. 

As Paul says, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20, also read Colossians 3:1-16).

"For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh" (Romans 8:3). And in another passage, Paul writes "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him". 

And as Jesus Himself said, "It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me". (John 6:45). And as the apostle John wrote, "For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17).

And so, the Law is truly perfect for what it was given to do; to tutor and lead sinners like you and me to Jesus Christ, who alone can reconcile us to the Father.

God Is Not Desperate

Some Bible skeptics taunt at the idea of belief in God, asking "If God exists, where is He? Why doesn't He show Himself plainly, for all to see?" Such scoffers are just like those who challenged Jesus to "show a sign" if He were truly the Son of God. They said this after He had already given a plethora of signs and miracles.

The truth is that God has already revealed Himself adequately for any honest seeker to find Him. He has revealed Himself through nature. He has revealed Himself through the biblical prophets. He has revealed Himself through the testimony of the apostles. And He has revealed Himself especially through His Son, Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:1-2, Romans 1:20, Psalm 19).

In Luke 16:19-31, Jesus tells the story of a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus. Both men die, and Lazarus goes to be with Abraham in Heaven. The rich man who lived a life of selfish pleasure, unmindful of Lazarus and of God, went to Hell. 

Afar off across a chasm, the rich man sees Lazarus with Abraham. He calls out and selfishly asks Abraham to send Lazarus over to give him a drop of water. Abraham tells him no. Then the rich man asks Abraham to send Lazarus back to warn his brothers, so they wouldn't end up like him in that place of torment.

Abraham tells the rich man that his brothers have the writings of Moses and the Prophets to warn them. But the rich man pleads saying that if Lazarus would return from the dead, then his brothers would believe. Abraham replies in verse 31 "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead".

So Jesus makes it clear that He is not desperate to convince anyone of His truth. He has already done everything He needed to do to reveal Himself to us. Now it's on us to be receptive. "Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear", as Jesus often says (Mark 4:9, 4:23, Luke 8:8, 14:35, Revelation 2:7, 2:11, 2:17, 2:29, 3:6, 3:13, 3:22). And so we do not change the message to attract the masses. People must change their hearts and minds to receive the truth; not the other way around.

Interestingly, Jesus did raise a man named Lazarus from the dead. And afterwards, His enemies wanted to kill them both (John 11:43-53, 12:9-10). So He was right. And even to this day, there are those who continue to reject Jesus despite His clear revelation of Himself in the time and space of human history, recorded in the Scriptures, as well as His revelation of Himself through design in nature.

God is love (1 John 4:8). So why not love the One who is love? The reason that we as human beings even have a concept of love is because we were created by, and in the image of God who is love (Genesis 1:26-27). So to surrender to Him is to surrender to love. If anyone rejects Him, they demonstrate that they have a lack of love, because they do not love God who is love (Matthew 22:37-38). And whoever loves the Father will love the Son as well (1 John 5:1, 1 John 2:22-23, John 3:36).

More Than an Ancient Text

As humans, I think we all like to put things into human terms. I know that I do. And so I find it appealing to think of the origins debate as a conflict between Darwin and Moses. 

But though the discussion may be framed in such a way, it is important to remember that it is more than just a matter of Moses vs. Darwin. It is a conflict between the word of God and the word of men. 

Moses was a man. And Genesis was written by Moses. But Moses was a prophet of God, and he wrote down what God spoke to him (Numbers 12:5-8, John 5:46, 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21). 

An old friend of mine used to refer to the Bible as "an ancient text", as if to lessen its authority. And theistic evolutionist, Peter Enns has made the statement that "an ancient text give us ancient science, not modern". 

But these speak wrongly about God's word. God's word is not antiquated, nor is it static. God's word is living and vibrant. It is more than just an ancient text. It keeps on being true (Psalm 119, John 17:17, Hebrews 4:12-13).

There can be no greater authority on science and origins than the One who created the universe and all that exists (Genesis 1:1, John 1:1-3, Colossians 1:16-17).

Some try to reinterpret what God clearly tells us about our origins. But the only reason for such theories as the day/age, or the gap theory is to attempt to harmonize God's word with the word of men.

And those men who first developed the doctrines of deep time, and evolutionism (Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, Erasmus Darwin, Charles Darwin, Charles Lyell and others), were attempting to explain the universe, and life without God. 

These individuals interpreted the data under the assumption that Genesis is not true, and that no supernatural/Divine hand was or is involved. Thus, evolutionism is rooted in a rejection of belief in God.  

Once a person acknowledges the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; it becomes wholly, completely, entirely unnecessary to accept evolutionism. 

God created the heavens and the earth. And He did it in six literal, 24 hour days, just as He has says that He did. This is a certainty because there was no death before sin entered the world by on person (Romans 5:12, 1 Corinthians 15:21-26).

Material written by trained scientists, who affirm biblical creation, can be read at the following sites:

www.answersingenesis.org
www.icr.org
http://creation.com/

The Wives of Cain and Seth

"Where did Cain and Seth find their wives?" This is a question that is sometimes asked concerning the book of Genesis. (Seth was born to Adam and Eve after Cain murdered Abel). 

It seems distasteful to think that the sons of Adam and Eve were married to the daughters of Adam and Eve. Yet the Scriptures teach very clearly that all humanity is descended from one man and one woman - Adam and Eve (Acts 17:26, Genesis 3:20).

There is a reason why it was acceptable in those early times for the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve to marry. Contrary to evolutionary dogma, God created human beings in perfection. And in the earliest days of human history, the human gene pool was in a more pristine condition. 

The reason that marriage between close relatives is unacceptable in our time is because the human genome has degenerated since the creation and fall of humanity. In our time, if close relatives marry and reproduce together, there is a greater risk of mutated genes gaining dominance in their offspring. These genetic mutations then result in physical and mental birth defects.

We live in a broken world in which genes are susceptible to corruption. According to evolutionary dogma it has always been that way. But in truth, God created a perfect world in the beginning. Genetic mutations were not as significant in the earliest centuries of human history. And there were zero mutations in the genome prior to the Fall.

Even as late as the time of Abraham there was an acceptance of marriage between close relatives. Sarah was Abraham's wife, but she was also his half sister (Genesis 20:12). And Isaac was married to Rebekah, his cousin. Jacob too, was married to his cousins, Leah and Rachel. 

It should be noted, as an aside, that God merely tolerated polygamous unions like that of Jacob to Leah and Rachel in the past. "But from the beginning of creation" marriage was intended by God to be a lifelong, monogamous union between a man and a woman (see Jesus' words in Mark 10:5-9). 

By the time of Christ, polygamy had become antiquated in Israel. And in this Messianic age, God "commands all men everywhere to repent" (Acts 17:30-31).

It was not until Moses' time that marriage between close relatives was abolished by God. One of the six hundred and some laws of Moses is a ban on close relatives being married (Leviticus 18:6-18). So it is quite unacceptable in the eyes of God, due to the corruption of the human genome, for close relatives to marry anymore.

For these reasons, and because marriage between close relatives has become unnecessary due to the increase in the human population; it also has become socially unacceptable, weird, and gross for close relatives to marry.

Dark Sayings? Dark Sayings. History! (Context and Consequence).

Introduction

Many people wrongly claim that the history recorded in Genesis (and especially the earliest history) is allegorical, and never actually happened. The reasons for such a claim are ideas that are not extrapolated from the Scriptures but are read into, or forced onto the Scriptures from outside.

There is the evolutionary worldview for example. Evolutionary doctrine is not science. It involve the use of patently atheistic assumptions about the past to interpret scientific data in the present. And then there is postmodern philosophy which asserts that there is no absolute truth, but that individuals can make up their own truth. Postmodern philosophy is really neo-paganism. But God's word remains the Truth (John 17:17, 14:6).

The aim of this entry is to show from the context of the Scriptures that the Genesis narrative is historical, and that an allegorical interpretation of Genesis is theologically destructive. Interpreting the Scriptures with the Scriptures, we can see clearly that they are God's word, and that their contextual integrity confirms the historicity of Genesis.

Dark Sayings?

Remember that Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy are the Five Books of Moses. This Pentateuch ("Five Books") was written by Moses under the direction of God.

In Numbers chapter 12, we read about how Moses' brother and sister criticized him for marrying an Ethiopian woman. It is not clear why Aaron and Miriam objected to the marriage. The possibilities are another subject for another time. In any case, Aaron and Miriam went so far as to question Moses' authority as a prophet on account of his marriage to the Ethiopian woman.

God Himself answered Aaron and Miriam's criticism. Verse 6 reads:

"Then He said, 'Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD,  make Myself know to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream.'"

And here it is, verse 7:

"Not so with My servant Moses; He is faithful in all My house. I speak with him face to face, even plainly, and not in dark sayings; and he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses" (emphasis added).

So here God is saying that He spoke plainly to Moses and not in dark sayings. And in this context the word "dark" means "cryptic" or "mysterious". So don't worry, I'm not going to get all Poe on you now.

Dark Sayings.

Several centuries after the time of Moses, the psalmist Asaph prophesied of the coming Messiah, writing:

 "I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old" (Psalms 78:2).

Jesus fulfilled this prophecy by using parables to illustrate His message about the kingdom of God. 

The verse also seems to be referring back to itself. Jesus frequently quoted poetic prophecies like this one, saying that His ministry was the fulfillment of the Scriptures. He read Isaiah 49:8-9 aloud when He began to teach and preach at a synagogue in Nazareth, and told the congregation that the prophecy had just been fulfilled in their hearing. (Luke 4:18-22)

The prophecy that was given through Asaph is similar to the prophecy that God would use strange language to communicate His message, since people wouldn't listen, but disobeyed when He spoke plainly through Moses (Isaiah 28:11-12). The apostle Paul highlights the fulfillment of this prophecy in 1 Corinthians 14:21.

So the reason that Jesus told parables, and the reason the early church spoke in tongues, is because Moses wrote plainly, without story-telling, and the message was disobeyed. However, by paying attention to the context of any passage, one can determine with a fair level of ease when a parable is being told and when the text is narrating actual events.

It is also important to read each passage within the context of the whole Bible. As the saying goes, "Interpret Scripture with Scripture." An understanding of all the Scriptures will aid the student in understanding the various passages within the Scriptures. This way the student is able to objectively determine the author's intended meaning.

History! 

As it has been noted, the contextual character of the Bible makes it fairly easy to distinguish the historical narrative from poetic passages, parables, dreams, and visions.

Jesus Himself made it very clear that the narrative of Genesis is historical. And by His constant quoting from the Old Testament, and saying things like "The Scriptures must be fulfilled" (Matthew 26:52-56, Mark 14:46-49), He unmistakably confirmed the Scriptures as the authoritative word of God.

Why would the fulfillment of the Scriptures be so important unless they are God's word? The fulfillment of the Scriptures has always been of utmost important to the Son of God because they are His word. And He will always keep His word.

When His critics prodded Him with questions about marriage, He answered "But from the beginning of creation, God 'made them male and female'" (Mark 10:6). 

In Matthew 23:29-36, Jesus referred to all the righteous martyrs, "from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah" as belonging to the pages of history.

On another occasion Jesus made it unquestionably clear that Abraham was a real historical person. He said to His critics "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad" (John 8:56).

How could that be if Abraham was a made-up fictional character? Jesus' critics got it. And they said "You are not yet fifty years old, and You have seen Abraham?" (8:57). They understood that Abraham really lived, and that he lived much more than just fifty years before their own time.

Jesus answered them with a stunning declaration of His eternal existence. He said "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM" (8:58).

Here He is claiming to be equal with God! He is identifying  Himself as one and the same with Him who spoke to Moses from out of the burning bush and said "I AM that I AM... Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you'" (Exodus 3:14). Indeed it was the preincarnate Son of God who spoke to Moses "face to face" (Numbers 12:7) and to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

When Jesus says "Before Abraham was, I AM" He is saying that Abraham had his place in time when he was living upon the earth, and that Jesus Himself always is from eternity to eternity! And He is saying that He saw Abraham when he lived upon the earth. It was the preincarnate Jesus Himself who visited Abraham and told him that he would be a father by his wife, Sarah. On that same visit He told Abraham about the impending doom that was to fall upon Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18).

After His resurrection from the dead, Jesus appeared to some folks on the road to Emmaus. They were distraught over His crucifixion. And they didn't know it was Jesus who was talking to them because He had transfigured His appearance.

When they expressed their sadness and disappointment, Jesus said to them "Oh foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken. Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?" The text goes on, "And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Him." (Luke 24:13-32 emphasis added). 

Conclusion: Theological Consequence

So from the context of Scripture, and on the authority of the Son of God Himself we have strong confirmation that these things really happened just as the Scriptures tell. And to deny the reality of these events has tremendous theological consequences. The entirety of biblical Christian theology is built upon the reality of these events.

In order to be a Christian, one must believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that His death on the cross paid for our sin, and that God the Father raised Him up bodily from the dead (Romans 10:8-10, 1 Corinthians 15, Hebrews 1:1-4).

Jesus' death on the cross for our sin, and His resurrection from the dead are entirely because of the events recorded in Genesis 1-3. There was no death or suffering of man or beast until sin entered the world by one man (Romans 5:12-21).

If theistic evolution were true, that would mean that there were millions of years of suffering and death before humans ever even existed to sin. God would be unjust, and Jesus' death on the cross would be meaningless. When a person denies the historicity of Genesis, that person is butchering Scripture and denying the authority of Jesus Christ!