God's Interventions In Secular History. Kenneth B. Alexander BSL, JD, Deacon

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СКАЧАТЬ of man, God low-keys His presence and acts so that our relationship with Him must be based entirely on faith. Scientific evidence of God that would give the earth physical evidence of His presence on earth is largely non-existent. For instance: the Ark of Noah has not been found where in this scientific age it seems it surely would have by now. The Ark of the Covenant has never been located. Israel spent 40 years in the desert of Sinai and there is no evidence of that—not even a shred of pottery. There is no clear evidence in the Egyptian record of the Hebrews or Moses (cf Armana Letters). There is no real evidence of the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve or even that King David ever existed. For that matter there is no scientific evidence that Jesus Christ ever walked the earth. In contrast the Egyptians glorify their existence with pyramids and temples. A clear record is left by the Sumerians, Babylonians, Persians, Alexander the Great, the Hittites and the Romans. Most ancient civilizations have left clear evidence that they existed, shouting forth the great accomplishments of man for all to see and marvel at. The accomplishments of God are ignored even though He is manipulating all things from His thrown in the heavens (the Spirit realm). As Jesus put it: “…for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Mt 5:45).

      Can God’s actions be detected scientifically? “I’ll believe in God if you can prove scientifically that He does things!” How can we respond to such a challenge? The first thing we must do is disentangle the questions involved here. First, what do we mean by “God’s actions”? Second, what do we mean by “science”? And third, can science detect events as God’s actions? Let’s take them one at a time.

      It appears God covered His tracks, so to speak, so man would have to walk by faith, not venerated objects. The acts of God violated our precious Laws of Physics so why wouldn’t they be invisible. For example, the more we know about how babies come about, the more clearly supernatural becomes the conception of Jesus: There is no natural explanation for it. As C. S. Lewis put it, “No doubt a modern gynecologist knows several things about birth and begetting which St. Joseph did not know. But these things do not concern the main point—that a virgin birth is contrary to the course of nature. And St. Joseph obviously knew that:” Advances in medical science have only sharpened the point. We could say the same about Jesus’ resurrection: Dead bodies stay dead unless someone with extraordinary power interferes.

      This kind of detection works best when it’s based on knowledge, not ignorance. It’s not just that we don’t know how it could happen; rather, we have every reason to believe that it can’t happen unless something else is added. The sciences can help us to know better the natures of the things involved and thus to know when “something else” is needed to explain what we see”

      This deeply pervasive sense of history—the dignity of man’s place in history and the presence of God in history—accounts for the way in which the Hebrew people talked and wrote. They did not, as was the fashion in the ancient world, make up and embellish fanciful stories. Their writings did not entertain or explain; they revealed the ways of God with men and women and the world. They gave narrative shape to actual people and circumstances in their dealings with God, and in God’s dealings with them. But for the Hebrews there simply was no secular history. None. Everything that happened, happened in a world penetrated by God. Since they do not talk a lot about God in their storytelling, it is easy to forget that God is always the invisible and mostly silent presence in everything that is taking place. But if we forget for very long, we will understand neither what is written nor the way it is written. God is never absent from these narratives and never peripheral to them. As far as these writers were concerned, the only reason for paying attention to people and events was to stay alert to God.

      This is a difficult mindset for us to acquire, for we are used to getting our history from so-called historians, scholars, and journalists with whom God is not involved or present in what they study and write. Historians write what has occurred on earth compatible to the natural laws. We are thoroughly trained by our schools, daily newspapers, and telecasts to read history solely in terms of politics and economics, human interest and environmental conditions. If we have a mind for it, we can go ahead and fit God in somewhere or other. These historical books—Joshua through Esther—are radically and refreshingly different. They pull us into a way of reading history that involves us and everyone around us in all the operations of God.

      The ultimate result is that we are blind to God-His works and His presence on earth or in the heavens. This is the work of Satan who would rather God be forgotten and man be exalted. The great ruins, temples etc. of the great civilizations are to be awed at by man because they were built by unconsecrated man. They are one more cover-up by Satan who loves to show off the works of his servants and the gods for which they were made. Paul said: “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world [Satan] has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the  glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (1 Co. 4:3-4).

      God did not fail in obtaining a people for His own possession. The promises and Covenants He gave and made with His people still stand today. Unlike the crumbling ruins of previous empires His promises are as fresh today as they were when He spoke them. Isaiah, God’s mouth piece said: “Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. “For behold, darkness will cover the earth And deep darkness the peoples; But the Lord will rise upon you And His glory will appear upon you. “Nations will come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising” (Is 60:1-3). “Whereas you have been  forsaken and hated With no one passing through, I will make you an everlasting pride, A joy from generation to generation. “You will also suck the milk of nations And suck the breast of kings; Then you will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior And your  Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob” ( Isa 60:15-16). And: “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the  former things will not be remembered or come to mind. “But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing And her people for gladness” (Is 65:17-18).

      “I will also rejoice in Jerusalem, and be glad in My people; And there will no longer be heard in her The voice of weeping and the sound of crying. “No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, Or an old man who does not live out his days; For the youth will die at the age of one hundred And the bone who does not reach the age of one hundred Shall be thought accursed. “And they shall build houses and inhabit them; They shall also plant vineyards and eat their fruit. “They shall not build, and another inhabit, They shall not plant, and another eat; For as the lifetime of a tree, so shall be the days of My people, And My chosen ones shall wear out the work of their hands. “They shall not labor in vain, Or bear children for calamity; For they are the offspring of those blessed by the LORD, And their descendants with them. “It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. “The wolf and the lamb shall graze together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain,” says the LORD” (Is 65:19–25).

      “And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle [God’s presence] of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away” (Rev 21:3-4).

      Before and Immediately After the Flood

      Following the fall in the garden, man quickly degenerated into such a depraved СКАЧАТЬ