Church of God News

Thailand street vendor (Pixabay)

COGwriter

The Continuing Church of God is pleased to announce this sermon from its ContinuingCOG channel:

56:18

Thailand: Origins, Prophecies, and God’s Loving Plan

Nearly 66 million people live in Thailand. Thailand also joined the BRICS group of nations in 2025. Where did the Thai people come from? What are some concerns related to Buddhism, the primary religion of most of the Thai people? What about the impact of the dragon, that serpent of old called the Devil and the dragon? Do the Thais look prophesied to support a Russian-led confederation against the end time European Babylonian beast power? What about salvation? Is eternal torment or deification God’s loving plan? Dr. Thiel goes over scriptures as well as some of the witness that the people of Thailand have had.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Thailand: Any Witness? Prophecies? Ultimate Destiny? Where did the Thai people descend from? Any witness” What will happen to them? Here is a link to a related sermon:  Thailand: Origins, Prophecies, and God’s Loving Plan.
Asia in Prophecy What is Ahead for Asia? Who are the “Kings of the East”? What will happen to nearly all the Chinese, Russians, Indians, and others of Asia? China in prophecy, where? Who has the 200,000,000 man army related to Armageddon? Here is a link to a related sermon: Asia in Prophecy. Two YouTube video are Is China THE Threat to the United States of America? and China: A King of the East.
Mysteries of God. What is God? Is God omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent? Does the Godhead consist of a closed trinity or an expanding family?
The MYSTERY of GOD’s PLAN: Why Did God Create Anything? Why did God make you? This free online book helps answers some of the biggest questions that human have, including the biblical meaning of life. Here is a link to three related sermons: Mysteries of God’s Plan, Mysteries of Truth, Sin, Rest, Suffering, and God’s Plan, and The Mystery of YOU.
Christians: Ambassadors for the Kingdom of God, Biblical instructions on living as a Christian This is a scripture-filled booklet for those wishing to live as a real Christian. A related sermon is also available: Christians are Ambassadors for the Kingdom of God. Here is a video in Spanish: ¿Qué es un verdadero cristiano?
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God This free online pdf booklet has answers many questions people have about the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and explains why it is the solution to the issues the world is facing. Here are links to three related sermons: The World’s False Gospel, The Gospel of the Kingdom: From the New and Old Testaments, and The Kingdom of God is the Solution.
Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church: Could a remnant group have continuing apostolic succession? Did the original “catholic church” have doctrines held by the Continuing Church of God? Did Church of God leaders uses the term “catholic church” to ever describe the church they were part of? Here are links to related sermons: Original Catholic Church of God?, Original Catholic Doctrine: Creed, Liturgy, Baptism, Passover, What Type of Catholic was Polycarp of Smyrna?, Tradition, Holy Days, Salvation, Dress, & Celibacy, Early Heresies and Heretics, Doctrines: 3 Days, Abortion, Ecumenism, Meats, Tithes, Crosses, Destiny, and more, Saturday or Sunday?, The Godhead, Apostolic Laying on of Hands Succession, Church in the Wilderness Apostolic Succession List, Holy Mother Church and Heresies, and Lying Wonders and Original Beliefs. Here is a link to that book in the Spanish language: Creencias de la iglesia Católica original.
Hope of Salvation: How the Continuing Church of God Differs from Protestantism The CCOG is NOT Protestant. This free online book explains how the real Church of God differs from mainstream/traditional Protestants. Several sermons related to the free book are also available: Protestant, Baptist, and CCOG History; The First Protestant, God’s Command, Grace, & Character; The New Testament, Martin Luther, and the Canon; Eucharist, Passover, and Easter; Views of Jews, Lost Tribes, Warfare, & Baptism; Scripture vs. Tradition, Sabbath vs. Sunday; Church Services, Sunday, Heaven, and God’s Plan; Seventh Day Baptists/Adventists/Messianics: Protestant or COG?; Millennial Kingdom of God and God’s Plan of Salvation; Crosses, Trees, Tithes, and Unclean Meats; The Godhead and the Trinity; Fleeing or Rapture?; and Ecumenism, Rome, and CCOG Differences.
Where is the True Christian Church Today? This free online pdf booklet answers that question and includes 18 proofs, clues, and signs to identify the true vs. false Christian church. Plus 7 proofs, clues, and signs to help identify Laodicean churches. A related sermon is also available: Where is the True Christian Church? Here is a link to the booklet in the Spanish language: ¿Dónde está la verdadera Iglesia cristiana de hoy? Here is a link in the German language: WO IST DIE WAHRE CHRISTLICHE KIRCHE HEUTE? Here is a link in the French language: Où est la vraie Église Chrétienne aujourd’hui?
Continuing History of the Church of God This pdf booklet is a historical overview of the true Church of God and some of its main opponents from Acts 2 to the 21st century. Related sermon links include Continuing History of the Church of God: c. 31 to c. 300 A.D. and Continuing History of the Church of God: 4th-16th Centuries. The booklet is available in Spanish: Continuación de la Historia de la Iglesia de Dios, German: Kontinuierliche Geschichte der Kirche Gottes, and Ekegusii Omogano Bw’ekanisa Ya Nyasae Egendererete.
Faith for Those God has Called and Chosen What is faith? Can faith be increased? Are you saved by faith? What about works? Do Christians need to keep the Ten Commandments? What is the ‘faith chapter’? How do the just live by faith? Is faith one of the weightier matters of the law? How does faith come? Marque aquí para ver el pdf folleto: Fe para aquellos que Dios ha llamado y escogido. In German: Glaube für die von GottBerufenen und Auserwählten. In French: La Foi pour ceux que Dieu a Appelés et Choisis. Here is a link to a related sermon titled: Faith for the Called and Chosen.and here is a link to another sermon Faith and Courage. Here is a link to shorter version of the written article in Mandarin Chinese 一篇关于信仰的小文章. Here are links to the sermons Christian Faith and Increasing Faith.
Prayer: What Does the Bible Teach? This free booklet contains 28 biblically-based tips on improving the effectiveness of your prayers. This is a pdf. A related two part sermon is available: What Does the Bible Teach About Prayer? and What does the Bible Teach About Prayer (& Healing)?
Is God Calling You? This booklet discusses topics including calling, election, and selection. If God is calling you, how will you respond? Here is a link to a related sermon: Could God be Calling You? A short animation is also available: Is God Calling You?
Proof Jesus is the Messiah This free book has over 200 Hebrew prophecies were fulfilled by Jesus. Plus, His arrival was consistent with specific prophecies and even Jewish interpretations of prophecy. Here are links to seven related sermons: Proof Jesus is the Messiah, Prophecies of Jesus’ birth, timing, and death, Jesus’ prophesied divinity, 200+ OT prophecies Jesus filled; Plus prophecies He made, Why Don’t Jews Accept Jesus?, Daniel 9, Jews, and Jesus, and Facts and Atheists’ Delusions About Jesus
Is God’s Existence Logical? Is it really logical to believe in God? Yes! Would you like Christian answers to give atheists? This is a free online booklet that deal with improper theories and musings called science related to the origin of the origin of the universe, the origin of life, and evolution. Two animated videos of related interest are also available: Big Bang: Nothing or Creator?and A Lifegiver or Spontaneous Evolution?
Universal OFFER of Salvation, Apokatastasis: Can God save the lost in an age to come? Hundreds of scriptures reveal God’s plan of salvation Will all get a fair chance at salvation? This free book is packed with scriptures showing that God does intend to offer salvation to all who ever lived–the elect in this age, and the rest in the age to come. Here is a link to a related sermon series: Universal Offer of Salvation 1: Apocatastasis, Universal Offer of Salvation 2: Jesus Desires All to be Saved, Mysteries of the Great White Throne Judgment (Universal Offer of Salvation part 3), Is God Fair, Will God Pardon the Ignorant?, Can God Save Your Relatives?, Babies, Limbo, Purgatory and God’s Plan, and ‘By the Mouth of All His Holy Prophets’.
Christians: Ambassadors for the Kingdom of God, Biblical instructions on living as a Christian This is a scripture-filled booklet for those wishing to live as a real Christian. A related sermon is also available: Christians are Ambassadors for the Kingdom of God.
The Ten Commandments: The Decalogue, Christianity, and the Beast This is a free pdf book explaining the what the Ten Commandments are, where they came from, how early professors of Christ viewed them, and how various ones, including the Beast of Revelation, will oppose them. A related sermon is titled: The Ten Commandments and the Beast of Revelation.
Where is the True Christian Church Today? This free online pdf booklet answers that question and includes 18 proofs, clues, and signs to identify the true vs. false Christian church. Plus 7 proofs, clues, and signs to help identify Laodicean churches. A related sermon is also available: Where is the True Christian Church? Here is a link to the booklet in the Spanish language: ¿Dónde está la verdadera Iglesia cristiana de hoy? Here is a link in the German language: WO IST DIE WAHRE CHRISTLICHE KIRCHE HEUTE? Here is a link in the French language: Où est la vraie Église Chrétienne aujourd’hui?
Continuing History of the Church of God This pdf booklet is a historical overview of the true Church of God and some of its main opponents from Acts 2 to the 21st century. Related sermon links include Continuing History of the Church of God: c. 31 to c. 300 A.D. and Continuing History of the Church of God: 4th-16th Centuries and Continuing History of the Church of God: 17th-20th Centuries. The booklet is available in Spanish: Continuación de la Historia de la Iglesia de Dios, German: Kontinuierliche Geschichte der Kirche Gottes, and Ekegusii Omogano Bw’ekanisa Ya Nyasae Egendererete.
CCOG.ORG Continuing Church of God The group striving to be most faithful amongst all real Christian groups to the word of God. There are links to literature is about 100 different languages there.
Congregations of the Continuing Church of God This is a listing of congregations and groups of the Continuing Church of God around the world.
Continuing Church of God Facebook page This has news and prophetic information.
Continuing Church of God, Africa, Facebook page This has news and prophetic information.
Continuing Church of God, Canada, Facebook page This has news and prophetic information.
Continuing Church of God, Europe, Facebook page This has news and prophetic information.
CCOG.AFRICA This is a website targeted towards those in Africa.
CCOG.ASIA We in the Continuing Church of God also have the url www.ccog.asia which has a focus on Asia and has various articles in Mandarin Chinese as well as some in English, plus some items in other Asian languages. 我们在继续神的教会也提供此网址 www.ccog.asia, 关注于亚洲并且有各种各样的中英文文章，其中一些用菲律宾语翻译的文章也正在进行中，准备添加到这个网站中。 Here is a link to our Statement of Beliefs in Mandarin Chinese 继续神的教会的信仰声明.
CCOG.IN This is a website targeted towards those of Indian heritage. It has a link to an edited Hindi translation of The Mystery of the Ages and is expected to have more non-English language materials in the future.
CCOG.EU This is a website targeted toward Europe. It has materials in more than one language (currently it has English, Dutch, and Serbian, with links also to Spanish) and it is intended to have additional language materials added.
CCOG.NZ This is a website targeted towards New Zealand and others with a British-descended background.
CCOGCANADA.CA This is a website targeted towards those in Canada.
CDLIDD.ES La Continuación de la Iglesia de Dios. This is the Spanish language website for the Continuing Church of God.
CG7.ORG This is a website for those interested in the Sabbath and churches that observe the seventh day Sabbath.
PNIND.PH Patuloy na Iglesya ng Diyos. This is the Philippines website Continuing Church of God. It has information in English and Tagalog.
CCOG Animations YouTube channel. The Continuing Church of God has some animations to teach aspects of Christian beliefs. Also available at BitChute COGAnimations https://www.bitchute.com/channel/coganimations/
Bible News Prophecy channel. Dr. Thiel has produced hundreds of videos for the BibleNewsProphecy channel. You can find them at them on YouTube at BibleNewsProphecy https://www.youtube.com/user/BibleNewsProphecy, plus also on Vimeo at Bible News Prophecy https://vimeo.com/channels/biblenewsprophecy as well as on Brighteon Bible News Prophecy https://www.brighteon.com/channel/ccogbnp and Bitchute Prophecy https://www.bitchute.com/channel/prophecy/
CCOGAfrica channel. This has messages from African pastors in African languages such as Kalenjin, Kiswahili, Embu, and Dholuo. Also available at BitChute COGAfrica https://www.bitchute.com/channel/cogafrica/
CDLIDDSermones channel. This contains messages in the Spanish language
BibleNewsProphecy Podcast. This has audio-visual podcasts of the Bible News Prophecy channgel. It plays on i-Phones, i-Pads, and Windows devices that can play i-Tunes.
Bible News Prophecy online radio. This is an audio version of the Bible News Prophecy videos. It is also available as a mobile app.
Bible News Prophecy International radio. This has links to our non-English language online radio station as well as materials in multiple languages.
ContinuingCOG channel. Dr. Thiel has produced scores of YouTube video sermons for this channel. Note: Since these are sermon-length, they can take a little longer to load than other YouTube videos. Also available at BitChute COGTube https://www.bitchute.com/channel/cogtube/
Study the Bible Course A free online course to help you learn and study the word of God.
Statement of Beliefs of the Continuing Church of God “Contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3, NKJV), “Let brotherly love (Philadelphia) continue” (Hebrews 13:1) ” & continuing stedfastly in the teaching of the apostles” (Acts 2:42 YLT). So, what does that really mean in terms of specific beliefs–the Statement gives answers? Here is a related link in Spanish/español: Declaración de las Doctrinas de la Continuación de la Iglesia de Dios. Here is a related link in Tagalog: Paglalahad ng Mga Paniniwala ng Patuloy na Iglesya ng Diyos. Here is a related link in Mandarin Chinese ~ç~íy^v„eYOv„OáNðXðf. Here is a related link in Kiswahili: KATIKA LUGHA YA KISWAHILI. Here is a related link in Dutch: Verklaring van geloofspunten van de Continuing Church of God. Here is a related link in Deutsche (German): Glaubenserklärung der Continuing Church of God. Here is a related link in Italiano: Dichiarazione del Credo della Continuing Church of God. Here is related link in the French language: Déclaration des croyances de L’Église Continue de Dieu. Here is a related link in the Chichewa language: ZIKHULUPIRIRO ZA MPINGO WA CONTINUING CHURCH OF GOD. Here is a link in Romanian: Declarația de credințe a continuării Bisericii lui Dumnezeu. Here is a link in Portuguese: Declaração de Crenças da Continuação da Igreja de Deus. Here is a link in Russian: Утверждение верований о продолжении Церкви Божьей. Here is a link to a related English-language sermon: Beliefs of the Continuing Church of God.

Hebrew Scroll of the Book of Job (Pete Unseth)

COGwriter

Job is recognized by various faiths in the month of May, and on differing days.

Job is commemorated by the Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod in their Calendar of Saints on May 9, by the Roman Catholic Church on May 10, and by the Eastern Orthodox Church on May 6. He is also commemorated by the “Armenian Apostolic Church” on May 6 and December 26, and by the Coptic Orthodox Church on April 27 and August 29.

While the Church of God does not commemorate a specific date, we in the Continuing Church of God recognized Job as one God worked with (e.g. Job 38-42) and blessed (Job 42:12) in the Old Testament. Job is also mentioned in the New Testament:

11 Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. (James 5:11, NKJV throughout unless as otherwise noted).

Many scholars teach that Job was likely to have been alive around the time of the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob), thus the subjects in the Book of Job were all known prior to Mount Sinai. Biblical evidence includes the facts that both Job’s and Abraham’s wealth are listed in livestock (Job 1:3;42:12; Gen 12:16;13:2;30:43;32:5), the Chaldeans are portrayed as raiders (Job 1:17; as a people, they were not raiders later), the particular Hebrew word for ‘piece of silver’ in Job 42:11 is only used otherwise in conjunction with Jacob (Gen 33:19; Josh 24:32), and Job’s age (Job 42:16) appears to be consistent with the patriarchs.

Job knew about God before the Book of Genesis was written, as he said, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You” (Job 42:5).

Here are some Jewish views on when Job may have lived:

According to Bar Ḳappara, Job lived in the time of Abraham; according to Abba b. Kahana, in the time of Jacob, he having married Dinah, Jacob’s daughter (ib.; B. B. 15b; comp. additions in Targ. Yer. to Job ii. 9). R. Levi said that Job lived in the time of Jacob’s sons; and he also said, in the name of Jose b. Ḥalafta, that Job was born when Jacob and his children entered Egypt and that he died when the Israelites left that country. Job consequently lived 210 years (comp. Rashi on Ex. xii. 40). When Satan came to accuse the Israelites of being idolaters, God set him against Job, whence Job’s misfortunes (Gen. R. l.c.). This opinion is supported by the statement that Job with Jethro and Balaam was consulted by Pharaoh as to the means of reducing the number of the children of Israel and that Job was stricken with calamity because he had remained silent (Sanh. 106a; Soá¹­ah 11a). It may be mentioned that this legend is narrated differently in the “Sefer ha-Yashar” (section “Shemot,” p. 110a, ed. Leghorn, 1870) as follows: At first Job, who was one of Pharaoh’s eunuchs and counselors, advised Pharaoh to have every male child murdered (Ex. i. 16). Afterward Pharaoh, having had a dream which prognosticated the birth of a helper, again consulted Job. The latter answered evasively: “Let the king do as he pleases” (“Sefer ha-Yashar,” l.c. p. 111a). Levi b. Laḥma also held that Job lived in the time of Moses, by whom the Book of Job was written. Some of the rabbis even declare that the one servant of Pharaoh who feared the word of God (Ex. ix. 20) was Job (Ex. R. xii. 3). Raba, specifying the time more accurately, said Job lived in the time of the spies who were sent by Moses to explore the land of Canaan (B. B. 15a). According to these rabbis, Job was a Gentile—an opinion which is elsewhere expressed more fully, in that Job is said to have been a pious Gentile or one of the prophets of the Gentiles (ib. 15b; Seder ‘Olam R. xxi.). Other tannaim place Job variously in the reign of Saba, in that of the Chaldees, and in that of Ahasuerus. R. Johanan and R. Eleazar both declared that Job was one of those who returned from the Captivity and that his bet ha-midrash was at Tiberias (Yer. Soá¹­ah v. 8; B. B. l.c.; Gen. R. l.c.). It is said in B. B. (ib.) that these tannaim necessarily considered Job an Israelite; but R. Hananeel (ad loc.) has in his text, “All the Tannaim and Amoraim, with the exception of the one who placed Job in the time of Jacob, were of opinion that Job was an Israelite” (comp. also Gen. R. l.c.). (Job. Jewish Encyclopedia of 1906. http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/8692-job accessed 05/06/15)

A few have indicated that Job could have been the first written book of the Bible, though many point to a later time of writing. Even if it were not written down prior to Mount Sinai, the narrative appears to be before the children of Israel entered the land of Egypt during the time of Joseph.

Many who teach that Christians do not need to obey the Ten Commandments also teach that the Ten Commandments were not in effect prior to Mount Sinai (Exodus 20). The truth is that all of the Ten Commandments are listed in the Bible prior to Mount Sinai (please see the article Were the Ten Commandments in Effect Before Mount Sinai?). As far as false arguments that they were somehow done away with check out the free online book: The Ten Commandments: The Decalogue, Christianity, and the Beast.

Since Abraham was apparently a contemporary of Job, notice what God said about him:

5 … Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. (Genesis 26:5)

Those commandments would have included the Ten Commandments.

Although the Book of Job does not specifically quote any of the Ten Commandments, it does appear to allude to each one of them. This suggests that the Ten Commandments were not only known before Mount Sinai, but that they were possibly known outside of the descendants of Israel.

But first notice the following about Job:

1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil. (Job 1:1)

What is righteous according to the Bible:

172 My tongue shall speak of Your word,
For all Your commandments are righteousness. (Psalms 119:172)

Yes, the Ten Commandments, like Jesus referred to in Mark 10:19.

Now to the commandments:

Commandment 1:

2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 “You shall have no other gods before Me. (Exodus 20:2-3)

The Book of Job states:

21 Blessed be the name of the LORD (Job 1:21).

28 And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding’ (Job 28:28).

28 This also would be an iniquity deserving of judgement, For I would have denied God who is above (Job 31:28).

1 Then Job answered the LORD and said: 2 ‘I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You’ (Job 42:1-2).

What is interesting about Job 28:28 is that Job said that this is what God said to man and there is no record of this being said in Genesis (which is the primary biblical book with information prior to the story of Job), thus this verse proves that God spoke to humankind prior to Moses in at least one way that was not recorded in Genesis. Thus this refutes the argument that none prior to Mount Sinai could have known what the commandments were! If there were no commandments in effect, how could denying God be an iniquity deserving of judgement?

Commandment 2:

4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image of any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. (Exodus 20:4-6)

The Book of Job states:

27 If I have observed the sun when it shines, or the moon moving in its brightness, so that my heart has been secretly enticed, and my mouth has kissed my hand; 28 This also would be an iniquity deserving of judgement, For I would have denied God who is above (Job 31:27-28).

The observing of the sun and moon, whereby one is enticed, as well kissing one’s own hand, are believed by most commentators to have been practices associated with idolatry.

Commandment 3:

7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. (Exodus 20:7)

The Book of Job states:

5 It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts (Job 1:5).

21 Blessed be the name of the LORD (Job 1:21).

9 Curse God and die! (Job 2:9).

10 In all this, Job did not sin with his lips (Job 2:10).

The third commandment is clearly shown in Job to have been understood. It is clear that before Mount Sinai one could ‘sin with his lips,’ and that ‘sin’ was known to exist then (after Mount Sinai, God did tell the Israelites that the people who used to live in the land sinned by violating this command, Leviticus 18:21,27).

Commandment 4:

8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. (Exodus 20:8-11)

The Book of Job states:

13 So they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great (Job 2:13).

1 Is there not a time of hard service for man on the earth (Job 7:1).

5 That the triumping of the wicked is short…20 Because he knows no quietness in his heart (Job 20:5,20).

21 Now aquaint yourself with Him, and be at peace (Job 22:21).

4 Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? (Job 38:4).

Job 2:13 supports the concept that the week was being observed prior to Mount Sinai. It is consistent with the two accounts in Genesis that a week was used as a period of rejoicing (Gen 29:22,27-28) and grieving (Genesis 50:10).

Job 7:1 supports the concept of “six days shall you labor” (Exodus 20:8) which is part of the fourth commandment. Job 20:20 supports the concept found in Hebrews 4:3-6 that those who disobey “shall not enter My rest.” Whereas Job 22:21 supports the related concept that “we who believed do enter that rest…There remains therefore a rest (Greek sabbitismos, ‘a sabbath observance’) for the people of God” (Hebrews 4:3,9).

In Job 38:4, God says He ‘laid the foundations of the earth’ which is similar to the concept in Exodus 20:11 ‘For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them’. Thus in Job we see nearly all the concepts of the fourth commandment.

Commandment 5:

12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you. (Exodus 20:12)

The Book of Job states:

21 His sons come to honor (Job 14:21).

5 He who speaks flattery to his friends, even the eyes of his children will fail (Job 17:5).

8 But the mighty man possessed the land, and the honorable man dwelt in it (Job 22:8).

These verses support the concept that one is to be honorable, children are to honor their father, and that the children are to become honorable, whereas the fifth commandment says to give honor (Exodus 20:12) which implies that parents are to be honorable.

Commandment 6:

13 “You shall not murder. (Exodus 20:13)

The Book of Job states:

14 The murderer rises with the light; He kills the poor and needy; And in the night he’s like a thief (Job 24:14).

39 If I have eaten its fruit without money, or caused its owners to lose their lives; 40 Then let thistles grow instead of wheat, and weeds instead of barley (Job 31:39-40).

These scriptures clearly support the concept that Job and his companions considered murder to be wrong. Job 24:14 is similar to a teaching by Jesus tieing in murder and thievery together:

10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. (John 10:10).

Notice that Job knew of this connection thousands of years before Jesus stated it as recorded by John.

Commandment 7:

14 “You shall not commit adultery. (Exodus 20:14)

The Book of Job states:

15 The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight, saying, ‘No eye will see me’; and he disguises his face (Job 24:15).

1 I have made a covenant with my eyes; Why then should I look upon a young woman? (Job 31:1).

9 “If my heart has been enticed by a woman, Or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door, 10 Then let my wife grind for another, And let others bow down over her. 11 For that would be wickedness; Yes, it would be iniquity deserving of judgment. 12 For that would be a fire that consumes to destruction, And would root out all my increase. (Job 31:9-12).

These scriptures clearly support the concept that Job and his companions knew adultery was prohibited and an ‘iniquity deserving of judgement.’

Commandment 8:

15 “You shall not steal. (Exodus 20:15)

The Book of Job states:

5 Is not your wickedness great, and your iniquity without end? 6 For you have taken pledges from your brother for no reason, and stripped the naked of their clothing (Job 22:5-6).

14 And in the night he’s like a thief (Job 24:14).

39 If I have eaten its fruit without money, or caused its owners to lose their lives; 40 Then let thistles grow instead of wheat, and weeds instead of barley (Job 31:39-40).

These scriptures clearly support the concept that Job and his companions considered stealing to be wrong.

Commandment 9:

16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. (Exodus 20:16)

The Book of Job states:

28 I would never lie to your face (Job 6:28).

35 They conceive trouble and bring forth futility; Their womb prepares deceit (Job 15:35).

25 Now if it is not so, who will prove me a liar and make my speech worth nothing? (Job 24:25).

4 My lips will not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit (Job 27:4).

6 Should I lie concerning my right? (Job 34:6).

4 For truly my words are not false (Job 36:4).

These scriptures clearly support the concept that Job and his companions considered ‘bearing false witness’ to be wrong.

Commandment 10:

17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.” (Exodus 20:17)

The Book of Job states:

2 And envy slays a simple one (Job 5:2).

12 Why does your heart carry you away, and what do your eyes wink at, that you turn your spirit against God, and let such words go out of your mouth? (Job 15:12-13).

1 They conceive trouble and bring forth futility (Job 15:35).

1 I have made a covenant with my eyes; Why then should I look upon a young woman? (Job 31:1).

9 “If my heart has been enticed by a woman, Or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door, 10 Then let my wife grind for another, And let others bow down over her. 11 For that would be wickedness; Yes, it would be iniquity deserving of judgment. 12 For that would be a fire that consumes to destruction, And would root out all my increase. (Job 31:9-12).

These scriptures clearly support the concept that Job and his companions considered covetousness (or evil desire) to be wrong. Since Paul wrote, “I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, ‘You shall not covet.’ ” (Rom 7:7), it is clear that the law against covetousness must have been in effect prior to Mount Sinai.

“Sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4) or as it says in the AV “sin is the trangression of the law.” The terms sin (9), sinned (6), and sins (1) are used 16 times in the Book of Job (NKJV).

How could there be sin if there was no law, since according to an interesting scripture by the Apostle Paul, “sin is not imputed when there is no law?” (Romans 5:13).

In the Book of Job, Elihu said:

5 Behold God is mighty…10 He also opens their ear to instruction, and commands that they turn from iniquity. 11 If they obey and serve Him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures. 12 But of they do not obey, they shall perish by the sword and they shall die [as one] without knowledge (Job 36:5,10-12).

If people in Job’s day were not supposed to know about God’s law, how could they obey Him? If those who disobey will perish like those that have no knowledge of God and His ways, then they must have had knowledge of God and His laws.

There is another interesting passage from the Apostle Paul to consider:

7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.” (Romans 7:7)

What is so interesting about that?

Well, Paul said it was only because there was an existing law against coveting that he understood that he was not to covet.

But, Job knew, prior to Mount Sinai that he was not to covet. Job specifically knew it was wrong to covet his neighbor’s wife.

The Book of Job demonstrates that God has revealed information that is not specifically listed in the Book of Genesis (Job 28:28;36:12;42:5). This is also consistent with the following concerning what God said to Isaac related to his father Abraham:

4 And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; 5 because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws. (Genesis 26:4-5)

The Book of Job demonstrates that sin and God’s Ten Commandment laws were known prior to Mount Sinai.

Abraham and Job kept the Ten Commandments.

The righteous keep God’s commandments:

14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. 15 But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie. (Revelation 22:14-15)

It is a lie to believe otherwise.

While some may try to reason around what the Book of Job teaches, it is a fact that early Christians did believe that they needed to keep the Ten Commandments (for detailed proof, see The Ten Commandments and the Early Church). And real Christians believe that today.

UPDATE 08/15/22: We just uploaded the following related video:

15:21

Did Job Keep the Ten Commandments?

Many scholars believe that Job was a contemporary with Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob. Were the Ten Commandments in effect before Mount Sinai? Does the Bible teach that Abraham obeyed the Ten Commandments? What about Job? Steve Dupuie asks questions related to these topics. Dr. Thiel provides biblical citations related to whether there is evidence that Job kept each of the specific Ten Commandments. He also goes over some historical and prophetic information related to the Ten Commandments.

Here is a link to our video: Did Job Keep the Ten Commandments?

Some items of possible interest may include:

Were the Ten Commandments in Effect Before Mount Sinai? Some have said not. This article provides biblical quotes to answer this important question. A sermon of related interest is titled Were the Ten Commandments in Place prior to Mt. Sinai?
Job and the Ten Commandments Was Job written prior to Mount Sinai? Did Job know about the ten commandments? This article provides biblical answers to those questions. A related sermonette of interest is: Did Job Keep the Ten Commandments?
The Ten Commandments: The Decalogue, Christianity, and the Beast This is a free draft/unedited pdf book explaining the what the Ten Commandments are, where they came from, how early professors of Christ viewed them, and how various ones, including the Beast of Revelation, will oppose them. A related sermon is titled: The Ten Commandments and the Beast of Revelation.
What Did Jesus Teach About the Ten Commandments? This article quotes what Jesus actually said about them (His words are in red).
Were the Ten Commandments Nailed to the Cross? Some have said so. This article provides some biblical quotes to answer this important question.
What Did Paul Actually Teach About the Ten Commandments? Many say Paul taught against the ten commandments. Is this true? This article quotes Paul with his words in green.
Are the Ten Commandment Still in Effect? This article quotes the ten commandments and combines some of the previous articles into one article about the ten commandments. The commandments are shown at Mount Sinai, before Mount Sinai, in the teachings of Jesus, after the crucifixion, and in the teachings of Paul. It addresses the most common “traditions of men” regarding them as well. Here is a version in the Spanish language:.¿Están vigentes todavía los diez mandamientos?
Were the Pharisees Condemned for Keeping the Law or Reasoning Around it? Many believe that the Pharisees were condemned for keeping the law, but what does your Bible say? If they were not condemned for that, what were they condemned for?
The Ten Commandments Reflect Love, Breaking them is Evil Some feel that the ten commandments are a burden. Is that what Jesus, Paul, Peter, James, and John taught? For a more detailed discussion of the first four commandments, please see the video The Ten Commandments: Loving God. For a more detailed discussion of the last six commandments, please see: The Ten Commandments: Loving Your Neighbor. Here is a link to a related article in Mandarin Chinese 十条诫命显示爱，违反诫命的就是邪恶的
Was the Commandment to Love the Only Command? Some have stated that John’s writings teach this, but is that what the Bible really says?
The Ten Commandments and the Early Church Did Jesus and the Early Church keep the ten commandments? What order were they in? Here are quotes from the Bible and early writings. A related sermon is titled: Christians and the Ten Commandments.
When was the Exodus? Did it Happen? Some deny the biblical account of the Exodus. Was Ramses II the pharaoh then? When did the Exodus occur? Is there proof outside of the Bible that there was an Exodus? Here is a related article in the Spanish language: ¿Cuándo fue el Éxodo? ¿Ocurrió realmente?
Reasons, Proofs, and Ramifications of the Ten Plagues of Exodus What do you know about these plagues? Is there any confirmation outside the Bible? Might something worse be coming? A related two-part sermon is available: Egypt and the Plagues (Part 1) and Exodus Plagues and Prophecy (Part 2).
Exodus and the Days of Unleavened Bread This article discusses parts of the Book of Exodus with some connections to the Days of Unleavened Bread. A related sermon is available and is titled: Unleavened Bread: Lessons in Exodus.
Continuing History of the Church of God This pdf booklet is a historical overview of the true Church of God and some of its main opponents from Acts 2 to the 21st century. Related sermon links include Continuing History of the Church of God: c. 31 to c. 300 A.D. and Continuing History of the Church of God: 4th-16th Centuries and Continuing History of the Church of God: 17th-20th Centuries. The booklet is available in Spanish: Continuación de la Historia de la Iglesia de Dios, German: Kontinuierliche Geschichte der Kirche Gottes, French: L’Histoire Continue de l’Église de Dieu and Ekegusii Omogano Bw’ekanisa Ya Nyasae Egendererete.
Hope of Salvation: How the Continuing Church of God Differs from Protestantism The CCOG is NOT Protestant. This free online book explains how the real Church of God differs from mainstream/traditional Protestants. Several sermons related to the free book are also available: Protestant, Baptist, and CCOG History; The First Protestant, God’s Command, Grace, & Character; The New Testament, Martin Luther, and the Canon; Eucharist, Passover, and Easter; Views of Jews, Lost Tribes, Warfare, & Baptism; Scripture vs. Tradition, Sabbath vs. Sunday; Church Services, Sunday, Heaven, and God’s Plan; Seventh Day Baptists/Adventists/Messianics: Protestant or COG?; Millennial Kingdom of God and God’s Plan of Salvation; Crosses, Trees, Tithes, and Unclean Meats; The Godhead and the Trinity; Fleeing or Rapture?; and Ecumenism, Rome, and CCOG Differences.
Where is the True Christian Church Today? This free online pdf booklet answers that question and includes 18 proofs, clues, and signs to identify the true vs. false Christian church. Plus 7 proofs, clues, and signs to help identify Laodicean churches. A related sermon is also available: Where is the True Christian Church? Here is a link to the booklet in the Spanish language: ¿Dónde está la verdadera Iglesia cristiana de hoy? Here is a link in the German language: WO IST DIE WAHRE CHRISTLICHE KIRCHE HEUTE?

Australopithecus sediba (Brett Eloff)

COGwriter

Did God make ‘prehistoric’ human-like beings prior to Adam?

Many have wondered about this as various scientists and others have made claims.

But notice a couple of observations:

Modern humans (Homo sapiens or Homo sapiens sapiens) are the only extant members of the hominin clade, a branch of great apes characterized by erect posture and bipedal locomotion; manual dexterity and increased tool use; and a general trend toward larger, more complex brains and societies.Early hominids, such as the australopithecines whose brains and anatomy are in many ways more similar to non-human apes, are less often thought of or referred to as “human” than hominids of the genus Homo (Human. Wikipedia, viewed 02/21/15)

Scientists admit that all humans have the same mother, though they often consider that mother was older than Eve of the Book of Genesis.

Now, as used by critical historians, “prehistoric time” is said to refer to earliest antiquity nowhere documented in written records. But the Bible records, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Here is a documented account reaching back to the beginning of the physical universe. “Prehistoric time,” in that sense, is therefore irreconcilable with Scripture. It should come as no surprise, therefore, to learn that biblical passages reveal occurrences prior to the time of man.

If however, we define prehistoric as the time before humans began to write, then we can speak of prehistoric creatures and events.

There were no prehistoric humans prior to Adam. Including others of the ‘genus Homo.’Adam and Eve were therefore the first true humans.

While there are fossil records of apes and other creatures that predate Adam, these creatures were not the same as modern humans as far as God is concerned.

But many scientists have tried to teach otherwise. The Bible reveals that they should know the truth, but do not:

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man — and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. (Romans 1:18-25)

Many scientists have served the creature and would not accept the truth about life and humanity which they clearly should know (see also Is God’s Existence Logical? and Is Evolution Probable or Impossible or Is God’s Existence Logical? Part II).

Some scientists have a different view. Consider the following:

September 3, 2023

A study published last week in the journal Science reported that the population of human ancestors crashed between 800,000 and 900,000 years ago, dropping to about 1,280 breeding individuals during the early and middle Pleistocene era, … FitCoal helped the team calculate what this ancient loss of life and genetic diversity looked like utilizing present-day genome sequences from 10 African and 40 non-African populations. The ancient “bottleneck was directly found in all of the African populations, but only a weak signal of the existence of such was detected in all the non-African populations,” the authors write.  …

Dr. Gerald Schroeder, a scientist with over thirty years of experience in research and teaching, noted that this “bottleneck” in human history was also reflected in the Book of Genesis.

“The flood in the generation of Noah was a bottleneck,” Dr. Schroeder said. “In terms of genetics and human history, it limited our genetic diversity. Humans are very similar to each other. Other species have much more diversity. In terms of the Biblical narrative, we became a more condensed family of many, but lifespans dropped from 900 years to 90. Perhaps the flood selectively killed off only the people with a genetic predisposition to long life. Longevity is good for the individual but worse for the species. Shorter lifespans engender intellectual and spiritual diversity.”

“It should be emphasized that we are not talking about humans,” Dr. Schroeder emphasized. “The Biblical calendar of 6,000 years does not relate to the beginning of species. All animals have a nefesh …, but only Man has a neshama … Homo sapiens as a species did appear about 100,000 years ago, but they wouldn’t be recognized as a person in the same way that we are. They …. didn’t have a neshama. In scientific terms, people, as Homo sapiens, go back 100,000 years. But the Bible’s definition of a person is different. It includes a neshama. Science will not see the break, the change that occurred in man 6,000 years ago …” https://www.israel365news.com/375170/bottleneck-killed-off-98-7-of-humanity-900000-years-ago-study/

Let me add that the above is close, but not quite correct. The Bible teaches that humans have a nefesh (Genesis 2:7) and a ruach. A ruach is the “spirit in man” (Job 32:8), and that is what distinguishes modern humans

Here is something from our latest book Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America?:

The Bible teaches:

⁴⁵ “The first man Adam became a living being.” (1 Corinthians 15:45)

²⁰ … Eve, … she was the mother of all living. (Genesis 3:20)

Despite some scientists accepting a mother ‘Eve’ and a possibly father ‘Adam’ for humanity, archeogeneticists tend to assert that there could have been multiple ‘Eves,’ Adam and Eve could not have been a couple, and/or Adam and Eve could not have lived when the Bible says they did.[i] Therefore, several of their conclusions are biblically in error.

That said, archeogeneticists assert that humanoids were in parts of Europe and Asia over one hundred thousand years ago, then essentially died out and/or moved down south before later repopulating Europe.[ii] Although the Bible generally differs on timing, the idea that there could have been human-like creatures that were no longer in existence prior to Adam and Eve may not be in contradiction with certain biblical passages.[iii]

Interestingly, archeogeneticists admit a “black hole” lack of human skeletons in Europe from around 5,500 to 4,800 years ago, and that this changed in a major way with the Bronze age, beginning about 5,000 to 4,200 more years ago.[iv] The Bible shows that humans were scattered around the earth after the biblical flood (Genesis 11:9), which was approximately 4,548 years ago. The Bible also tells of bronze being developed (though not necessarily widely used) around 5,000 years ago (cf. Genesis 4:22).

Irrespective of genetic similarities that archeogeneticists have found between pre-Adamic hominids and modern humans, any creature before Adam is not biblically the same as modern humans. Once God breathed into Adam (Genesis 2:7; Zechariah 12:1d), Adam became the first “man.” God gave Adam the “spirit in man” (which gives human understanding per Job 32:8; 1 Corinthians 2:11)—that spirit in man would not be present the same way in pre-Adamic life. Of course, this is not something that archeogeneticists can discover in the fossil records. Scripture does not accept that any humanoids prior to Adam and Eve could have an unbroken reproductive line through to modern humans (cf. Genesis 3:20; Roman 3:4; 1 Corinthians 15:45).

[i] Reich D. Who We Are and How We Got Here: Ancient DNA and the New Science of the Human Past. Oxford, 2018, pp. 2, 10-11; Krause, p. 27

[ii] Krause, e.g. pp. 35-53

[iii] E.g. comparing Genesis 1:2 to Isaiah 45:18 suggests a distance between Genesis 1:1 and verse 2. Also, in the oldest Masoretic scriptural texts there is a “gap” symbol between the first and second verse of Genesis 1, which further supports the view of a time gap between those verses. The idea of a time gap allows for the planet to be older than 6,000 years old as well as to possibly have pre-Adamic humanoids. That said, from the time Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden to present time is slightly less than 6,000 years.

[iv] Krause, pp. 105, 169

Most scientists do not know what humans are. The Bible answers this. Here is one part of the answer:

5 For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. 6 But one testified in a certain place, saying:

“What is man that You are mindful of him,
Or the son of man that You take care of him?
7 You have made him a little lower than the angels;
You have crowned him with glory and honor,
And set him over the works of Your hands.
8 You have put all things in subjection under his feet.”

For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him. (Hebrews 2:5-8)

Pre-Adamic primates were not put on the earth to rule it later. Humans were.

It is NOT toolmaking nor manual dexterity that make humans different than non-human primates.

Humans have the spirit of man in them, whereas animals, including the other primates, do not. The reality that there is a spirit in humans is taught in both the Old and New Testaments:

8 But there is a spirit in man,
And the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding. (Job 32:8)

11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? (1 Corinthians 2:11)

God gave animals instinct, but not the type of understanding that He gave humans. Many scientists will not admit that there is a spirit in man that God gave.

Pre-Adamic primates, were, at best, like advanced chimpanzees. There were no true humans before Adam.

But what about dinosaurs?

Related to that, the Continuing Church of God (CCOG) put out the following video on our Bible News Prophecy YouTube channel:

20:41

Were Dinosaurs Prior to Adam & Eve?

When did dinosaurs live? The ‘National Catholic Register’ had an article by Stacy Trasancos titled ‘What Do You Say When Kids Ask About Dinosaurs?’ She brought up some dangers with the ‘young earth creationists’ and stated that dinosaurs were prior to Adam and Eve. Yet, she basically said that the first few verses of Genesis 1 should not be trusted. Yet, that is not the case. Does the Bible support any type of time gap between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2? Is there a gap symbol shown in the Masoretic text? Did the KJV and NKJV translator err in translating a disjunctive as a conjunctive? Must the earth only be about 6,000 years old? Is billions of years possible? Getting to dinosaurs themselves, do the fossil records support them being prior to a time of replenishment? Could dinosaurs have been destroyed by a ‘dark ice age’ or does the Great Flood of Noah’s time make the most sense? Did the old Worldwide Church of God bring up several facts that ‘young earth fundamentalists’ misunderstand and discount? Is the Bible scientifically reliable? Dr. Thiel addresses these issues and more.

Here is a link to our video: Were Dinosaurs Prior to Adam & Eve?

Anyway, scripture allows for life prior to Genesis 1:3. For details as to why, check out the article: How Old is the Earth and How Long Were the Days of Creation? Gap Theory?

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

How Old is the Earth and How Long Were the Days of Creation? Gap Theory? Does the Bible allow for the creation of the universe and earth billions of years ago? Why do some believe they are no older than 6,000 years old? What is the gap theory? Were the days of creation in Genesis 1:3 through 2:3 24 hours long? Here are links to two sermons: Gap Theory: Doctrine or Modern Heresy? and Genesis, ‘Prehistoric man,’ and the Gap theory. Here is a link to a related article in Spanish: ¿Cuán vieja es la Tierra? ¿Cuán largos fueron los Días de la Creación? ¿Teoría de la brecha? Here is a link to a video in Spanish: La edad de la Tierra, la Biblia y Teoría de la Brecha.
Questions and Answers from Genesis Many wonder about certain early events that this article discusses.
Is God’s Existence Logical? Is it really logical to believe in God? Yes! Would you like Christian answers to give atheists? This is a free online booklet that deal with improper theories and musings called science related to the origin of the origin of the universe, the origin of life, and evolution. Two animated videos of related interest are also available: Big Bang: Nothing or Creator? and A Lifegiver or Spontaneous Evolution?
Does it Make Physical Sense to believe in God? Some say it is not logical to believe in God. Is that true? Here is a link to a YouTube sermon titled Is it logical to believe in God?
Is Evolution Probable or Impossible or Is God’s Existence Logical? Part II This short article clearly answers what ‘pseudo-scientists’ refuse to acknowledge. Here is a link to a YouTube video titled Is There Another View of Evolution? and another titled Quickly Disprove Evolution as the Origin of Life.
The MYSTERY of GOD’s PLAN: Why Did God Create Anything? Why did God make you? This free online book helps answers some of the biggest questions that human have, including the biblical meaning of life. Here is a link to three related sermons: Mysteries of God’s Plan, Mysteries of Truth, Sin, Rest, Suffering, and God’s Plan, and The Mystery of YOU.
Did Angels Marry Human Women? Many insist this is so and also that this mating caused giants to be born. Did this come from the ‘Book of Enoch’? What does Genesis 6:4 really mean? A related video is also available: Did Angels Marry Women and Produce Giants?
Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America? Where did those people come from? Can you totally rely on DNA? What about other peoples? Do you really know what will happen to Europe and the English-speaking peoples? What about Africa, Asia, South America, and the Islands? This free online book provides scriptural, scientific, historical references, and commentary to address those matters. Here are links to related sermons: Lost tribes, the Bible, and DNA; Lost tribes, prophecies, and identifications; 11 Tribes, 144,000, and Multitudes; Israel, Jeremiah, Tea Tephi, and British Royalty; Gentile European Beast; Royal Succession, Samaria, and Prophecies; Asia, Islands, Latin America, Africa, and Armageddon;  When Will the End of the Age Come?;  Rise of the Prophesied King of the North; Christian Persecution from the Beast; WWIII and the Coming New World Order; and Woes, WWIV, and the Good News of the Kingdom of God.

COGwriter

Amazon.com had the following about the alleged Book of Jasher:

There are 13 ancient history books that are mentioned and recommended by the Bible. The Ancient Book of Jasher is the only one of the 13 that still exists. It is referenced in Joshua 10:13; 2 Samuel 1:18; and 2 Timothy 3:8. This volume contains the entire 91 chapters plus a detailed analysis of the supposed discrepancies, cross-referenced historical accounts, and detailed charts for ease of use. As with any history book there are typographical errors in the text but with three consecutive timelines running though the histories it is very easy to arrive at the exact dates of recorded events. It is not surprising that this ancient document confirms the Scripture and the chronology given in the Hebrew version of the Old Testament, once and for all settling the chronology differences between the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek Septuagint. The Ancient book of Jasher is brought to you by Biblefacts Ministries, Biblefacts.org

Ancient ‘Babylonian map of the World‘
(Photo by Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg))

COGwriter

There is an ancient Babylonian map that seems to confirm the site of Noah’s Ark. Israel365 News posted the following:

Ancient Babylonian Tablet May Reveal Location of Noah’s Ark

November 17, 2024

In a groundbreaking discovery, scientists have deciphered what is believed to be the world’s oldest map—a 3,000-year-old Babylonian clay tablet that may reveal the location of Noah’s Ark. The artifact, known as the Imago Mundi, has been housed in the British Museum since 1882 after its discovery in what is now Iraq.

According to the Bible, God commanded Noah to build a massive ark to save his family and two of every animal from a devastating flood meant to cleanse the world of wickedness. The flood lasted 150 days, after which the ark came to rest on the “mountains of Ararat.” The Bible specifies the ark’s dimensions as 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high—approximately 515 feet long, 86 feet wide, and 52 feet high.

The Ancient Tablet’s Secrets

Dr. Irving Finkel, Assistant Keeper of Ancient Mesopotamian script at the British Museum, led the team that unlocked the tablet’s secrets. The Imago Mundi depicts a circular world map showing ancient Mesopotamia at its center, surrounded by a “bitter river” that the Babylonians believed encircled the world.

The tablet’s most intriguing features are found on its reverse side, which contains detailed travel instructions leading to a location called “Urartu”—the Assyrian equivalent of the Biblical “Ararat.” Dr. Finkel explains: “The first place you come to is called ‘Urartu’, it’s drawn on the map. Now, the interesting thing about that is that in the Bible Noah, in his Ark, landed on a mountain where the name is ‘Ararat’ and ‘Ararat’ is the Hebrew equivalent of the Assyrian ‘Urartu’.”

The instructions include specific measurements in “leagues” and references to a “parsiktu-vessel”—a term found in only one other Babylonian tablet, which describes the boat that survived the Great Flood. Dr. Finkel notes, “If you did go on this journey, you would see the remnants of this historic boat which saved all the life of the world for the long-term future.” https://israel365news.com/397894/ancient-babylonian-tablet-may-reveal-location-of-noahs-ark/

Other than in the Bible, many cultures tell of a great flood:

The greatest tale of all is that of the Flood. Noah finds his roots in older legends. Three hundred Flood narratives are known, from the Americas to Australia (from whence comes the tale of the frog that swallowed the world’s water only to spew it out when the other animals made him laugh). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/steve-jones/7887202/Gods-floods-and-global-warming.html

One is in the Epic of Gilgamesh–which is from old Babylon. Many scholars believe that this account was copied from the Akkadian Atra-Hasis, which dates to the 18th century BCE. In the Gilgamesh flood myth, the highest god, Enlil, decides to destroy the world with a flood because humans have become too noisy. The god Ea, who had created humans out of clay and divine blood, secretly warns the hero Utnapishtim of the impending flood and gives him detailed instructions for building a boat so that life may survive. Both the Epic of Gilgamesh and Atra-Hasis are preceded by the similar Eridu Genesis of Sumeria (c. 1600 BCE)—the oldest surviving example of such a flood-narrative, known from tablets found in the ruins of Nippur in the late 1890s and translated by assyriologist Arno Poebel. Here is a link to an article related to the Chinese and the Great Flood: Does ancient Chinese evidence point to the Great Flood?

That said, there is a site in Turkey that some have wondered about as the location of the Ark. Last year, Israel365 News posted the following:

Scientists announce: Site of Noah’s Ark shows human activity between 5500-3000 BCE

November 13, 2023

A team from Istanbul Technical University (İTÜ) and Ağrı İbrahim Çeçen University (AİÇÜ)has been researching an area in which they believe lie the remains of Biblical Noah’s Ark.

A research team from Istanbul Technical University (İTÜ), Andrew University, and Ağrı İbrahim Çeçen University (AİÇÜ) carried out its first study of the site in December 2022. The group, which included academics specialized in geophysics, chemistry and geoarchaeology research, collected 30 samples consisting of soil and rock fragments during their investigations in the region. According to the results, it was determined that there were human activities in the region from the period between 5500 and 3000 BCE.

Professor Faruk Kaya stated, “With the dating, it is not possible to say that the ship is here. Extensive research is required for this to emerge. In the upcoming period, we have reached an agreement to collaborate on joint research led by Istanbul Technical University (İTÜ), Andrew University, and Ağrı İbrahim Çeçen University (AİÇÜ). In the future, these three universities will continue their work in this field.”

The site was first discovered by map engineer Capt. Ilhan Durupınar in 1959 during a reconnaissance flight to map the eastern Anatolia region in Turkey. The site is located 8 miles south of the Greater Mount Ararat summit at an elevation of about 2,000 meters above sea level. The size and shape of the formation led to its promotion by some believers as the petrified ruins of the original Noah’s Ark.

The “boat formation” appears to be the “exact length” of the ark as written in the Bible – which is around 150 meters, or 300 cubits in Biblical terms.

This is how you shall make it: the length of the ark shall be three hundred amot, its width fifty amot, and its height thirty amot. (Genesis 6:15)

Geologists however claim that the mountainous bump that was discovered half a century ago is nothing more than a unique rock formation. https://www.israel365news.com/378943/scientists-announce-site-of-noahs-ark-shows-human-activity-between-5500-3000-bce/

Whether or not this is Noah’s Ark is still unclear. As far as the dating goes, Noah’s Ark was built around 2325 B.C., which means near 4400 years ago.

The Turks have been involved in this research on the Ark for some time. I posted the following here over nine years ago:

July 9, 2014

By the end of March 2014, a team consisting of Turkish, Dutch and Belgian members launched an expedition on Mount Ararat, Turkey and found at an altitude of 4.000 meters remains of a possible wooden structure and also pottery. Jeroen Rensen, a Dutch archaeologist from the team, was pleased with the success of the expedition. He says, “It was very tough. Heavy winds and snowstorms made the first two attempts to reach the site fail. The third and last all-or-nothing attempt succeeded and the team reached the location. There, in a fissure within the icecap under 10 meters of rock, ice and snow we found well-preserved wooden remains and pottery too.” Later this year a major scientific expedition will conduct a follow-up investigation to determine what the artifacts and wooden remains constitute.

Another witness is a Belgian physician, Dr. Marcel Verheyen. In response to the critics that wood and artifacts were deliberately planted, he says, “That is absolutely impossible. The mountain’s terrible terrain is rather inaccessible, let alone to carry beams of wood. You need to be there and see it with your own eyes, before you put forward any hypothesis. I am 100% sure that it is impossible to plant such a structure there.”

Recent reports of discovery of wood remains on Mount Ararat were made in 2010 by a Hong Kong based Christian group, NAMI (Noah’s Ark Ministries International), yet the finding has been overshadowed by lot of criticisms. The site documented by Rensen and Verheyen in March is in the vicinity of the claim made a few years back. Participating in the expedition as independent investigators, Rensen and Verheyen do not want to engage into the controversy, but conduct a step-by-step scientific exploration with a multi-disciplinary scientific team. Rensen says, “The question of whether there are any wooden remains at all on Mount Ararat has been answered. But so many questions still remain. The main question to be answered now is: What type of site do the remains at this location represent?”  http://popefrancis.einnews.com/pr_news/212962036/remains-of-wooden-structure-and-pottery-found-on-mount-ararat-turkey?n=1&code=oxPopNDvaPkLwTjA

I have long felt that the day may come when Noah’s ark is conclusively found.

However, because both biblical (e.g. Revelation 13:4,8) and non-biblical prophecy warn of a time when an ecumenical religion will take over much of the world, if Noah’s Ark is ever conclusively accepted, this could represent part of a major turning point in getting more of humanity to accept a coming world religion that claims to be Christian. The movie Noah may get more interest in the ark and finding it. Since many cultures have a tale of the flood (see 300 Versions of the Flood), this will make the coming ecumenical religion acceptable even to certain cultures that do not normally refer to the Bible for their beliefs.

Jesus warned that the end times would be like the time PRIOR to the flood of Noah’s time:

36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. 37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. 42 Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. (Matthew 24:36-44)

Many will not understand end time prophecies and not pay sufficient attention (see also Is there a need for a prophet now?).

We know the great flood happened. There is evidence in many cultures, plus, there is scientific evidence that there was enough water on the Earth for it to happen (see also Water, Noah’s Flood, and Chinese Characters).

Perhaps Noah’s Ark will be conclusively found. But if it is, its finding may be used by the forces of Satan to put forth his end time agenda.

Some items of potentially related interest may include:

Do we have scientific evidence of many biblical accounts? Here is a link to that July-September 2017 edition of Bible News Prophecy magazine. Its front cover shows an ancient stela that mentions King David, and contains more information about why true science supports the Bible.
Have the Turks and Chinese Just Found Noah’s Ark? Some have so claimed. If true, this could change how much of the world views events from the Bible.
Biblical Archaeology This is a website that has more information on biblical archeological as is sometimes known as the Bib Arch site.

John Martin’s 1834 version of the Deluge

COGwriter

Is there any evidence in China of the Great Flood of Noah’s time?

Yes.

Some researchers are claiming that:

A Chinese myth that speaks of a flood so high “it threatens the very heavens” may be rooted in fact after all.

Some 4,000 years ago, legend says, the flood tore through a large are of central China washing away cities and inundating farmland.

Enter a hero named Yu the Great, who earned his sobriquet by spending decades organizing a campaign to dig canals to channel the floodwater, supposedly passing his home three times as he traveled the region, but never setting foot inside until the job was done.

Yu was so revered for these public works that he passed into legend as emperor of China’s supposed first dynasty, the mythical Xia Dynasty.

Now, researchers in China say they may have found evidence that the great flood that sparked the myths was, in fact, a real event on the region’s Yellow River. https://weather.com/science/news/scientists-find-evidence-china-legendary-great-flood-was-real

Analysis of the crushed skeletons of children have revealed that an earthquake 4,000 years ago could be the source of a legendary “great flood” at the dawn of Chinese civilisation.

A Chinese-led team found remnants of a vast landslide, caused by an earthquake, big enough to block the Yellow river in what is now Qinghai province, near Tibet. …

The authors put the Yellow river flood at about 1920 BC by carbon dating the skeletons of children in a group of 14 victims found crushed downstream, apparently when their home collapsed in the earthquake. …

The evidence of a massive flood in line with the legend “provides us with a tantalising hint that the Xia dynasty might really have existed”, said one of the authors, David Cohen of National Taiwan University.

Deluges feature in many traditions, from Hindu texts to the biblical story of Noah. In pre-history, floods were probably frequent as ice sheets melted after the last ice age ended … https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/05/chinas-great-flood-tests-on-childrens-bones-support-4000-year-old-legend

“The flood is pouring forth destruction. Boundless and overwhelming, it overtops hills and mountains,” goes a quote attributed to the legendary Emperor Yao. “Rising and ever rising, it threatens the very heavens.”

If civilization was to survive, the people needed a hero who could tame the floodwaters and restore the land. That man was Yu, founder of China’s first dynasty, the Xia. Over the course of decades, Yu organized a dredging campaign, dug channels that would carry the water back to its source, and pioneered a tradition of great Chinese public works.

“He brings order out of the chaos and defines the land, separating what would become the center of Chinese civilization,” said David Cohen, an anthropologist and early Chinese history expert at National Taiwan University. “He is essentially establishing the political order and the ideologies of rulership.”

It is a powerful foundation myth, but many believed that was all it was. Some 4,000 years after the flood was supposed to have happened, historians had found no archaeological evidence of its effect or firsthand accounts of its destruction. There are no historical artifacts from Yu, or the Xia dynasty he founded. All researchers had to go on were stories written long after the fact, dramatized and politicized to justify the ends of those who wrote them.

Until Wu Qinglong, a geologist at Nanjing Normal University, found signs of the flood in the sediments beneath his feet.

In a new paper published Thursday in the journal Science, Wu and his colleagues describe geological evidence for a catastrophic flood on the Yellow River in about 1900 B.C. — right around the time the “Great Flood” was said to have taken place.

“This expands our understanding,” said Andrew Sudgen, deputy editor of Science, “not only of civilization’s origins, but also the environment in which ancestral societies emerged.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2016/08/04/legends-say-china-began-in-a-great-flood-scientists-just-found-evidence-that-the-flood-was-real/?tid=hybrid_experimentrandom_1_na

The Bible tells of a massive worldwide flood that occurred (Genesis chapters 6 -8). This seems to have been around 2325 B.C. (see Does God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End?).

Since carbon dating has its flaws, it could be that the remains found were related to the flood in Noah’s time, or perhaps a different, more local flood, that occurred a few centuries later.

However, there is other evidence in China that the Chinese were aware of the biblical flood.

Notice a couple of statements in the Bible concerning the flood:

1 Then the LORD said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation. (Genesis 7:1).

20…in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water (1 Peter 3:20).

A Chinese word chuán for a type of boat is:

Boat	= 8	+ Mouth	+ Little Boat, Vessel

It may be of interest to note that one of the Chinese symbols for flood (chong) is a combination of an inverted symbol meaning “first Earthly branch” and eight (the term for eight may instead mean “person remaining””–that of itself is interesting as that the symbol for eight and “person remaining” look about the same–recall that on the ark there were only eight persons remaining alive).

After the flood, humans stayed together and built a tower:

1 Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. 3 Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. 4 And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” (Genesis 11:1-4).

But God did not care for this:

5 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. 6 And the LORD said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. 7 Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” (Genesis 11:5-7).

It is highly likely that when people saw others speaking foreign languages, that they thought that somehow something at this tower affected their mouths. Notice the following Chinese symbol of a tower.

(If the above does not appear correctly above, you can see it in the article China, Its Biblical Past and Future, Part 1: Genesis and Chinese Characters.)

The tower of Babel was built with bricks (grass and clay) and humans originally had one language (or mouth). It is possible that this symbol is showing that the ancient Chinese recognized a connection to the biblical tower of Babel.

8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. 9 Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth (Genesis 11:8-9).

The Bible also mentions:

25 To Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan (Genesis 10:25).

Now whether it was just the scattering of humans that occurred in Peleg’s time, or that the earth had continental divisions at that time is not completely clear. What is clear, however, is that humans did separate essentially by language and ethnicity thousands of years ago.

When I tried to copy each of the Chinese characters into this post, they did not copy properly.

To see them, however, simply go to my article China, Its Biblical Past and Future, Part 1: Genesis and Chinese Characters.

That article also has evidence, via Chinese characters, that the ancient Chinese knew about Adam & Eve and more in Genesis.

Of course, it is not just the Chinese. The old Radio Church of God taught:

The AMERICAN INDIANS in both North and South America preserved legends of the Flood in which a few escaped by means of a boat and repeopled the earth.

The NATIVES of GREENLAND maintained that all men were once drowned and that a man and woman became the ancestors of all now living.

The POLYNESIANS from the South Pacific contend that a flood overwhelmed all but eight people.

CHINESE traditions speak of their civilization as having been founded by a man, together with his three sons and daughters, who escaped a devastating flood.

EGYPTIAN and other AFRICAN traditions preserve similar accounts.

The GREEKS pictured their “Noah” as building an Ark to escape the waters, after which he sent out a dove twice before setting foot on earth again.

The ancient BABYLONIANS and ASSYRIANS have preserved for us on clay tablets word-for-word accounts of the same traditions among them — traditions which are exact in many details!

Think for a moment — IF the Flood had not occurred, would all these peoples have preserved these records of the Flood? Certainly all people would not have been deceived into believing the Flood had happened if it had not happened! You may find this unanimous testimony of ancient nations in the International Standard Encyclopaedia, article “Deluge,” and in summary form in Halley’s Bible Handbook.

Thus, for the Flood of Noah we have the actual geological evidence AND the testimony of many ancient peoples who remembered the catastrophic results. The only reason the testimony is not believed today is that man is unwilling to believe what God says! He would rather believe the evolutionary fairy tale that everything has continued the same since the beginning of time.

Knowing these facts, some skeptics assert that the biblical record came from Babylonian tradition rather than fact. The EVIDENCE IS JUST THE OPPOSITE! The Babylonian record we have was nearly all found in the Library of Ashurbanipal (around 650 B.C.), long AFTER Moses’ record of Noah’s Flood. The sane explanation is many peoples preserved their OWN accounts. Of these accounts only the biblical record is without contradiction and filled with rational simplicity. (Lesson 12 – Proof of Biblical History. Ambassador College Correspondence Course. 1966)

Does the amount of water on and in the Earth support the view of the Genesis flood of Noah’s time?

Yes.

According to the US Geological Survey (USGS) estimates there are 321,000,000 cubic miles of water in, on, or above the Earth. The USGS has also calculated:

About 3,100 mi³ (12,900 km³) of water, mostly in the form of water vapor, is in the atmosphere at any one time. If it all fell as precipitation at once, the Earth would be covered with only about 1 inch of water. https://water.usgs.gov/edu/earthhowmuch.html accessed 08/26/18

So, since there is estimated to be over 100,000 times that amount of water, then the world would be covered by over 100,000 inches or over 1.5 miles of water. With the ground more leveled in Noah’s time than now, the Earth would have been covered (furthermore, I suspect that the USGS estimates are low for Noah’s time, because of atmospheric loss since then).

The biblical accounts can be trusted, even if certain ‘experts’ wish to pretend that they are only myths.

Some items of potentially related interest may include:

China, Its Biblical Past and Future, Part 1: Genesis and Chinese Characters Where did the Chinese people come from? This article provides information showing that the Chinese peoples must have known about various accounts in the Book of Genesis up until their dispersion after the Tower of Babel. Here is a link to a version of this article in Spanish: ¿Prueban los caracteres chinos la exactitud de la Biblia?
Have the Turks and Chinese Just Found Noah’s Ark? Some have so claimed. If true, this could change how much of the world views events from the Bible.
Is God’s Existence Logical? Is it really logical to believe in God? Yes! Would you like Christian answers to give atheists? This is a free online booklet that deal with improper theories and musings called science related to the origin of the origin of the universe, the origin of life, and evolution. Here is a link to a related sermon: Evolution is NOT the Origin of Life. Two animated videos of related interest are also available: Big Bang: Nothing or Creator? and A Lifegiver or Spontaneous Evolution?
How Old is the Earth and How Long Were the Days of Creation? Does the Bible allow for the creation of the universe and earth billions of years ago? Why do some believe they are no older than 6,000 years old? What is the gap theory? Were the days of creation in Genesis 1:3 through 2:3 24 hours long? Here is a link to a sermon: Genesis, ‘Prehistoric man,’ and the Gap theory. Here is a link to a related article in Spanish: ¿Cuán vieja es la Tierra? ¿Cuán largos fueron los Días de la Creación? ¿Teoría de la brecha?
Did Angels Marry Human Women? Many insist this is so and also that this mating caused giants to be born. Did this come from the ‘Book of Enoch’? What does Genesis 6:4 really mean? A related video is also available: Did Angels Marry Women and Produce Giants?
Where Did God Come From? Any ideas? And how has God been able to exist? Who is God?
Who Gave the World the Bible? The Canon: Why do we have the books we now do in the Bible? Is the Bible complete? Are there lost gospels? What about the Apocrypha? Is the Septuagint better than the Masoretic text? What about the Textus Receptus vs. Nestle Alland? Was the New Testament written in Greek, Aramaic, or Hebrew? Which translations are based upon the best ancient text? Did the true Church of God have the canon from the beginning? Here are links to related sermons: Let’s Talk About the Bible, The Books of the Old Testament, The Septuagint and its Apocrypha, Masoretic Text of the Old Testament, and Lost Books of the Bible, and Let’s Talk About the New Testament, The New Testament Canon From the Beginning, English Versions of the Bible and How Did We Get Them?, What was the Original Language of the New Testament?, Original Order of the Books of the Bible, and Who Gave the World the Bible? Who Had the Chain of Custody?
How is God Omnipotent, Omnipresent, and Omniscient? Here is a biblical article which answers what many really wonder about it.
Has time been lost? It Saturday the seventh day of the week?
Study the Bible Course Want to learn more about the Bible? This new course is for you! It is also available in French (Leçon 1 En francés), Kiswahili (Somo 1 Katika Kiswahili), Mandarin Chinese (首页 › 中国), Tagalog (KURSO SA PAG-ARAL NG BIBLYA), and Spanish (Lección 1 En castellano).
Read the Bible Christians should read and study the Bible. This article gives some rationale for regular bible reading. Here is a link in Mandarin Chinese: 读圣经 Here is a link in the Spanish language: Lea la Biblia.
Bible: Superstition or Authority? Should you rely on the Bible? Is it reliable? Herbert W. Armstrong wrote this as a booklet on this important subject.
Does God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End? Was a 6000 year time allowed for humans to rule followed by a literal thousand year reign of Christ on Earth taught by the early Christians? Does God have 7,000 year plan? What year may the six thousand years of human rule end? When will Jesus return? 2031 or 20xx? There is also a video titled The 6000 Year Plan: Is the end of humanity’s reign almost up?

Tower of Babel
(16th century depiction by Pieter Brueghel)

COGwriter

The Continuing Church of God is pleased to announce the following sermon from its ContinuingCOG channel:

1:18:13

Mystery of Civilization (and Nimrod)

When did civilization begin? Why is the world like it is today? Why do we see prosperity in some places and poverty in others? Did God make humans upright or evil? What If Adam had taken of the Tree of Life? Has human civilization been blinded by Satan? When did humans err? Who was Nimrod? Could he have been known by other names like Ninus, Bel, Bel-Nibru, Belus, Nebrod, Euechoios of Chaldea, Euechoros, Enmerkar, Lord Ni of Marad, Sumerian king Lugal-Banda, Tukulti-Ninurta I, and king Amraphel in Mesopotamia? Did Nimrod and his mother Semiramus establish Babylon and many religious practices that are in the world today? Any connections to Tammuz and the ‘Queen of Heaven’? What is the origin of Christmas and Lent? Is there evidence that the Chinese were at Babel and knew about some events in the Book of Genesis? Are there prophecies about the Americans and British? What about the teachings and practices of Simon Magus? Is Russia, China, or Europe the power prophesied to conquer the USA? What will happen to the end time ‘daughter of Babylon’? Will the United Nations solve humanities problems? Is the Kingdom of God the solution? Why has there been civilization at all? How does human civilization fit into God’s plan? Dr. Thiel addresses these matters and more.

Here is a link to the sermon: Mystery of Civilization (and Nimrod).

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Mystery of Civilization Why is civilization like it is? How will it end? What will replace it? Here is a link to two related sermons: Mystery of Civilization (and Nimrod) and Mystery of Civilization and How it Will End.
Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America? Where did those people come from? Can you totally rely on DNA? What about other peoples? Do you really know what will happen to Europe and the English-speaking peoples? What about Africa, Asia, South America, and the Islands? This free online book provides scriptural, scientific, historical references, and commentary to address those matters. Here are links to related sermons: Lost tribes, the Bible, and DNA; Lost tribes, prophecies, and identifications; 11 Tribes, 144,000, and Multitudes; Israel, Jeremiah, Tea Tephi, and British Royalty; Gentile European Beast; Royal Succession, Samaria, and Prophecies; Asia, Islands, Latin America, Africa, and Armageddon;  When Will the End of the Age Come?;  Rise of the Prophesied King of the North; Christian Persecution from the Beast; WWIII and the Coming New World Order; and Woes, WWIV, and the Good News of the Kingdom of God.
Is God Calling You? This booklet discusses topics including calling, election, and selection. If God is calling you, how will you respond? Here is are links to related sermons: Christian Election: Is God Calling YOU? and Predestination and Your Selection. A short animation is also available: Is God Calling You?
Christian Repentance Do you know what repentance is? Is it really necessary for salvation? Two related sermons about this are also available: Real Repentance and Real Christian Repentance.
Zephaniah’s ‘Gather Together’ Prophecy Is it safe to be ‘independent’ or in a non-Philadelphin Church of God? What did God inspire Zephaniah to write? This is a video.
The MYSTERY of GOD’s PLAN: Why Did God Create Anything? Why Did God Make You? This free online book helps answers some of the biggest questions that human have, including the biblical meaning of life. Here is a link to three related sermons: Mysteries of God’s Plan, Mysteries of Truth, Sin, Rest, Suffering, and God’s Plan, Mystery of Race, and The Mystery of YOU. Here is a link to a video in Spanish: El Misterio del Plan de Dios.
The Ten Commandments: The Decalogue, Christianity, and the Beast This is a free book explaining the what the Ten Commandments are, where they came from, how early professors of Christ viewed them, and how various ones, including the Beast of Revelation, will oppose them. A related sermon is titled: The Ten Commandments and the Beast of Revelation.
Universal OFFER of Salvation, Apokatastasis: Can God save the lost in an age to come? Hundreds of scriptures reveal God’s plan of salvation Will all get a fair chance at salvation? This free book is packed with scriptures showing that God does intend to offer salvation to all who ever lived–the elect in this age, and the rest in the age to come. Here is a link to a related sermon series: Universal Offer of Salvation 1: Apocatastasis, Universal Offer of Salvation 2: Jesus Desires All to be Saved, Mysteries of the Great White Throne Judgment (Universal Offer of Salvation part 3), Is God Fair, Will God Pardon the Ignorant?, Can God Save Your Relatives?, Babies, Limbo, Purgatory and God’s Plan, and ‘By the Mouth of All His Holy Prophets’.
Is God Calling You? This booklet discusses topics including calling, election, and selection. If God is calling you, how will you respond? Here is are links to related sermons: Christian Election: Is God Calling YOU? and Predestination and Your Selection. A short animation is also available: Is God Calling You?
Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church. Did the original “catholic church” have doctrines held by the Continuing Church of God? Did Church of God leaders uses the term “catholic church” to ever describe the church they were part of? Here are links to related sermons: Original Catholic Church of God?, Original Catholic Doctrine: Creed, Liturgy, Baptism, Passover, What Type of Catholic was Polycarp of Smyrna?, Tradition, Holy Days, Salvation, Dress, & Celibacy, Early Heresies and Heretics, Doctrines: 3 Days, Abortion, Ecumenism, Meats, Tithes, Crosses, Destiny, and more, Saturday or Sunday?, The Godhead, Apostolic Laying on of Hands Succession, Church in the Wilderness Apostolic Succession List, Holy Mother Church and Heresies, and Lying Wonders and Original Beliefs.
Preparing for the ‘Short Work’ and The Famine of the Word What is the ‘short work’ of Romans 9:28? Who is preparing for it? Will Philadelphian Christians instruct many in the end times? Here is a link to a related video sermon titled: The Short Work. Here is a link to another: Preparing to Instruct Many.
Who Gave the World the Bible? The Canon: Why do we have the books we now do in the Bible? Is the Bible complete? Are there lost gospels? What about the Apocrypha? Is the Septuagint better than the Masoretic text? What about the Textus Receptus vs. Nestle Alland? Was the New Testament written in Greek, Aramaic, or Hebrew? Which translations are based upon the best ancient text? Did the true Church of God have the canon from the beginning? Here are links to related sermons: Let’s Talk About the Bible, The Books of the Old Testament, The Septuagint and its Apocrypha, Masoretic Text of the Old Testament, and Lost Books of the Bible, and Let’s Talk About the New Testament, The New Testament Canon From the Beginning, English Versions of the Bible and How Did We Get Them?, What was the Original Language of the New Testament?, Original Order of the Books of the Bible, and Who Gave the World the Bible? Who Had the Chain of Custody?
Proof Jesus is the Messiah This free book has over 200 Hebrew prophecies were fulfilled by Jesus. Plus, His arrival was consistent with specific prophecies and even Jewish interpretations of prophecy. Here are links to seven related sermons: Proof Jesus is the Messiah, Prophecies of Jesus’ birth, timing, and death, Jesus’ prophesied divinity, 200+ OT prophecies Jesus filled; Plus prophecies He made, Why Don’t Jews Accept Jesus?, Daniel 9, Jews, and Jesus, and Facts and Atheists’ Delusions About Jesus. Plus the links to two sermonettes: Luke’s census: Any historical evidence? and Muslims believe Jesus is the Messiah, but …
Hope of Salvation: How the Continuing Church of God Differs from Protestantism The CCOG is NOT Protestant. This free online book explains how the real Church of God differs from mainstream/traditional Protestants. Several sermons related to the free book are also available: Protestant, Baptist, and CCOG History; The First Protestant, God’s Command, Grace, & Character; The New Testament, Martin Luther, and the Canon; Eucharist, Passover, and Easter; Views of Jews, Lost Tribes, Warfare, & Baptism; Scripture vs. Tradition, Sabbath vs. Sunday; Church Services, Sunday, Heaven, and God’s Plan; Seventh Day Baptists/Adventists/Messianics: Protestant or COG?; Millennial Kingdom of God and God’s Plan of Salvation; Crosses, Trees, Tithes, and Unclean Meats; The Godhead and the Trinity; Fleeing or Rapture?; and Ecumenism, Rome, and CCOG Differences.
The MYSTERY of GOD’s PLAN Why Did God Create Anything? Why did God make you? This free online book helps answers some of the biggest questions that human have, including the biblical meaning of life. Here is a link to three related sermons: Mysteries of God’s Plan, Mysteries of Truth, Sin, Rest, Suffering, and God’s Plan, and The Mystery of YOU.
Christians: Ambassadors for the Kingdom of God, Biblical instructions on living as a Christian This is a scripture-filled booklet for those wishing to live as a real Christian. A related sermon is also available: Christians are Ambassadors for the Kingdom of God.
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God This free online pdf booklet has answers many questions people have about the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and explains why it is the solution to the issues the world is facing. Here are links to three related sermons: The World’s False Gospel, The Gospel of the Kingdom: From the New and Old Testaments, and The Kingdom of God is the Solution.
Where is the True Christian Church Today? This free online pdf booklet answers that question and includes 18 proofs, clues, and signs to identify the true vs. false Christian church. Plus 7 proofs, clues, and signs to help identify Laodicean churches. A related sermon is also available: Where is the True Christian Church? Here is a link to the booklet in the Spanish language: ¿Dónde está la verdadera Iglesia cristiana de hoy? Here is a link in the German language: WO IST DIE WAHRE CHRISTLICHE KIRCHE HEUTE? Here is a link in the French language: Où est la vraie Église Chrétienne aujourd’hui?
Continuing History of the Church of God This pdf booklet is a historical overview of the true Church of God and some of its main opponents from Acts 2 to the 21st century. Related sermon links include Continuing History of the Church of God: c. 31 to c. 300 A.D. and Continuing History of the Church of God: 4th-16th Centuries and Continuing History of the Church of God: 17th-20th Centuries. The booklet is available in Spanish: Continuación de la Historia de la Iglesia de Dios, German: Kontinuierliche Geschichte der Kirche Gottes, and Ekegusii Omogano Bw’ekanisa Ya Nyasae Egendererete.
CCOG.ORG Continuing Church of God The group striving to be most faithful amongst all real Christian groups to the word of God. There are links to literature is about 1600 different languages there.

COGwriter

Where does the Bible actually begin?

In terms of time order, it would be John 1:1, and not Genesis 1:1 as many assume.

Here is an explanation from the late Herbert W. Armstrong:

If one should ask, where do you find the actual beginning of events in the Bible, most who possess even a slight knowledge of the world’s “best seller” would say, “Why in Genesis chapter one verse one, of course.” WRONG!

The real beginning, in order of time sequence, is found in the New Testament, in the first chapter of John, verse one. The events portrayed in Genesis occurred later – possibly even millions of years later. But the event recorded in John 1:1 reveals an existence perhaps long prior to the time God created the earth and the material universe. Note it: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” It continues, “The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.” The term “all things” is translated in Hebrews 1:3, in the Moffatt translation, as “the UNIVERSE.” The entire UNIVERSE was made by Him!

The fourteenth verse of John 1 says: “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” The Personage called the Word was the one who ultimately-yet more than 1900 years ago-was born Jesus Christ. The name, “the Word,” is translated from the original Greek text, and means, literally, just what is translated into English -“Spokesman.” But He was not the Son of God “in the beginning.” Yet the Scriptures reveal that He has always existed, and always will – “from eternity to eternity.” He was “without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days nor end of life . . .” (Heb. 7:3).

So think on this, if you will! Originally there existed only these two Spirit Personages, self-existent. They had creative powers – they had perfect supreme minds – they possessed perfect, holy and righteous CHARACTER.

But THERE WAS NONE ELSE – NOTHING ELSE! There was no matter – no material universe – YET! No other living being or thing. Only these two, equal in mind and powers, except that God was supreme in authority, and the Word in perfect harmony under that authority. They were of one mind, in absolute agreement.

But ALL THINGS – the universe and everything existing in it – was made by the Personage called the Word. Yet, as we read in Ephesians 3:9: “God. . . created ALL THINGS by Jesus Christ.” And prior to becoming Jesus Christ, He was “the Word!” Also, in His human life Jesus said He spoke only as the Father directed. Yes. THINK!

In the eternity even prior to “prehistory” there were these two Supreme Beings. Alone! In the emptiness of space! No other life forms – no other living beings! Nothing else!…

The Perfect Creation

The original Hebrew words (the words originally written by Moses) imply a perfect creation. God reveals Himself as Creator of perfection, light, and beauty. Every reference in the Bible describes the condition of any completed phase of God’s creation as “very good” – perfect. This first verse of the Bible actually speaks of the original PHYSICAL creation in its entirety – the universe – including the earth, perhaps millions of years ago – as a perfect creation, beautiful and perfect as far as its creation was a finished, completed work. God is a perfectionist! In Job 38:4,7, God is speaking specifically of the creation of this earth. He said all the angels (created “sons of God”) shouted for joy at the creation of the earth. This reveals that angels were created before the creation of the earth – and probably before the material universe.

The suns, planets, and astral bodies are material substance. Angels are individually created Spirit beings, composed solely of Spirit. It will come as a surprise to many to learn that angels inhabited this earth BEFORE the creation of man. This passage from Job implies it.

Angels on Earth Sinned

Other passages place angels on earth prior to man. Notice II Peter 2:4-6. First in time order were “angels that sinned.” Next in time sequence, the antediluvian world beginning with Adam, carrying through to the Flood. After that, Sodom and Gomorrah. This Book of books, containing the revealed knowledge of the Creator God, tells us that God created angels as composed of Spirit. But can you imagine angels becoming sinning angels? Angels were created with power of thought, of decision and of choice, else they have no individuality or character. Since sin is the transgression of God’s law, these angels rebelled against God’s law, the basis of God’s government. Notice carefully what is revealed in II Peter 2:4-5:

For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; and spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly.

These verses show that universal sin brings universal destruction to the physical earth. The antediluvian sin, culminating with the flood, was worldwide, universal sin. Notice: “…the earth was filled with violence …. for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth …. for the earth is filled with violence.” (Gen.6:1 1-13). “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the [Eternal]…. Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God” (verses 8-9). All flesh had sinned – over the whole earth. But only Noah “walked with God.” So, the Flood destroyed the whole earth – all but Noah and his family. The homosexual and other sins of Sodom and Gomorrah spread over the territory of those two cities. And physical destruction came to their entire area. The sin of the angels was worldwide; the destruction of the physical earth was worldwide. The verses quoted above place the sinning of the angels prior to the antediluvian sins that started with Adam, prior to the creation of man. And that should be a surprise revealing of one phase of the missing dimension in knowledge! Angels inhabited this earth before the creation of man. And the government of God was administered on earth until the rebellion of the sinning angels.

How long these angels inhabited the earth before the creation of man is not revealed. It might have been millions – or even billions – of years. More on that later. But these angels sinned. Sin is the transgression of God’s law (1 John 3:4). And God’s law is the basis of God’s government. So we know these angels, apparently a third of all the angels (Rev. 12:4), sinned – rebelled against the government of God. And sin carries penalties. The penalty for the sin of the angels is not death, as it is for man. Angels are Immortal Spirit beings and cannot die. These Spirit beings had been given dominion over the PHYSICAL EARTH as a possession and an abode. The universal, worldwide sin of the angels resulted in the physical destruction of the face of the earth…

Now back to Genesis 1: 1-2. Verse 1, as stated above, implies a perfect creation. God is the author of life, of beauty, of perfection. Satan has brought only darkness, ugliness, imperfection, violence. Verse 1 shows the creation of a perfect earth, glorious and beautiful. Verse 2 reveals the result of the sin of the angels.

“And the earth was [became] without form, and void.” The words “without form and void” are translated from the Hebrew tohu and bohu. A better translation is “waste and empty” or chaotic and in confusion.” The word “was” is elsewhere in Genesis translated “became,” as in Genesis 19:26. In other words, the earth, originally created perfect and beautiful, had now become chaotic, waste, and empty, like our moon, except its surface was covered with water.

David was inspired to reveal how God renewed the face of the earth: “Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth” (Ps. 104:30).

Now another surprise for most readers. Here is another bit of the missing dimension in knowledge, actually revealed in the Bible, but unrecognized by religion, by science, and by higher education. From verse 2 of Genesis 1 on, the remainder of this first chapter of the Bible is not describing the original creation of the earth. But it is describing a renewing of the face of the earth, after it had become waste and empty as a result of the sin of the angels.

What is described from verse 2 on, in the supposed “Creation chapter” of the Bible, did occur, according to the Bible, approximately 6,000 years ago. But that could have been millions or trillions of years after the actual creation of the earth described in verse 1! I will comment later on the length of time it might have taken before all earth’s angels turned to rebellion.

The earth had become waste and empty. God did not create it waste and empty, or in confusion. God is not the author of confusion (I Cor.14:33). This same Hebrew word – tohu – meaning waste and empty, was inspired in Isaiah 45:18, where it is translated “in vain.” Using the original Hebrew word, as originally inspired, it reads: “For thus saith the [Eternal] that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain [tohu], he formed it to be inhabited.”

Continue now with the remainder of verse 2 (Gen. 1) (the earth had become chaotic, waste, and empty): “And darkness was upon the face of the deep [the ocean or fluid surface of the earth]. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness” (verses 2-4).

Satan is the author of darkness. The rebellion of the angels had caused the darkness. God is the author of light and truth. Light displays and enhances beauty, and also exposes evil. Darkness hides both. The verses which follow in this first chapter of the Bible describe the renewing of the face of the earth, yielding beautiful lawns, trees, shrubs, flowers, vegetation – then the creation of fish and fowl, animal life, and finally man. (Armstrong HW. Incredible Human Potential, 1978)

So, yes God and the Word existed from the beginning and before anything else was made (John 1:1).

And while there was a creation in Genesis 1:1, there was a gap between that and the recreation that was needed in Genesis 1:2. Thus, this explanation (which, in my view, is the one that best agrees with the records, despite flaws of science) is commonly referred to as the gap theory. And yes, I hold to it (see How Old is the Earth and How Long Were the Days of Creation?).

The Bible teaches:

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)

But the Bible does not say when that happened, other than it happened in “the beginning.” Many (including this author) have added up ages of various biblical figures when they became fathers, combined with reigns of biblical kings and other scriptures, and concluded that from the time Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden to present, there has been a little less than 6,000 years (for details, please see the article Does God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End?).

Now notice what the KJV translation of Genesis 1:2 states:

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. (Genesis 1:2, KJV)

Because the NKJV also kept about the same translation, many have been confused about what Genesis 1:2 really teaches.

The following is the Hebrew transliterated into characters that non-Hebrew readers can recognize:

2 weh’ares haytah tohû wabohû wehošek ‘al-penê tehôm werûha elohîm merapet ‘al-penê hammayim.

(Genesis 1:2 from Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, edited by Karl Ellinger and Wilhelm Rudolph. Fifth Revised Edition, edited by Adrian Schenker. © 1977 and 1997 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft Stuttgart. Used by permission. With certain letters in modern form by COGwriter as html would not display minimized certain characters properly)

Here is a somewhat literal translation of it:

2 the earth hath existed waste and void, and darkness [is] on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God fluttering on the face of the waters (Genesis 1:2, Young’s Literal Translation)

Here is a more understandable translation of it:

2 But the earth became waste and void, and with darkness on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon on the face of the waters (Genesis 1:2, clarified literal translation)

Before going further, notice something else:

18 For thus says the Lord,
Who created the heavens,
Who is God,
Who formed the earth and made it,
Who has established it,
Who did not create it in vain,
Who formed it to be inhabited:
“I am the Lord, and there is no other” (Isaiah 45:18)

Notice that the earth was NOT created in vain. The word translated as ‘vain’ above is the same Hebrew word (tohu) translated as ‘without form’ in Genesis 1:2 (tohu). Obviously, then, according to the Bible, something happened between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. It should be noted that this is NOT a gap between day 1 and day 2 as some anti-gap people have written, as day 1 began with Genesis 1:3.

“Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35) and Isaiah 45:18 is clearly in support of the gap-theory position that there must have been a second creation. So is, Psalm 104:30.

It should be pointed out that in the Hebrew of the Masoretic Old Testament text, there a pause/gap symbol between the first and second verses of Genesis.

Furthermore, in the Masoretic text in which Jewish scholars tried to incorporate enough “indicators” to guide the reader … is one small mark which is technically known as Rebhia which is classified as a “disjunctive accent” intended to notify the reader that he should pause before proceeding to the next verse. Such a mark appears at the end of Genesis 1:1. This mark has been noticed by several scholars including Luther. It is one indication among others, that the waw (וּ‬) which introduces verse 2 should be rendered “but” rather than “and,” a disjunctive rather than a conjunctive. (Custance AC. Without Form and Void. 1970, pp. 18-19)

This shows a gap, not a conjunctive connection, between verses one and two, therefore verse one is NOT an explanation of verse two.

So we see that, anciently, there is an actual gap symbol between verses 1 and 2 of Genesis–THAT WHAT WAS IN THE BIBLE. And that instead of Genesis 1:2 beginning with “And” like the KJV and Douay Rheims have, it should begin with “But.”

Now, one anti-Gap article asks, “WHY CAN’T WE JUST BELIEVE THE BIBLE?” It then refers to the biblical gap view as an “imagined theory” and claimed it was based on non-biblical evidence (Closing the Gap. co-written by Brian and Kenneth Hoeck for Truth On The Web Ministries. http://www.truthontheweb.org/gapclose.htm accessed 07/23/18), yet it failed to mention that there is an actual pause/gap in the Masoretic text of scripture.

And a correct translation of the Bible makes the point more apparent.

Let’s now see two translations of something else in the Bible:

28 And God blessed them; and God said unto them: ‘Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that creepeth upon the earth.’ (Genesis 1:28, Jewish Publication Society Tanakh 1917)

28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:28, KJV)

The Original Douay OT (1610) also teaches to “replenish the earth, and subdue it” (though the version I checked uses old English spelling, like “fubdew it”).

To replenish (Strong’s word 4390, transliterated from Hebrew into uwmil°uw) means to “restore (a stock or supply of something) to the former level or condition.” There would be no reason to “replenish” if there had not been a previous time when the Earth existed.

Furthermore, consider that this was the same command (with the same Strong’s word 4390, transliterated from Hebrew into uwmil°uw) God gave Noah after the Great Flood:

1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them: ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth. (Genesis 9:1, Jewish Publication Society Tanakh 1917)

1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. (Genesis 9:1, KJV)

Adam was told to replenish as Noah had.

There was a major time ‘gap’ between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2, and Jesus existed prior to all of that.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

How Old is the Earth and How Long Were the Days of Creation? Gap Theory? Does the Bible allow for the creation of the universe and earth billions of years ago? Why do some believe they are no older than 6,000 years old? What is the gap theory? Were the days of creation in Genesis 1:3 through 2:3 24 hours long? Here are links to two sermons: Gap Theory: Doctrine or Modern Heresy? and Genesis, ‘Prehistoric man,’ and the Gap theory. Here is a link to a related article in Spanish: ¿Cuán vieja es la Tierra? ¿Cuán largos fueron los Días de la Creación? ¿Teoría de la brecha?
Is God’s Existence Logical? Is it really logical to believe in God? Yes! Would you like Christian answers to give atheists? This is a free online booklet that deal with improper theories and musings called science related to the origin of the origin of the universe, the origin of life, and evolution. Two animated videos of related interest are also available: Big Bang: Nothing or Creator? and A Lifegiver or Spontaneous Evolution?
Does it Make Physical Sense to believe in God? Some say it is not logical to believe in God. Is that true? Here is a link to a YouTube sermon titled Is it logical to believe in God?
Is Evolution Probable or Impossible or Is God’s Existence Logical? Part II This short article clearly answers what ‘pseudo-scientists’ refuse to acknowledge. Here is a link to a YouTube video titled Is There Another View of Evolution? and another titled Quickly Disprove Evolution as the Origin of Life.
Did Angels Marry Human Women? Many insist this is so and also that this mating caused giants to be born. Did this come from the ‘Book of Enoch’? What does Genesis 6:4 really mean? A related video is also available: Did Angels Marry Women and Produce Giants?
Where Did God Come From? Any ideas? And how has God been able to exist? Who is God?
How is God Omnipotent, Omnipresent, and Omniscient? Here is a biblical article which answers what many really wonder about it.
Has time been lost? It Saturday the seventh day of the week?
Questions and Answers from Genesis Many wonder about certain early events that this article discusses.
Was Unitarianism the Teaching of the Bible or Early Church? Many, including Jehovah’s Witnesses, claim it was, but was it?
What is the Meaning of Life? Who does God say is happy? What is your ultimate destiny? Do you really know? Does God actually have a plan for YOU personally? There is also a video titled What is the meaning of your life?
The MYSTERY of GOD’s PLAN: Why Did God Create Anything? Why Did God Make You? This free online book helps answers some of the biggest questions that human have, including the biblical meaning of life. Here is a link to three related sermons: Mysteries of God’s Plan, Mysteries of Truth, Sin, Rest, Suffering, and God’s Plan, Mystery of Race, and The Mystery of YOU.

Dinosaur bones (Wikipedia Commons)

COGwriter

The National Catholic Register had the following in an article by Stacy Trasancos:

What Do You Say When Kids Ask About Dinosaurs?

Suppose you catechize your children properly and teach them all about Adam and Eve, the Garden of Eden and original sin. Suppose you sit on the sofa one Sunday evening, read the Bible with them and explain how God created all of the plants and animals.

On Monday morning, they return to their science classes and learn about fossils and dinosaurs, which have sparked an interest and led them to browse the Internet for more information. It’s not like dinosaurs are taboo or anything. Kids love dinosaurs! Eventually, they ask the obvious question.

“So, Mom, I have been wondering: Did the dinosaurs live before or after Adam and Eve?” …

If the answer is that the dinosaurs lived before Adam and Eve, then it follows that all words and sentences in the first three chapters of Genesis are not to be taken literally. Dinosaurs are believed to have dominated the earth for more than 100 million years, first appearing more than 200 million years ago in the Triassic Period and reigning during the Jurassic Period …

If the answer is that the dinosaurs lived after Adam and Eve and roamed with antediluvian giants (or something) before the Great Flood of Noah, then fine, maybe, just maybe, you have preserved the literal sense of the very first Bible story to a T. …

My kids have asked this question, and I have practiced my answer. First, do not teach them young-earth creationism. In my opinion, that is a failure to teach at all. It requires you to tell kids that a certain narrow group of self-appointed authorities are the sole authorities of both science and theology, and that is a dangerous corral to shove them in.

It may seem tidy and safe at first, but young-earth creationism sets kids up for, at least, confusion and, at worst, rejection of religion in favor of scientific enlightenment as they begin to crack open biology textbooks on their own. …

Genesis is real, but not a science text. …

Meanwhile, say something like this to your kids: “Dinosaurs lived before Adam and Eve. You have been taught about how God created plants and animals before he created man and woman. Well, there is much more to the story. Scientists have learned about fossils, taxonomy, anatomy and genetics, all subjects you will learn in time. Be excited; it is mind-blowing to explore how God designed nature!” https://www.ncregister.com/blog/what-do-you-say-when-kids-ask-about-dinosaurs

Stacy Trasancos is right that the dinosaur matter is a good question to be ready to answer.

The Bible admonishes godly parents are to teach their children:

6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7, NKJV)

Furthermore, in the New Testament we read that Christians are also to “be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason” (1 Peter 3:15, KJV).

Stacy Trasancos is right that there were dinosaurs prior to the time of Adam and Eve.

Stacy Trasancos is right that the young-earth creationists have issues that cause confusion (and worse).

Yet, some parts of Stacy Trasancos’s answers are wrong.

She is wrong to indicate one should not take important parts of Genesis literally.

She is wrong to indicate that Genesis may not be scientifically accurate.

The Bible teaches:

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)

But the Bible does not say when that happened, other than it happened in “the beginning.” Many (including this author) have added up ages of various biblical figures when they became fathers, combined with reigns of biblical kings and other scriptures, and concluded that from the time Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden to present, there has been a little less than 6,000 years (for details, please see the article Does God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End?).

While there was a creation in Genesis 1:1, there was a gap between that and the recreation that was needed in Genesis 1:2. Thus, this explanation (which in my view is the one that best agrees with the records, despite flaws of science) is commonly referred to as the gap theory. And yes, I hold to it (see How Old is the Earth and How Long Were the Days of Creation?).

Now notice what the KJV translation of Genesis 1:2 states:

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. (Genesis 1:2, KJV)

Because the NKJV also kept about the same translation, many have been confused about what Genesis 1:2 really teaches.

The following is the Hebrew transliterated into characters that non-Hebrew readers can recognize:

2 weh’ares haytah tohû wabohû wehošek ‘al-penê tehôm werûha elohîm merapet ‘al-penê hammayim.

(Genesis 1:2 from Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, edited by Karl Ellinger and Wilhelm Rudolph. Fifth Revised Edition, edited by Adrian Schenker. © 1977 and 1997 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft Stuttgart. Used by permission. With certain letters in modern form by COGwriter as html would not display minimized certain characters properly)

Here is a somewhat literal translation of it:

2 the earth hath existed waste and void, and darkness [is] on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God fluttering on the face of the waters (Genesis 1:2, Young’s Literal Translation)

Here is a more understandable translation of it:

2 But the earth became waste and void, and with darkness on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon on the face of the waters (Genesis 1:2, clarified literal translation)

Before going further, notice something else:

18 For thus says the Lord,
Who created the heavens,
Who is God,
Who formed the earth and made it,
Who has established it,
Who did not create it in vain,
Who formed it to be inhabited:
“I am the Lord, and there is no other” (Isaiah 45:18)

Notice that the earth was NOT created in vain. The word translated as ‘vain’ above is the same Hebrew word (tohu) translated as ‘without form’ in Genesis 1:2 (tohu). Obviously, then, according to the Bible, something happened between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. It should be noted that this is NOT a gap between day 1 and day 2 as some anti-gap people have written, as day 1 began with Genesis 1:3.

“Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35) and Isaiah 45:18 is clearly in support of the gap-theory position that there must have been a second creation. So does Psalm 104:30.

It should be pointed out that in the Hebrew of the Masoretic Old Testament text, there is a pause/gap symbol between the first and second verses of Genesis.

Furthermore, in the Masoretic text in which Jewish scholars tried to incorporate enough “indicators” to guide the reader … is one small mark which is technically known as Rebhia which is classified as a “disjunctive accent” intended to notify the reader that he should pause before proceeding to the next verse. Such a mark appears at the end of Genesis 1:1. This mark has been noticed by several scholars including Luther. It is one indication among others, that the waw (וּ‬) which introduces verse 2 should be rendered “but” rather than “and,” a disjunctive rather than a conjunctive. (Custance AC. Without Form and Void. 1970, pp. 18-19)

This shows a gap, not a conjunctive connection, between verses one and two, therefore verse one is NOT an explanation of verse two.

So we see that, anciently, there is an actual gap symbol between verses 1 and 2 of Genesis. And that instead of Genesis 1:2 beginning with “And” like the KJV and Douay Rheims have, it should begin with “But.”

Now, one anti-Gap article asks, “WHY CAN’T WE JUST BELIEVE THE BIBLE?” It then refers to the biblical gap view as an “imagined theory” and claimed it was based on non-biblical evidence (Closing the Gap. co-written by Brian and Kenneth Hoeck for Truth On The Web Ministries. http://www.truthontheweb.org/gapclose.htm accessed 07/23/18), yet it failed to mention that there is an actual pause/gap in the Masoretic text of scripture.

And a correct translation of the Bible makes the point more apparent.

Notice that humans were not made until well after Genesis 1:1:

27 And God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. 28 And God blessed them; and God said unto them: ‘Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that creepeth upon the earth.’ (Genesis 1:27-28, Jewish Publication Society Tanakh 1917)

28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:28, KJV)

The Roman Catholic Original Douay Old Testament (1610) also teaches to “replenish the earth, and subdue it” (though the version I checked uses old English spelling, like “fubdew it”).

To replenish (Strong’s word 4390, transliterated from Hebrew into uwmil°uw) means to “restore (a stock or supply of something) to the former level or condition.” There would be no reason to “replenish” if there had not been a previous time when the Earth existed.

Furthermore, consider that this was the same command (with the same Strong’s word 4390, transliterated from Hebrew into uwmil°uw) God gave Noah after the Great Flood:

1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them: ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth. (Genesis 9:1, Jewish Publication Society Tanakh 1917)

1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. (Genesis 9:1, KJV)

Adam was told to replenish, as Noah had.

There was a major time ‘gap’ between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2.

It was during that time that there were dinosaurs.

Here is some information from the old Worldwide Church of God on this topic:

Do dinosaurs disprove the Bible? Scientists say ancient dinosaur fossils are millions of years old. Yet the Bible supposedly says that everything was created a mere 6,000 years ago. Do science and the Bible contradict each other?

At some time in the past, the earth was inhabited by a bizarre assembly of awesome and immense reptiles. Gigantic dinosaurs roamed the land. “Thunder lizards” weighing 50 tons must have shaken the ground as they walked. …

Scientists say the strange and remarkable “age of reptiles” occurred more than 70 million years ago. Yet most fundamentalist churches and creationist groups attempt to support the idea that God created the whole universe, including man and the dinosaurs, about 6,000 years ago.

Thus the dinosaur has come to symbolize one of the most fundamental challenges to the Bible and Christianity: Can the Bible account for the existence of dinosaurs and other extinct creatures in the short period of 6,000 years? And if not, must the Bible be rejected?

The fact is, fundamentalists face a real problem in trying to squeeze dinosaurs into 6,000 years of earth history. The facts just don’t allow it, even when Noah’s Flood is invoked as an explanation.

Fact # 1: There is a vast difference between the world of man and that of the dinosaurs. … The world in which dinosaurs roamed was in most respects utterly unlike our own. Man would feel strange and foreign in that world …

Fact # 2: The world of the dinosaurs and the modern world of mammals are not intermixed in the fossil record. …

Fact #3: Many dating methods show dinosaurs lived millions of years ago. …

Fact #4: Both the Bible and the stratigraphic record conflict with the view that Noah’s Flood killed the dinosaurs. …

Genesis 6:19 clearly states that “of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.”

Dinosaurs were land-dwelling, air-breathing creatures and should therefore have been on the ark, if they were alive at that time. Therefore, they would not have been killed by the Flood and would still be alive today!

The same holds true for the flying reptiles, which would have been in the ark and should have survived. …

For these four reasons, we must reject the traditional fundamentalist idea that the earth and all life forms that have ever appeared were created a mere 6,000 years ago.

Yet the Bible does supply the answer! It recognizes an inhabited earth — a prehuman world — prior to the creation week of Genesis I. Genesis 1:1 speaks of the original creation: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” But between the first two verses of Genesis, a time gap of unknown length exists. Surprising as it may seem, the Bible nowhere specifies the time of the original creation; perhaps it was billions of years ago. (Ginskey RA. THE BIBLE AND THE DINOSAUR WORLD. Plain Truth, May 1977)

Yes, the earth may well be billions of years old. Furthermore, the fact that there are no dinosaurs now shows that they were gone before the great flood.

As far as them being gone, the old Worldwide Church of God published the following:

In the dim past of antiquity, giant dinosaurs roamed the earth. Suddenly — the dinosaur’s strange world came to a cataclysmic end. …

Dinosaur expert Dr. Edwin Colbert admits, “There can be no doubt about it. All of the dinosaurs along with various other… reptiles, became extinct.

“… NOT ONE OF THEM SURVIVED, as is amply proved by the fact that during almost a century and a half of paleontological exploration, the wide world over, no trace of a dinosaur bone or tooth has ever been found in any post-Cretaceous rocks, not even in the earliest of them. The proof of the geologic record on this score is IRREFUTABLE” (Dinosaurs, Edwin H. Colbert, p. 249). …

This sudden extinction of reptilian life was certainly a mysterious event. But equally puzzling to scientists was the sudden appearance of entirely new forms of life, totally unrelated to the reptiles. …

Neither is there evidence of transition from reptiles to mammals. Then, where did the living things of this present age come from? (Kroll P. The Day the DINOSAURS DIED. Worldwide Church of God, 1970)

Well, the answer to that last question is that God made everything.

As far as why, we have a free online booklet: The MYSTERY of GOD’s PLAN: Why Did God Create Anything? Why Did God Make You?

That being said, yes there were dinosaurs before Adam and Eve.

God had dinosaurs go extinct before He created humans in Genesis 1:27.

One should not be afraid to teach children the truth about God’s creation, including dinosaurs.

The Bible is true and is not unscientific.

For more information on that, we have another free booklet: Is God’s Existence Logical?

Yes, you can believe the Bible and teach your children from it, as well as answer questions about dinosaurs.

We also have the following related video:

20:41

Were Dinosaurs Prior to Adam & Eve?

When did dinosaurs live? The ‘National Catholic Register’ had an article by Stacy Trasancos titled ‘What Do You Say When Kids Ask About Dinosaurs?’ She brought up some dangers with the ‘young earth creationists’ and stated that dinosaurs were prior to Adam and Eve. Yet, she basically said that the first few verses of Genesis 1 should not be trusted. Yet, that is not the case. Does the Bible support any type of time gap between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2? Is there a gap symbol shown in the Masoretic text? Did the KJV and NKJV translator err in translating a disjunctive as a conjunctive? Must the earth only be about 6,000 years old? Is billions of years possible? Getting to dinosaurs themselves, do the fossil records support them being prior to a time of replenishment? Could dinosaurs have been destroyed by a ‘dark ice age’ or does the Great Flood of Noah’s time make the most sense? Did the old Worldwide Church of God bring up several facts that ‘young earth fundamentalists’ misunderstand and discount? Is the Bible scientifically reliable? Dr. Thiel addresses these issues and more.

Here is a link to our video: Were Dinosaurs Prior to Adam & Eve?

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

How Old is the Earth and How Long Were the Days of Creation? Gap Theory? Does the Bible allow for the creation of the universe and earth billions of years ago? Why do some believe they are no older than 6,000 years old? What is the gap theory? Were the days of creation in Genesis 1:3 through 2:3 24 hours long? Here are links to two sermons: Gap Theory: Doctrine or Modern Heresy? and Genesis, ‘Prehistoric man,’ and the Gap theory. Here is a link to a related article in Spanish: ¿Cuán vieja es la Tierra? ¿Cuán largos fueron los Días de la Creación? ¿Teoría de la brecha?
Why Did God Create Anything? Why did God make you?
Is God’s Existence Logical? Is it really logical to believe in God? Yes! Would you like Christian answers to give atheists? This is a free online booklet that deal with improper theories and musings called science related to the origin of the origin of the universe, the origin of life, and evolution. Two animated videos of related interest are also available: Big Bang: Nothing or Creator? and A Lifegiver or Spontaneous Evolution?
Does it Make Physical Sense to believe in God? Some say it is not logical to believe in God. Is that true? Here is a link to a YouTube sermon titled Is it logical to believe in God?
Is Evolution Probable or Impossible or Is God’s Existence Logical? Part II This short article clearly answers what ‘pseudo-scientists’ refuse to acknowledge. Here is a link to a YouTube video titled Is There Another View of Evolution? and another titled Quickly Disprove Evolution as the Origin of Life.
Where Did God Come From? Any ideas? And how has God been able to exist? Who is God?
How is God Omnipotent, Omnipresent, and Omniscient? Here is a biblical article which answers what many really wonder about it.
Has time been lost? It Saturday the seventh day of the week?
Questions and Answers from Genesis Many wonder about certain early events that this article discusses.
Was Unitarianism the Teaching of the Bible or Early Church? Many, including Jehovah’s Witnesses, claim it was, but was it?
What is the Meaning of Life? Who does God say is happy? What is your ultimate destiny? Do you really know? Does God actually have a plan for YOU personally? There is also a video titled What is the meaning of your life?
The MYSTERY of GOD’s PLAN: Why Did God Create Anything? Why Did God Make You? This free online book helps answers some of the biggest questions that human have, including the biblical meaning of life. Here is a link to three related sermons: Mysteries of God’s Plan, Mysteries of Truth, Sin, Rest, Suffering, and God’s Plan, Mystery of Race, and The Mystery of YOU.

Altar on Mount Ebal (photo by zstadler)

COGwriter

The Bible has the following:

1 Now Moses, with the elders of Israel, commanded the people, saying: “Keep all the commandments which I command you today. 2 And it shall be, on the day when you cross over the Jordan to the land which the Lord your God is giving you, that you shall set up for yourselves large stones, and whitewash them with lime. 3 You shall write on them all the words of this law, when you have crossed over, that you may enter the land which the Lord your God is giving you, ‘a land flowing with milk and honey,’ just as the Lord God of your fathers promised you. 4 Therefore it shall be, when you have crossed over the Jordan, that on Mount Ebal you shall set up these stones, which I command you today, and you shall whitewash them with lime. 5 And there you shall build an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones; you shall not use an iron tool on them. 6 You shall build with whole stones the altar of the Lord your God, and offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God. 7 You shall offer peace offerings, and shall eat there, and rejoice before the Lord your God. 8 And you shall write very plainly on the stones all the words of this law.” (Deuteronomy 27:1-8)

So an altar was supposed to be built.

Since Joshua was the leader of the children of Israel when they crossed over the Jordan, did he have such an altar built?

Yes, The Bible also has the following:

30 Now Joshua built an altar to the Lord God of Israel in Mount Ebal, 31 as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses: “an altar of whole stones over which no man has wielded an iron tool.”  (Joshua 8:30-31)

Could it have been found decades ago?

Israel365News reported the following by Aaron Lipkin:

Joshua’s Altar – How Archaeology proves the Bible

Since the 1960’s, many historians and Bible scholars (the “Minimalists”) suggested that the Bible is not a history book and that the events described in the Old Testament, never really happened or are at best, inaccurate. They claimed the Exodus and the Conquest never occurred, Moses and Joshua never really existed. Why did they come to that conclusion? Because of “lack of archaeological proof”, they claim.

In 1982, a young secular Israeli archaeologist by the name of Adam Zertal started excavating an ancient archaeological site on Mt. Ebal, near the Biblical city of Shechem in the region of Samaria, Israel. He dated the structure to the Early Iron Age (1250 BC). March 22, 2023. https://www.israel365news.com/368740/joshuas-altar-how-archaeology-proves-the-bible/

As far as the dating of the altar itself goes, while there are some broken pots that date into the 13th century BCE, the rocks themselves are not dated. If this is the altar that Joshua built, it would have been built about 150 years earlier–somewhere in the 1400-1370 BCE date. That said, Adam Zertal presented a 1985 study where he believed he was able to prove that there were different stages during the site’s development and that critics who did not believe this could be Joshua’s altar overlooked evidence (e.g. https://www.baslibrary.org/biblical-archaeology-review/12/1/2). As far as the Exodus goes, here is a link related to that: When was the Exodus? Did it Happen?

Now, initially, Adam Zertal had not believed he had found what could be Joshua’s altar. Yet by 1985, his views changed after studying more archeological data. Let’s continue with Aaron Lipkin’s Israel365News article related to him:

Like the Minimalist scholars, Zertal did not believe that the book of Deuteronomy and the book of Joshua describe real historical events, but he was intrigued by this mysterious heap of stones and the surrounding enclosure wall. …

Zertal tried to find the origin of this mysterious structure and was not able to find any architectural parallels in the Canaanite  and surrounding cultures. One day an Orthodox Jew showed him a sketch of the Second Temple Altar…the similarity was striking.

Zertal understood that he’d found an Israelite altar on Mt. Ebal. In his book “A Nation Born” he describes how he looked at the Orthodox Jew and said, “This has to be the altar that Joshua built according to the commandment of Moses. There is no other possibility. If this is Joshua’s Altar, then Joshua existed, and Moses existed and the Exodus really happened…” From that point on, Zertal believed in the historicity of the Biblical account.

So, Adam Zertal believed the evidence he uncovered.

The Israel365News article then had the following related to more recent research by Aaron Lipkin who wrote:

In 2019, I was involved in a special expedition of archaeologists that came to Israel to reanalyze the archaeological dump from Zertal’s 1980’s excavations.

We extracted the material and by using a wet sifting technique, we were able to locate findings that Zertal missed. …

Archaeologist Dr. Scott Stripling announced that the tablet contained what is probably the most ancient Hebrew inscription ever found in the Land of Israel.

The inscription was a curse, written in Hebrew, with the name of the Lord engraved in it:

You are Cursed by the God YHW, Cursed.

You will die Cursed – Cursed you will surely die.

Cursed you are by YHW – Cursed.

This is probably the most important inscription ever found in the land of Israel. …

Moses commanded the Israelites to conduct a national ceremony and proclaim the Curses on Mt. Ebal and the Blessings on Mt. Gerizim.

“And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, you shall set the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal.” Deuteronomy 11:29 (ESV)

Is it possible we found a curse inscription on the mountain of Curses, related to the ceremony mentioned in the Bible?

Yes, there looks to be ties of this archaeological site and the Bible.

That said, there is also more archaeological evidence about Joshua.

For example, in 2022, the Temple Institute had the following in its newsletter:

Av 29, 5782/August 26, 2022 …

First Archaeological Dig Begins At Site Believed To Be Joshua’s Tomb “And Joshua sent the people away, every man to his inheritance. And it was after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of HaShem, died, being a hundred and ten years old. And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnat-serah, which is in Mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash. And Israel served HaShem all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, and who had known all the works of HaShem, that He had done for Israel.” (Joshua 24:28-31) Khirbet Tibnah is located on a hill in the southwest of the Samaria region, east of Shoham near Halamish. The site was populated from the Bronze Age until the beginning of the Ottoman period.

The Temple Institute had more on this at its Facebook page:

Khirbet Tibnah is located on a hill in the southwest of the Samaria region, east of Shoham near Halamish. The site was populated from the Bronze Age until the beginning of the Ottoman period.

Archaeologists have begun digging at Khirbet Tibnah in the West Bank, a site where humans have settled for about 4,000 years and which is believed to be where the biblical Joshua lived and was buried, the excavation project at the site announced on Monday.

The dig is being led by Dr. Dvir Raviv and students from Bar-Ilan’s Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology, alongside volunteers from Israel and abroad.

Khirbet Tibnah is located on a hill in the southwest of the Samaria region, east of Shoham near Halamish. The site was populated from the Bronze Age until the beginning of the Ottoman period, according to Bar-Ilan.

The site is also identified as Timnath-heres or Timnath-serah, a town which, according to the Book of Joshua, was given by the Israelites to the prophet and was where he lived and was buried. The tomb of Caleb is also believed to be at the site.

The site was surveyed in the 1800’s and is mentioned in a number of historical documents. https://www.facebook.com/templeinstitute/posts/10151729391479969

Here is some of what the Bible tells about Joshua and his burial:

29 Now it came to pass after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being one hundred and ten years old. 30 And they buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath Serah, which is in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash.

31 Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had known all the works of the Lord which He had done for Israel.

32 The bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel had brought up out of Egypt, they buried at Shechem, in the plot of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred pieces of silver, and which had become an inheritance of the children of Joseph.

33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron died. They buried him in a hill belonging to Phinehas his son, which was given to him in the mountains of Ephraim. (Joshua 24:29-33)

This is interesting as we get closer to the end that some archeologists continue to look for more evidence of biblical locations, figures, and events.

Now notice the following from Robert M. Bowman, Jr.:

I will highlight three pieces of evidence that support the historicity of the account found in the Old Testament.

(1) The list of cities in the Transjordan region through which the Israelites passed on their way into the land in Numbers 33:45-50 includes Iyim, Dibon-gad, Abel-shittim, and Jordan. A list of places through which Egyptian armies passed in their military incursions dating from the same general period include these four places in the same order. Ian Wilson in his book The Bible Is History quotes archaeologist Charles Krahmalkov on this point: “The biblical story of the invasion of Transjordan that sets the stage for the conquest of all Palestine is told against a background that is historically accurate. The Israelite invasion route described in Numbers 33:50 was…an official, heavily trafficked Egyptian road through the Transjordan in the Late Bronze Age.”³ By itself, this piece of information does not prove that the Conquest happened, but it does lend some credibility to the account.

(2) Although most archaeologists today think that the story of Joshua’s conquest of Jericho cannot be true, their reasoning is likely based on a mistaken chronology. As Time magazine recently put it, “Did Joshua conquer the city of Jericho? The walls of this Canaanite city did come tumbling down, say most historians, but centuries before Moses’ protégé could have arrived.”⁴ This assessment is based on the conclusions of Kathleen Kenyon, who in the 1950s dated Jericho’s fall to around 1500 BC while assuming a late date of around 1200 BC for the Conquest. The issue here, then, is one of chronology. The bottom line is that “the walls” did, in fact, “come a tumblin’ down,” just as the Bible says, although the current archaeological convention does not date the event to the period indicated by the Bible. Similar chronological difficulties attend the events of the Exodus: there are records of Egypt being devastated by the kinds of plagues recorded in the Book of Exodus, but modern archaeology dates this devastation to a period hundreds of years earlier than the Bible indicates.⁵  One should not underestimate the extreme complexities and difficulties of calibrating archaeological finds across the region with the chronological information found in ancient written sources.

(3) Scientists have discovered evidence that provides remarkable confirmation of one of the miracles of the Conquest: the crossing of the Jordan River. The book of Joshua reports that when the Israelites began to cross the Jordan opposite Jericho, the waters of the Jordan “rose up in one heap a great distance away at Adam” as they flowed down toward the Dead Sea (Josh. 3:14-17). This damming of the river allowed the Israelites to walk across the riverbed on dry ground. Critics of the Bible routinely claim that no such event occurred, and suggest that the book is crediting Joshua with a miracle similar to the crossing of the Red Sea in order to portray him as Moses’ true successor. However, we have good evidence, both internal and external, supporting the historicity of the account of Joshua’s crossing of the Jordan.

Adam was a village some fifteen or twenty miles upstream (north) from where the Israelites crossed the river. (They crossed directly across from Jericho.) There is nothing historically or religiously significant about this village other than its role as a “footnote” in this account that would explain why the book of Joshua specifies it as the place where the waters were stopped. Furthermore, a writer composing a “pious fiction” about Joshua stopping the waters of the Jordan would surely have had the waters stop right in front of the Israelites, not miles upstream. This incidental detail clearly indicates that the story is at least based on fact. https://www.namb.net/apologetics/resource/joshua-s-conquest-did-it-happen/ accessed 08/26/22

Of course, for those of us who believe the Bible, no further proof related to Joshua is needed. But for some who have heard statements from pseudo-archaeologists that deny the biblical accounts, it may be helpful for them to realize that as time goes on, more and more archaeological evidence surfaces that supports the Bible.

Many of the so-called educated have claimed many fraudulent positions, like that the biblical David was a myth. Now, notice the following:

Here is a link to that July-September 2017 edition of Bible News Prophecy magazine. Its front cover shows an ancient stela that mentions King David, and contains more information about why true science supports the Bible. In 2023, its inscription was declared to be genuine (see Mesha Stela declared to mention ‘House of David,’ hence is additional proof of the biblical text)–of course, that means it was also genuine in 2017 and before.

The Bible is true, but many do not want it to be believed.

The world’s claimed anti-biblical knowledge is false.

The Apostle Paul warned:

20 … Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge — 21 by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith. (1 Timothy 6:20-21)

Be careful not to accept ‘knowledge’ from those who are contradicting the Bible.

Notice also:

9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 92 Thessalonians 2:9-12)

Do you really love the truth?

Then do not fall for their lies.

Remember to “let God be true but every man a liar” (Romans 3:4).

There was a Joshua and some are looking for even more evidence to prove that is so.

Related to Joshua and skeptics, we put together the following video:

16:34

Did Joshua of the Bible Exist?

The Temple Institute out of Jerusalem reported that the first archaeological dig has started at the site many believe was the tomb of Joshua of the Bible. What does the Bible say about Joshua’s burial? Why do places like Wikipedia and Google point to sources who say that Joshua did not exist, but instead was a national myth? Are they looking at the wrong time (13th instead of 15th century BCE)? What about archaeological evidence that points to place the Book of Judges mentions? What about the destruction of ancient Jericho? Should we trust the biblical account or those who claim to have scholarly knowledge? Steve Dupuie and Dr. Thiel go over these matters.

Here is a link to the video: Did Joshua of the Bible Exist?

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

EXODUS Exodus sermons, which it total cover each and every verse of that book, include Exodus 1-4: Jewish Myths or Lessons for Christians Today?, Exodus 5-7: Serpents, Blood, and Revelation, Exodus 8-9: Plagues and Prophecy, Exodus 10-12: The Last Plagues & 21st Century Prophecies, and Exodus 13-15: Passover Protection and Armageddon. Another article is Exodus 16-19 which covers all of those verses–here is a link to a related sermon: Exodus 16-19: Manna, Governance, and End Time Protection. Another article is Exodus 20 which covers all of the verses in that chapter–here is a link to a related sermon: Exodus 20: The Ten Commandments. Another article covers the verses in those chapters Exodus 21-24: These are the Judgments–here is a link to a related sermon: Exodus 21-24: Judgments. Here is a link to the article Exodus 25: Ark of the Covenant and Mercy Seat–here is a link to a related sermon: Exodus 25: Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat. Here is a link to the article Exodus 26-32 Tabernacle, Sacrifices, & the Book of Life–here is a link to a related sermon:Exodus 26-32: Tabernacle, Golden Calf, and Book of Life. A final article is: Exodus 33-40, The Final Chapters.Here are links to two related video sermons: Exodus 33-36: Moses Shown and You Should Too and Exodus 37-40: Finishing the Work.There is also more, such as the article: When was the Exodus? Did it Happen? Some deny the biblical account of the Exodus. Was Ramses II the pharaoh then? When did the Exodus occur?  Is there proof outside of the Bible that there was an Exodus? Here is a related article in the Spanish language: ¿Cuándo fue el Éxodo? ¿Ocurrió realmente? Also: Reasons, Proofs, and Ramifications of the Ten Plagues of Exodus What do you know about these plagues? What happened to the ‘gods of Egypt’? Is there any confirmation outside the Bible? Might something worse be coming? A related two-part sermon is available: Egypt and the Plagues (Part 1) and Exodus Plagues and Prophecy (Part 2). Also: Exodus and the Days of Unleavened Bread. This article discusses parts of the Book of Exodus with some connections to the Days of Unleavened Bread. Also Exodus 4:24, Why would God have sought to kill Moses? What did Moses do wrong? Do you have a similar problem?
Is God’s Existence Logical? Is it really logical to believe in God? Yes! Would you like Christian answers to give atheists? This is a free online booklet that deal with improper theories and musings called science related to the origin of the origin of the universe, the origin of life, and evolution. Here is a link to a related sermon: Evolution is NOT the Origin of Life. Two animated videos of related interest are also available: Big Bang: Nothing or Creator? and A Lifegiver or Spontaneous Evolution?
Read the Bible Christians should read and study the Bible. This article gives some rationale for regular bible reading.
Biblical Archaeology This is a website that has more information on biblical archeological as is sometimes known as the Bib Arch site.
The Old Testament Canon This article shows from Catholic accepted writings, that the Old Testament used by non-Roman Catholics and non-Orthodox churches is the correct version.
Old Testament History This is a link to articles that essentially back up the historical accuracy of the Hebrew scriptures (AKA The Old Testament).
Tradition and Scripture: From the Bible and Church Writings Are traditions on equal par with scripture? Many believe that is what Peter, John, and Paul taught. But did they? Two related sermons are available Scripture and Traditions and Tradition and Scripture.
Who Gave the World the Bible? The Canon: Why do we have the books we now do in the Bible? Is the Bible complete? Are there lost gospels? What about the Apocrypha? Is the Septuagint better than the Masoretic text? What about the Textus Receptus vs. Nestle Alland? Was the New Testament written in Greek, Aramaic, or Hebrew? Which translations are based upon the best ancient text? Did the true Church of God have the canon from the beginning? Here are links to related sermons: Let’s Talk About the Bible, The Books of the Old Testament, The Septuagint and its Apocrypha, Masoretic Text of the Old Testament, and Lost Books of the Bible, and Let’s Talk About the New Testament, The New Testament Canon From the Beginning, English Versions of the Bible and How Did We Get Them?, What was the Original Language of the New Testament?, Original Order of the Books of the Bible, and Who Gave the World the Bible? Who Had the Chain of Custody?