5 They do not know nor do they understand;
They walk about in darkness;
All the foundations of the earth are shaken.
There was a time when I used to read prophecy literally. I still believed it, but it caused problems for me. I could not understand how I could rationalize my faith in Scripture and prophecy with what I know about the universe and how it works. Consequently, I had a difficult time defending God’s Word against the attack of skeptics and scoffers. But that was before I truly surrendered to the Lord and sought His will and His understanding. Since then, I have come to understand that much of prophecy is symbolic. The pictures it paints are meant to convey Spiritual messages. Now, this does not mean there are not manifestations of these prophecies in the material world, because there are. But the true meaning is usually in the symbol or Spiritual picture the prophet was painting rather than the meaning of the literal translations. Sadly, a veil of blindness has fallen over the world. It manifests itself in the form of ‘science,’ or ‘technology,’ but the effect is the same. It has blinded man to the fact that God’s moral laws are as much a part of Natural Law as the laws we accept (i.e. physics). Man has exalted himself to the throne of God, and God is using it to fulfill prophecy before our very eyes. The foundations of the earth are being shaken and we do not see or understand.
There are many passages in Scripture where God tells us He has or will shake the heavens and the earth. Many people read this literally and, because they think ‘science’ has ‘proven’ this cannot happen, it means the Bible is a fairy tale. But what if I told you that I got in a fight with someone on the phone and I had to ‘slap them down?’ Would you think I was imagining the whole thing because ‘science’ tells you I cannot slap someone over the phone? Or would you understand what I meant? You would understand what I meant because it is an idiom. Well, the same is true for much of the Bible. But, because we tend to be self-centered — especially in Western societies — we cannot see that we do not understand the Bible because we do not understand its language or culture. This is a shaking of foundations.
The Bible is filled with many examples of ‘shaking’ that, if we were to read it carefully and let God’s Word speak for itself, we would see that it is figurative speech. Here is just one that makes the point:
6 For thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Once more [a]in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. 7 I will shake all the nations; and [b]they will come with the wealth of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts.
Now, do not misunderstand me: if God wishes to shake the heavens and earth, he can. But look at what is actually being said in this passage. We know that the majority of God’s miracles have been the result of His timing in how He used the laws of the universe He made. The parting of the Red Sea is just one example that ‘science’ has explained; the ten plagues of Moses against Egypt is another. We choose whether we see the Hand of God working miracles, or mere coincidence. Bu this passage says God will also shake the nations. How does one ‘shake a nation?’ For that matter, how does one ‘shake the heavens?’ Both seem irrational if we think of them in literal terms. But what if they mean something else? What if they mean that God is going to ‘shake things up’ — to test us?
Would that change how you understand this passage? Now, what if I told you that other things in the bible have symbolic meaning? What if a mountain often refers to a worldly kingdom, and a hill to a lesser or smaller kingdom? Would this knowledge change the way you understand this passage?
6 He stood and surveyed the earth;
He looked and startled the nations.
Yes, the perpetual mountains were shattered,
The ancient hills [a]collapsed.
His ways are everlasting.
This passage is telling us God will shake the nations and the strongest kingdoms and even the lesser nations of the earth will fall and God’s ways will be established in their place forever. Now, what if I told you stars can refer to teachers of God’s Word, or angels in heaven? Would that change the way you read this passage?
13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind.
This passage tells us of a time when either angels will be cast out of heaven, or teachers of God’s Word will fall (cease to teach the Light of God’s Word). So, let’s go back to the first passage I cited and see if we can find some application of its meaning to our current world:
5 They do not know nor do they understand;
They walk about in darkness;
All the foundations of the earth are shaken.
What are the ‘foundations of the earth?’ They are God’s Natural law — all of it: both physical and moral. Logic is part of this Natural Law. It is the foundation of all reason and wisdom. Definitions are the fundamental building blocks of logic. So, what happens if we ‘shake’ those building blocks? We get people who think they can deny a definition and be taken seriously:
The truth here is that Obama is wrong. It was and is a tax — by definition. You cannot argue with a definition. It is like arguing with gravity: you can tell it that it does not attract, it repels, but you are still going to fall to earth when you try to jump off the roof and fly. Yet, for some reason, a great many people will not only accept Obama’s lie, they will defend it. This is a ‘shaking of the foundations of the earth.’ Now, what happens when our leaders start telling nothing but lies and the people accept this as ‘normal?’
This is why we don’t like talking about President Obama
The truth is simple: Obama is a liar, and so are all the people who support his lies. This not only includes the people in his administration, but also the judges, the reporters and even the Republicans in Congress: all of whom should be doing everything they can to remove this man. But instead, everyone is acting as though Obama is not lying and this is normal. That, my dear reader, is what God means by a ‘shaking of the foundations of the earth,’ and we are going through them now, and they will get worse.
This is why our society is in such trouble; why our nation’s financial situation is on the verge of total collapse (economics is governed by Natural law); and why our government is dysfunctional. This is how we have come to accept the irrational idea of moral relativism and the tyranny of political correctness. We have accepted violations heaped upon violations of God’s Natural Law. As history has shown, we can do this and get away with it, but only for a short time. These are still laws, and they control every aspect of this universe, and — sooner or later — they will reassert themselves. They are not in rebellion to God. They still obey Him. This means the consequences are inevitable: we are going to fall into total ruin — just as God’s prophetic Word has foretold.
Now, for as much as I come down on him when it comes to matters of faith, this is one area where Beck shines and we would all do well to listen to his advice. Every time one of us sees this evil — and violations of God’s law are, by definition, evil — every time we see them and remain silent, we join with that evil. So, the next time you see someone telling you 2+2=5 and acting like you should accept it as true, respond the way beck did today (watch the video clip):
Beck Eviscerates President Obama as a ‘Special Kind of Liar’ Who Has ‘Brought Lying to an Art Form’
You either choose to follow God’s laws, or you choose to live in rebellion against Him. There is no middle ground. Choose wisely.
h
The Oil for Your Lamp 
I would venture to say that moral law is an even more stable core of Natural Law than those governing “physics”. Especially given recent investigations which have found the Gravitational Constant to VARY, and the speed of light to be different ( EVEN in a vacuum) in different parts of the Cosmos….both of which bring into question distance measurements dependent upon Red-shift and Blue-shift of EM frequency.
And finally the questions surrounding the veracity of the Big Bang theory.
Physics is Fun….. but not necessarily eternal Fact.
Don,
Those who question the Big Bang theory are motivated by a desire to erase the overriding implication of the Big Bang — that God MUST exist. The problem is, if the universe is eternal as they say, then why do we see anything other than our own solar system? We know the universe is expanding, and if it has been expanding for an eternity, then we should be to a point where nothing is visible. And this is only one problem of denying the Big Bang.
If the universe is eternal, yet the equilibrium of some 700 universal constants remains constant, then how can this be explained without introducing the creation of more mass and energy out of nothing? And THAT brings us back to the reason they want to reject the Big Bang: the only way to get something from nothing is a Creator! And they want to find a way to deny Him. That’s all this is.
I don’t see it that way.
The “Big Bang” is posited as a singular causal event…..dissipating into nothingness with ever increasing acceleration of localized coalescing masses known as Galaxies and their interstellar gas and dust clouds.
The Eternal aspect seems more in line with AFFIRMING Him. Those 700 universal Constants you mention are not as constant as we’ve thought. But just looking at the Gravitational constant, if it is indeed NOT constant at all but somehow dependent upon Local conditions this would seem to be affirmative of an even Larger over-riding mechanism. And in fact the creation of mass and energy out of “nothing” is exactly what Quantum Electro-Dynamics allows and even calls for. So this “Larger mechanism” in which Local Groups move on a cosmic scale and energy/mass creation exists as a balance is much more affirming of a Creator than the rather static model presented by the Big Bang.
And if the Gravitational constant is labile and the red-shift/blue-shift is different than we’ve thought then the universe that we see is both Closer than expected and has been receding at a much slower rate. If in addition the speed of light is NOT as we’ve thought then likewise the distance is much different as well.
Also getting something from nothing happens all the time in our experimental devices. In other words it seems to be PART of the fabric of creation if you will. Which to me hints that all that we see, all that we measure is but a Part of Creation. Perhaps when we do see this mass/energy creation-conversion we are seeing but a window on the majesty of this “Larger Mechanism” from which this seeming creating out of nothing comes from…… a larger Truth un-seeable by us.
In many ways it seems to me that “answers” like the Big Bang are an example of human hubris and in their way Deny Creation with appeals to the human mind as the arbiters of ultimate Truth.
Don,
This is not the appropriate thread for this discussion, but since we’re here…
If we are going to accept that something can come from nothing, then you and I need to embrace the progressive agenda and stop fighting the idea that government can print and spend money without consequence.
It is impossible to get something from nothing. Quantum mechanics does not call for this. It first postulates the existence of some sort of universal energy field, then it goes on to get something from nothing — but it isn’t really nothing. The energy field is ignored.
But then, let’s suppose the constants are not constant and something can come from nothing. Guess what you just did. You destroyed the entire notion of science. If nothing is fixed, then you can never know anything with any degree of certainty. this is the negation of the scientific method, which is founded on the idea that you can know by observation, experiment and more observation.
The Big Bang is in line with Scripture. An eternal universe is not — it is an absurdity, which is where we find man’s hubris. Eternity does not and cannot exist in this world — not as we know it. It is a man-made abstract. But you are correct in this much: we are dealing with man’s desire to deny God. This is why we keep trying to find ways of explaining what we have observed in a way that excludes Him. We can do this because God designed the universe that way — so that we can either see His hand, or deny Him. That way, we condemn ourselves to damnation — not Him. And this is how and why God can be perfect love and perfect justice at the same time.
No. QED doesn’t posit an energy field. That’s the point. Mass-energy interactions take place in the Space-time continuum. Now there are questions about what the Time component means at distances less than the Planck scale…..and in fact Quantum Gravity posits ST as its own version of a Quantized field of ST itself. But as we know there are large problems with Quantum Gravity…..hence Quarks, extended Leptons and ultimately ( At this TIME ) String theory with its Green’s Functions and etc.
Early on, The Michelson-Morley experiment hinted at the death of the ether….the first blow to energy-field on a large scale concept.
It doesn’t mean nothing is fixed. Rather that the Truth lies out of our “view” and perhaps understanding. With respect to the mechanics we observe. Remember I started out saying the Moral part of God’s Natural Law was more resolute than the physics. Meaning that appeal to the physical realm for “proof” of the spiritual is a path that seems to lead to denial of God’s creation. Because it relies ultimately on Man’s abilities…..which seems a progressive position, rather than a Spiritual one.
DOn,
I understand what you are saying. The problem is — and I do not mean for this to sound condescending to others — but the majority of people do not understand this issue very well. Not even those scientists and mathematicians working on this stuff understand it. What has happened here is we have allowed ‘science’ to divorce itself from philosophy, and both to push faith out of the equation entirely. That is a mistake as all three are necessary for a proper understanding and investigation of our world.
What you are pointing to in recent discoveries is the implication that there ARE aspects of this world that we cannot see or access. They can only be inferred. Now, the Bible flat-out tells us this is the case, but historically, skeptics have wanted to deny this because they want to deny God and God’s Word. Now they are starting to find indications that there are dimensional aspects of our universe we cannot see or touch and which we can know little to nothing about. HOWEVER, while you are correct, this does affirm belief in God — and the moral law is especially strong in this case — it does NOT imply that the things we see and feel are pert of an eternal world. We are drawing conclusions from assumption: there are no facts to support this conclusion. Just discovering the first hard indications of other dimensions does not kill the Big Bang — especially since God’s Word tells us that it is how things came to be.
But one fact remains — and it is by definition: you cannot get sopmething from nothing. Just because it may appear to come from nothing, it is an impossibility. Only God can do that, and even then, it does not come from nothing. It comes from God, and God is something. I think you will understand. I hope others will. This is one of those things that bends most minds — especially the scientist who thinks everything must be explained in material terms 😉
In the beginning was the Word:
the Word was with God and the Word was God.
So yes, mass/energy coming from “nothing” is “coming” from God. I would have no problem with this. Also He gave us both free will and the intelligence and desire to investigate and question and explore. Thus the discovery of the ever un-folding of the workings of Creation are to be embraced and expected. At least as I see it.
But the Moral Core as you called it, I place above the “physics” of our creation even though both are a Part of Natural Law.
Now don’t get me wrong…. I am tied to and LOVE the physical part of Creation in all its myriad parts and forms…..
As Duffy says…. ” Mercy ! ” ….. ;- )).
Don,
LOL, fair enough. But since you are quoting Scripture (and accurately, I might add), let us not forget that God also says the foundations of this world are set. He said this in affirming His covenant with Israel when He said, if these foundations (i.e. laws) can change or pas away, then and only then would He forget His promises to Israel. So — for me — this is a poretty good indication that the laws of this universe ARE set. I think the problem is with us. We make a mistake when we think we know and understand them well enough to start changing them. Which — finally — brings us full circle back to the intent of this post.
I LOVE it when I see God’s plan come together 🙂
We need more