Genesis to Revelation

Genesis Chapter One Part 2

~ dh72568

Genesis 1:6-8

Gen 1:6  And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

Gen 1:7  And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

Gen 1:8  And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

God created the division of atmospheres. 

1. God divides the earthly from the celestial in a physical manner. There are basically five atmospheres extending into space. At the lowest level there is the troposphere reaching to about 7 miles. Then comes the stratosphere reaching on upward to about 31 miles above the earth. Next comes the Mesosphere extending on upward to 50 miles above the earth. The thermosphere moves to 440 miles. And then the Exosphere takes to an incredible 6,200 miles above earth.

2. God divides the spiritual from the carnal. At each level of faith there changing conditions. What may be common in fighting fears may be something different fighting certain failures. But you rise above. You leave behind petty hopes and ego driven ambitions. You come to atmospheres of faith and revelation that demand more precision.

An article in the Chicago Tribune states, “As a rule, the higher the thunderstorm’s top the more severe the thunderstorm is likely to be. Thunderstorms with the highest tops host the strongest updrafts, sometimes as high as 100 mph and form in the area of greatest lift and instability. In the Chicago area, typical summer thunderstorms develop to heights between 35,000 and 45,000 feet, but the tops of severe thunderstorms that produce large hail and damaging winds can reach 60,000 feet. The devastating F5 Plainfield tornado on Aug. 28, 1990, towered to 65,000 feet.

The tallest thunderstorms on Earth form in the tropics where tops have been measured to about 75,000 feet — more than 14 miles into the atmosphere.”

“The atmosphere is necessary for the transmission of sound. If there were no atmosphere, the bell might be tolled, the cannon might be fired, a thousand voices might render the music of the sweetest hymn, but not the faintest sound would be audible.” Biblical Illustrator

“The word “atmosphere” indicates, in general, its character and its relation to the earth. It is compounded of two Greek words, one signifying vapour and the other sphere, and, taken together, they denote a sphere of vapour enveloping or enwrapping the whole earth.” G. C. Noyes

In terms of the vastness of the atmosphere, there is always somewhere else to go. Climb Mt Everest to its most majestic ascending height at 29, 029 Feet; and as spectacular as this heroic feat might inspire the bravest of mankind it still trapped in the first layer of atmospheres. It would take a multiplicity of almost six Mount Everests to reach the top of the stratosphere; and that’s just the second atmosphere of earth.

Oh, finite man! We gain knowledge at modern speeds unparalleled by any generation before us; we stack it with haste, like techno Babel builders, reaching for infamy; and yet for all our learning and achievement our best peaks of intelligence are dwarfs of ignorance compared to the height of His glory.

Psalms 8:3

3  When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

Think about it. He created it all with his fingers. And he has his hand upon us. Joshua 4:24

“And it was so.” God creates in the universe.

God creates in us. He made the heavens and the earth. They obey His Word by staying in order. If His Word did not hold the solar system in place there would be utter chaos. And the sane goes for us. We are His workmanship “created in Christ JESUS into good works”. That means we are supposed to do something good with what we’ve got. Not live with pig pen mentalities. Not get off track and behave with disorderly stubborn conduct. God spoke it and it was so. God’s Word should speak into our lives and the moniker should be “and it was so”.

We then create atmospheres. We “make a joyful noise into the Lord”. Psalm 100:1 This is changing the atmosphere or creating an atmosphere of praise. As we forge the eternal highways of truth in spiritual unity we are “made to sit together in heavenly places.” Ephesians 2:6 When we were baptized we were recipients of a “circumcision made without hands.” Colossians 2:11

Genesis to Revelation

~ dh72568

Genesis 1:1-2

The Founder

Gen 1:1  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Gen 1:2  And the earth was waste and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

In the beginning God. First of all, God created the heavens and the earth from no preexisting material. He spoke all materials into being. His sole Presence at the beginning is necessary for production. If you take his Presence out of this passage then there is still nothing and I am not writing anything on my computer. Because nothing exists without Him. John B Phillips adequately remarks about the authenticity of God’s claim as Creator when he said, “If the Holy Spirit cannot be trusted when He tells of creation, how can He be trusted when He tells of salvation? If what He says about earth in Genesis 1 can be questioned, then what He says about heaven in Revelation 22 can be questioned. If the Holy Spirit cannot be trusted in Genesis 1, how can He be trusted in John 3:16?”

God created the heavens and the earth. Not overly descriptive but poignantly accurate. The atheist is infuriated by this text because it assertively announces God’s existence. The polytheist is left speechless with countless wasted deities as the Bible affirmatively reveals a Lone Deity as the reason for all existence. The One who had no beginning gave everything a beginning. His sole preeminence leaves all others beggars.

Notice plurality of heavens and the singularity of earth. Think about it. There are endless stars, galaxies, formations of suns and immeasurable numbers of planets spinning out there in space. And then there is earth. One place in such a vast expanse of materials and mysteries. What would be formed in the earth would be a spiritual reflective of what God would eventually desire to form in the church. The God who formed the earth as we know it out of darkness also forms the believer in that we are “called out of darkness into marvelous light.” (I Peter 2:9) A Universe born was called out of darkness and a church born was called out of darkness. There is no waste in the Word. No void in the blood of the Lamb. No desolation in Grace. A single purpose is seen from the beginning.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary keys in on the redemptive nature of Genesis 1, “The account reveals that God is a redeeming God. It records how He brought the cosmos out of chaos, turned darkness into light, made divisions between them, transformed cursing into blessing, and moved from what was evil and darkness to what was holy.”

And the Spirit of God moved. Yes, a shifting power is certain from the beginning. You see desolation is what you get when God punishes a place. Edom realized this confusion and emptiness when God’s vengeance was enacted on their land. “…and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness.” (Isaiah 34:11)

This same desolation is experienced when God parts from a place. Idolatrous Judah regretfully understood this timeless universal justice as they faced Babylonian Captivity. The weeping prophet, Jeremiah,  pulled from history to condemn Judah, “I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.” (Jeremiah 4:23)

Sometimes the Spirit of God moves and it means something has to be eliminated. The clutter is removed so the promises and powers of God can be at work. The threshold of revival cannot be blocked with sin-blame and destructive iniquity (lawlessness). Something has developed that is not good.

Then at other times the Spirit of God moves and something has to be illuminated. Something is developing that is of God. It must come to light. It needs only revelation. Revelation is not creative; it merely unveils what’s already created.

“I had an enormous feeling that there had to be a power greater than any of us – that there was a God, that there was indeed a beginning.” Who made this statement? Frank Borman, a legendary NASA astronaut who was one of only 24 humans to ever circle the moon. Beyond all his mathematical equations, geometric calculations, pinpoint formulas for space travel, he returned to the simplicity of the Word of God to describe his otherworldly adventure.

A simple pattern reminds us who gave us the beginning. No matter what educational path you walk; no matter the physical circumstances that cripple you and create the doubting questions; no matter the pleasures of life experienced at the expense of faith; no matter the culture you are raised in or adapted to; the true conscience of Who is above all things preexists in the depths of our soul.

“As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.” (Psalms 42:1) Continue reading →