God's Table Has Four Legs - Creation, Finding the Presence of Christ, Grace, and Commentary On Revelation

By James Altmaier

This book is a ten year project covering four topics that the author believes the Holy Spirit has directed him to write. The four topics are:
1. The first chapters of Genesis through Noah's flood.
2. Finding the Presence of Christ for a fuller experience of the depths of the Christian walk.
3. God's purpose and man's response to Grace.
4. Commentary on the Book of Revelation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Apr 23, 2018
• ISBN: 9781387734535

Book preview

God's Table Has Four Legs - Creation, Finding the Presence of Christ, Grace, and Commentary On Revelation

GOD'S TABLE HAS FOUR LEGS - Creation, Finding the Presence of Christ, Grace, and Commentary On Revelation

By James M Altmaier

Additional copies may be purchased at the following website:   WWW.LULU.COM

You can contact the author at:

[e-mail]

ISBN 978-1-387-73453-5

Copyright©2015 James M Altmaier

All quoted Scriptures are from the New American Standard Bible by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

INTRODUCTION

How do we move from being a Christian to a mature Christian? God wants us to be mature believers. He wants us to develop spiritually. He wants our individual spirit that was born again at our rebirth in Christ to become fully functional and fully developed. He wants us to overcome by His Spirit directing our spirit. And when our relationship between our spirit and His Spirit is fully developed we will have overcome the influences inherited from Adam that are currently a part of our bodies, our senses, and our souls. This requires cooperation with His Spirit and it is of extreme help if we can understand the Words He left us, which we call the Bible.

I believe He would have me write about four areas of learning that He has given me. I call them the four pillars of spiritual growth or the four legs of God's table. It begins with a faith building lesson from the early chapters of Genesis. Then it moves ahead with insights of how to experience and live in the presence of Christ. Next is some of the ramifications of Grace that He lavishes upon us. And finally, He wants us to understand clearly what the coming days are bringing us as we enter the last days of the Church Age. When these four areas are understood from Scripture, our faith will soar and our spirits will be strengthened.

This book is written to help those who have a desire to find God, to know God, and to become friends with God. Amazingly, God asks little of us. And He is not hard to find. Scripture says in Psalm 145:17+, The Lord is righteous in all His ways, And kind in all His deeds. The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear (revere) Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them. The Lord keeps all who love Him; But all the wicked, He will destroy. (Italics added by author).

God is near. God wants us to find Him. This is a very serious issue with Him, from both sides of the coin. On one side, He wants us to find Him and will go to great lengths to assist us and lead us to Him. On the other side, those who never become interested in Him, He is not interested in them, and as He is their Maker, He will destroy all that He made which rejects Him. It is all very serious with Him and hopefully it is with each of us also.

Thankfully, He doesn't require much from us and whatever He demands of us, He gives us the means, the power, the strength, and the wisdom to do so. What we must do is to call upon Him and desire Him. This He leaves for us to do in our own strength and will. He actively seeks those people who do this one thing. It is up to us to desire to know Him. I assume, since you have begun this book, that you have a desire to know God or know God better.

The focus of this book is for anyone, however it is written especially for those Christians who have been practicing Christianity but have never really grasped what the Bible says. And most importantly, it is for those who have a desire to know and understand this God of the Bible and become mature Christians. To that end we will labor together through these pages. So get your Bible or go and buy one because I will ask you to read many portions of Scripture as we work together. When I quote the Bible I will always use the New American Standard Bible. I tell you this in case you want to use the same version as me, but it is not required. If I use another version at a specific point, I will tell you where it comes from. So where do we start?

If we are to be successful in finding God, we must please God. Therefore, our desire to find Him must include the desire to please Him. This is something that grows over time as we seek Him. Finding God is not something that happens in a moment and the quest ends. But rather it is a quest that has many stages. The God we are seeking is so vast, that we will always have more of Him to discover. He lets us discover Him in stages and in sequences that He tailor-makes for each individual. So finding Him is very personal and it just doesn't happen one day and the seeking ends. No, it continues literally forever. It is an exciting journey. It is full of many surprises and experiences. And the depth of our desire for Him and the breadth of our desire to please Him will change as we journey.

However, Scripture is very clear on this point: There is only one way to please God! Hebrews 11:6, And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. Does this describe you, even in a little way? This book will fan your faith in our God into a larger faith. And this book will lead you to believe in a deeper way that He does indeed reward those who seek Him. This is my mission given to me to give to you. You too will be given a mission for the benefit of others. A mission that will be specifically made for you. It will be one of the rewards that God will give you, because you have sought Him with great diligence and have drawn very near to Him.

LEG #1- BUILDING FAITH

THE CREATION

So let's begin by investigating what is generally seen by the world as an absurd idea. The Bible clearly tells us that everything that was made, was created, approximately 6,000 years ago and was accomplished in six 24-hour days. If we can really become convinced intellectually and learn that modern investigation supports this assertion, your faith will have grown. And that will please God.

Hebrews 11:1 says, Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. No one saw the formation of the creation, but many people have a great conviction of how and when it happened. Modern scientific culture speaks very clearly and passionately on this subject. What I want to accomplish is to take a close look at what science says. I will relay to you, what are considered absolute facts of science that are generally not thought about in relation to the when and how of creation's origins. But you will see, when these non-contestable scientific facts are viewed in light of the origins process, the Bible's perspective suddenly becomes very believable. In fact, the only rational conclusion will be that the Bible is exactly correct when it tells us when all things came into existence, how it happened, and what transpired in ancient history. This will result in an increase in faith - faith in the God of the Bible. And this will please God.

READ Genesis 1-2:3.

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. In the beginning God- in the beginning there was only God, there was nothing else, only He existed. He has existed for all time and before time began. Nothing exists except God and what God has created. Nothing else. He didn't start with some kind of matter or dust or particles. He started with nothing. And out of nothing He made everything that exists in the universe and in the spiritual world called heaven. This is the starting point of our understanding of God. It can only be accepted by faith. Without accepting this basic fact, this first statement of the Bible, our relationship with God can be only very superficial. He is calling us to put our trust in Him with these opening words. If we can do that, then we can begin to move forward into a deeper relationship with Him.

Next we read that the creation was in some early stage of development, it was formless and it was dark. So God created light. Now this light that was created on the first day is not the light of the sun or moon or stars. It was not electromagnetic light as we think of light. We know that because later in the week we are told God created the sun. So this light is another type of light that is unknown to our modern world.

But this light is mentioned many times in the Bible. For example, at the tomb in which Jesus was laid, when His followers came on the first day of the week there were one or two men who were dazzling white, brighter than is worldly possible. Also, when Jesus climbed the mountain with Peter, James, and John, He was transformed into brilliant white light. Angels are described as being brighter than the sun in many places throughout Scripture. These expressions of bright light, unlike anything on earth is the light that God created on the first day. It is light that emanates from Him. It is celestial light, the light of heaven. It is the light that will illumine the New Jerusalem so we will have no need for a candle. The sun will also exist during the daytime. But this light will never go out.

We also find in this first day, that His light made a separation between light and dark. This is God's way of creating free will in men and angels. We can either walk in His light or go our own way and loose that light and be in darkness. So from the beginning day of creation, God establishes free will, the freedom for His created beings to choose between His light and one's own choices which is spiritual darkness.

Is there anything in modern thinking that would help us with this first day? I believe there is. And it comes from Einstein. All of modern physics which studies the basic building blocks of matter, is based upon what Einstein wrote in the early 20th century. And his theories with their supporting mathematics are based upon all matter being a four-dimensional spatial substance. Now this is very hard to grasp or even imagine. In fact, I have been told that most physicists today try to steer away from even mentioning this basic premise upon which all the mathematics of modern physics is built.

This concept of 4 spatial dimensions is of great interest. We see and walk within 3 spatial dimensions. The universe is viewed as having 3 spatial dimensions: length, width, and depth. It is only these three dimensions that we perceive, measure, and live in. But when we open the door to a fourth spatial dimension things become very interesting. Let me explain.

Scripture says that God is very near us, He is not far. However, we most generally have a mental frame of reference that places God in a throne room far beyond the range of human experience, higher than the sky. It is as if somewhere beyond the outer limits of the universe (if it has limits!) exists another world of some kind. And here is where we put God, His throne room, angels, and whatever else is in heaven. But this doesn't fit with the notion that God is near, if indeed that statement of Scripture is referring to near spatially. We know He isn't near in a 3-dimensional sense, because no one or no telescope has ever seen Him. Into this vat of unknowing and confusion come Einstein.

Einstein tried to describe the fourth dimension. He wanted us to have a mental construct of this other dimension. He had to give it in three dimensional terms just like we try to draw a three dimensional picture on a two dimensional page of paper. It is only a representation of the object. So it is with Einstein trying to describe the fourth dimension. He said, take a three dimension shape like a ball or a cube and then punch a hole through the center of it with your fist. What you now have is a model of four dimensional space.

The shape may look something like this.

Now to grasp an even greater concept of four dimensional space, consider a bug crawling along a large wall. The wall is two dimensional space and the bug is traversing the surface. The bug doesn't know that the wall it is traversing is only one part of the three dimensional room. It can only see the wall it is on. However, the third dimension in all its complexity and space still exists. The space of the room is very near the bug but the bug cannot perceive it. Take that and expand it to a three dimensional being traversing its space but cannot see the fourth dimension that is right there with it, although it does exist. Consider its possibility. However, probably at this point our imagination is beginning to break down. But it gives us a sense of the reality of the fourth dimension.

Several points of interest need to be pointed out at this time. Notice the model above, and see that within the three-dimensional cube there is an inner three-dimensional space. It is this inner space that we currently are restricted from seeing. And it is that space where the light of the first day of creation was made. The outer 3-D space was darkness but the inner 3-D space was light. And so there was light and dark on the first day. The inner space is spiritual, the outer space is the universe as we know it. So in verse 2 it says the earth was formless prior to the creation of light, this means that there were only 2 dimensions, formless. With the creation of this inner light, God is telling us that the third and fourth dimensions came into existence. Because inner light can only happen if all four spatial dimensions exist.

It is for this reason that Scripture says believers in Christ are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and are the light of the world. That inner 3-D space becomes alive when we are born again. Or as the King James Version says, quickened. The inner 3-D space is quickened or made alive and the Holy Spirit now has a place to dwell within us. We have re-established the breath of God, the same breath that God breathed into Adam and made him a living being. So when we are born again, we truly become a living being in the fullness of God's creation including all four spatial dimensions. We will come back to this concept at various points in order to help us understand what Scripture is saying.

It is interesting to observe how God gives us confirmation regarding His work, His thinking, His plans, and His will. In this case of a four dimensional world, He has given us many examples of this pattern or model of what the fourth dimension looks like. If we take the above model, a 3-D shape with a hole punched through it, we will find this pattern or model displayed repeatedly in our world. For example, the very structure of almost all animals displays the model we created earlier. With the exception of a few of the most simple species such as sponges, animal digestive tracts are considered by scientists to be on the outside of the body even though they pass through the body. It is as if a hole was punched through the center of the body beginning at the mouth and ending at the anus. Food passes through the alimentary canal, some of it is absorbed into our bodies and some is not. The undigested portions pass through. In other words, there is a 3-D space inside our 3-D bodies that is literally outside of our bodies, a very accurate description and model of four spatial dimensions.

Now how do we know that each day of creation was a 24-hour period? God made sure we would not be deceived when He gave these words to Moses. At the end of each day of creation, Scripture uses the expression, And there was evening and there was morning followed by the number of the day for that passage. This expression 'evening and morning' is significant. God gave the Israelites an unique day system. God established the day to begin with sunset, the evening. All other cultures begin their day with sunrise or beginning with midnight. Why did God do such a thing? It seems totally illogical. It would appear there are several reasons, and one of them pertains to understanding the creation.

God wants us to understand that He created all that exists out of nothing in a very short period of time. He knows that man's thinking will see what exists and will try to understand it from a logical step by step sequence. If one does not believe in God and what He has done it becomes absurd to even consider the idea that the universe was created in six 24-hour days. Here God is forcing upon us a choice. Either we believe in Him and His power and His creative ability or we reject Him. Each of us must decide. And He helps us by establishing a 24-hour period to begin in the evening. Hence when He writes And there was evening and there was morning, He is telling us that His Word declares all of existence came into existence in six 24-hour days. Do we believe it or not? Or do we allow a hollow and deceptive philosophy, such as we are warned about in Colossians 2:8, take us captive? In the Bible, the word 'day' can mean anything from a 24- hour period to a number of years. But in the Bible, there is never a single instance when the phrase And there was evening and there was morning, means anything other than one 24-hour period. What we need to supply is faith in His Word.

Faith is the assurance of things not seen. But God gives us assurances in many ways so we can step forward in faith. What I want to do is to give you some of those assurances by way of logic, by way of science, and by way of Biblical interpretation. The basic premise is this: God gave us the Bible so we can understand. It certainly has mysteries but it was given to us in a way such that the average person can understand it. We can accept it as it is written. It is interesting that I have never found anyone who disagrees with the observation that Genesis chapter one, conveys to the reader the intent that creation occurred in six 24-hour days. But few highly educated people including Christians, are willing to believe that is the truth. God purposely intended us to interpret Genesis chapter one to mean just what it says. And He purposely filled the Old Testament with genealogies portraying the time lapse from creation to Christ to be easily calculated at around 4,000 years. This time frame spans the entire time that the creation has existed. Now consider, if that was the intention of God's Word, but the reality is something radically different, such as several billion years, how can we believe anything God says? We are forced to either believe the unbelievable or reject the entire account of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Do you want to worship and serve a God who misleads those who seek Him? I don't. And God doesn't either.

There will be many truths in the Bible that will require faith in order to understand what God has done, is doing, and will do. And from the very first pages of His written Word we are confronted with the choice to accept or reject what is written. It is as if God asks us from the first page, 'are you willing to accept what I say or do you conclude that it is foolishness?' This is our choice from the outset. But He doesn't leave us alone. He gives us others in the Body of Believers to build up our faith. Hopefully, this book will build your faith. And to that end, the following material is being offered to you. So let's look more closely at these days of creation and see whether we can find anything from our scientific age that will verify this seemingly outlandish claim of a recent creation.

So what kind of assurances can we discover from Scripture and confirm by the scientific study of the creation to support the clear intention of Scripture that we live in a young universe? Many people have tried to force the days of creation into each day being long periods of time. But the sequence of what God did on the days disallows it. He created plants and trees on the third day. But the sun which is required for photosynthesis and the insects to pollinate the plants and fruit trees were not created until the fourth and fifth days respectively. If each day were millions or billions of years, the plants could not survive. In fact, if each day was even a few days or weeks, the plants would not survive. This is conclusive. However, the world of science has many uncontested facts and truths about the creation that can only point unmistakably to a young creation. Let's look at a few of them.

The International Earth Rotation Service (IERS) before being disbanded was based in Paris, France. It was a scientific body charged with the mission of coordinating all the atomic clocks in the world. An atomic clock is based upon the nuclear resonance of the cesium atom. That resonance is very stable and consistent. However, the rotation of the earth is not nearly as stable and consistent. It is a very complex and highly mathematical challenge to determine the exact length of each day. The IERS has issued many leap seconds over the years. In other words, they have changed the atomic clocks numerous times to adjust for changes in the earth's rotation. They look at many factors, one being the slowing down of the earth's spin. A few years ago, their website actually stated the value of the decreasing spin of the earth.

It is like a toy top, we spin it and it immediately slows down and finally comes to a stop. The same is true with the spin of the earth. And the spin of the earth is what causes our sequence of days and nights. Unlike the top, however, the spin of the earth is slowing down very slowly. And the IERS has measured the rate at which the earth slows down and used that figure (along with many other data points) in coordinating the atomic clocks of the world. They have concluded that the earth loses two thousandths of a second every century (0.002 sec per century). Now that is a very small amount of time. For all practical purposes, for everyone's life, it is inconsequential. And the earth will not come to a stop anytime in the foreseeable future.

However, when we apply this deceleration rate with the age of the earth something very interesting can be seen. According to modern evolutionary thinking, life on earth began approximately 3.5-4.0 billion years ago. If we take the current deceleration rate and then calculate how much shorter a day was then compared to today we find the day would be only a couple of hours long!

[.002 sec X 1 century X 1 hour X (3.5 billion X 365) days]

24 -   ---------------------------------------------------------------------       [ 1 century X (365 X100) days X 3600 sec]

Equals a 4.6 hour day!

The length of a day when life began on earth would only have been 4.6 hours long because the earth would have been spinning so fast! This is an impossible idea. At those speeds the planet