"Yea, Has God Said...?"

By John Grimley

Throughout one's life, from its beginning to its end, one is constantly bombarded with "spin" by those who desire to promote products and push ideas, philosophies, and a multitude of faiths whether religious or secular. There is only one work, even since the beginning of time, which is free of "spin" and tells it exactly as it was and is now: God's inspired Word, the Bible. Right from the very beginning, Eve put three "spins" on what God had told Adam. She deleted the word "freely," she added the phrase, "neither shall you touch it," and altered the word "surely" to "less." Yet it was Lucifer, the fallen archangel in the guise of a serpent who put into motion the ultimate "spin" on God's word: "Yea, has God said...?" From then on, this question has played havoc with every society down through the ages. Any question of doubt concerning God's word always opposes truth and reality. This book has been written to put forth a definitive answer to this insidious question. In fact, this question begs for an answer and not just a rhetorical one. The questions raised concerning God's word itself, creation, salvation, eschatology, morality, death, and more are in this book and are answered with a resounding: "Yes, God has said!"

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 20, 2020
• ISBN: 9781098004651

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Yea, Has God Said...?

John O. Grimley

Copyright © 2020 by John O. Grimley

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Spins?

The Nature and Character of God?

God’s Word?

Lines Drawn in the Sand?

The Original Stumbling Block?

Evolution: Science or Myth?

Creation 101: A Direct Act of God?

Creation 102: Gap Hypothesis?

Creation 201: Length of Each Day?

Creation 202: Age of the Planet Earth?

Creation 301: Theistic Evolution?

Creation 302: Distant Starlight?

Creation 401: Flood?

Creation 402: Untenable?

Creation 501: Necessity for the Global Flood?

Creation 502: Ancient Aliens?

Creation 601: Origin of Races and Languages?

Creation 602: UFOs and IFOs?

Who is Jesus (Yeshua)?

Peter the Rock?

One and Only One Way?

Historical Roman Catholicism?

Claims of Roman Catholicism?

Praying the Rosary?

Praying to Mary?

Islam?

Eschatology 101: Eschatological Terms?

Eschatology 102: Israel and the Church?

Eschatology 201: Israel and Its Land?

Eschatology 202: The Jewish Calendars?

Eschatology 301: The Lord Sets the Dates?

Eschatology 302: The Thief in the Night?

Eschatology 401: Times and Seasons?

Eschatology 402: The Great Tribulation?

Eschatology 501: Pre-, Mid-, or Post-Trib?

Eschatology 502: To Take the Mark or Not?

Morality 101: Determined by Whom?

Morality 102: Sanctity of Our Sexuality?

Morality 201: Equality and the Roles of the Sexes?

Morality 202: Sexual Guidelines?

Morality 301: Two Spiritual Laws?

Morality 302: Abortion?

Morality 401: The True Nature of the Beast?

Morality 402: Abominations and Strange Flesh?

Morality 501: Delusions and Myths?

Morality 502: The Death Penalty?

Morality 601: Taking up Arms?

Morality 602: Being Filled with the Spirit?

Abiding, Standing, and Immoveable?

Born, Living, and Forever Free?

A Reasonable Act of Worship?

Tithing?

What Happens upon Death?

Age of Accountability?

Serpents and Doves?

Chapter 16

Creation 502: Ancient Aliens?

The example of how thoroughly inbred the evolutionary paradigm of ancient aliens or extraterrestrials has become comes from the popular program Ancient Aliens in a piece entitled Aliens and Sacred Places. Accordingly, it was first aired on 8/11/2011.

The set-up question given was as to whether or not the appearances of God mentioned in scripture were really of God or were they of a highly advanced flesh and blood extraterrestrial. The corollary follow-up question was to whether or not the angels who came and went in Scripture were of a divine origin as opposed to also being flesh and blood extraterrestrials.

The answer to the above questions should come as no surprise: As far as ancient astronaut theorists are concerned, the answer to one and two is a resounding yes! That is, God and angels are not divine in nature but are merely highly advanced extraterrestrials.

As proof the program authors use the construction of megalithic structures around the world as examples of how impossible it would have been, technologically speaking, for ancient man of over two thousand years or more to have constructed such features as well as having the celestial knowledge to align most all of them so perfectly with the summer and/or winter heavenly solstices. Such technological advanced marvels given were

The twenty-nine Adjanta temples in India carved out in solid rock over seventy feet high for according to researchers this complex of caves is significant because of the deliberate positioning of the caves around the cliffs an arrangement that reveals an unusually advanced knowledge of celestial activity.

The monolithic temple carved out of solid rock in Ethiopia, which was described as scientifically inexplicable.

Other humongous megalithic structures around the world where stones weighing as much as hundreds upon hundreds of tons are carved so precisely as to fit with those around them and lifted one upon another. Modern-day engineers are baffled as to how all this and more could have been accomplished thousands of years in the past when even today such tasks are next to impossible if not outright impossible.

The hieroglyphics on numerous stones and temples worldwide are said to often portray people either in spaceships or space suits of one kind or another.

The hieroglyphs of half animal and half men are said to portray genetically manipulated beings by extraterrestrials.

This release ended with, To me that is a very fascinating story because in my opinion, angels do not exist. Angels are merely a misinterpretation of flesh and blood extraterrestrials who descended from the sky with means of technology; and that is what quote unquote angels used.

The likes of this program is repeated over and over again ad nauseam in one form or another throughout most all history and science releases in our modern day culture.

Aside from the discounting of the existence of God and angels, evolutionists use faulty logic concerning the past; i.e., their interpolation from the present to the past is faulty on the following count: As their concept of human evolution is from the simple to the complex, this negates any possibility of ancient man’s intellect being just as advanced if not more so than is ours of today.

Concerning God and angels, just because one or all of society does not believe in them that does not automatically make it true. What a real shame that our historians and scientists have closed minds to the supernatural. If it is believed that highly advanced flesh and blood aliens can perform such amazing feats (which absolutely no one has ever observed), then why not entertain the thought that the supernatural could do even more! Unfortunately the paradigm of a supernatural spiritual reality is nonexistent in any such consideration. This is even more amazing when even their own commentator of numerous programs on the universe says over and over again, Question everything. Either they really do not believe this or it is understood that the evolution is the one and only exception to being questioned.

It is no wonder that all nonbelievers are forever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of truth (2 Tim. 3:7) as they reject the very One who Himself is Truth Personified and who created the very substance upon which they live and breathe. It is virtually impossible for anyone to come to the truth unless he/she forsakes the evolutionary/ancient alien paradigm and turns to the Lord God who in Christ is Truth. This paradigm is perhaps one of a number of foundational deceptions upon which most all other deceptions of humanism rest and are nurtured. Overcome this deception and a whole host of others melt away as the early morning fog.

In essence, those that bring the angelic (righteous and evil) realm down to the ancient alien world also do so with God. Scripture is very clear: The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God’ (Ps. 14:1).

For those who misrepresent God’s word through addition, insertion, subtraction, and twisting meanings need to come face-to-face with Christ’s statement: Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels (Mark 8:38).

Yea, has God said, "I am God, and there is no other;

I am God and there is none like Me."?

Yes.

(Isa. 46:9)

Yea, has God said that He created everything that is natural (visible)

and everything that is supernatural (invisible)?

Yes.

(Rom. 1:20, Col. 1:16–20)

Chapter 1

Spins?

Words written on a top are very clear and easy to read and understand—that is, until it starts to spin. The faster the top spins, the harder it is to make out any letters, let alone words until everything is a blur and nothing but the spinning top itself can be seen. The true words on the top cannot be seen let alone understood. Without a solid frame of reference to what actually is written on the top, one can be made to believe almost anything by someone claiming to be in the know.

Likewise, anyone desiring to hide reality and the truth from another need only to put a spin (lie) on it. Crank up that lie with more spins and alternative explanations and pretty soon one can have a solid case for believing almost anything whether true to reality or as far away from reality as possible.

There are basically three methods by which spin can detract from reality, and they are

Deleting words and phrases or whole chapters and books of information.

Adding words and phrases or whole chapters and books of information.

Changing and altering the meanings of words, phrases, and books of information.

These three spins manifested themselves right from the beginning in the Garden of Eden with the serpent:

Spin No. 1: Deletion of God’s word

Result: As Eve omitted the word freely she made God out to be less bountiful than He is.

Spin No. 2: Addition to God’s Word

Result: As Eve added the whole phrase, neither shall you touch it, she made God out to be more severe than what He is.

Spin No. 3: Changing or altering the meaning of God’s word

Result: As Eve changed the word surely to lest she made the certainty of the Divine statement into a contingency.

As we all live in this world together we should know that such deletions, additions, and meaning changes surround us daily from the smallest spins to the most extreme: from Congress even to our closest of friends or family. Just one word or expression out of context, just one omission, just one alternate meaning changes the whole thing. It appears that most all national and regional news stations are rife with political spins of all kinds depending upon its ideology and from where their financial support (or is it payoff?) comes. Please note, as I am sure you have that just one added word, payoff, changed the whole meaning of financial support into a large negative and that the question mark (?) put this whole matter into question.

This is precisely what Christ meant when He said, For truly I say unto you, ’Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one title [even the smallest detail is due its attention and diligence] shall in no wise pass from the law until all be fulfilled… (Matt. 5:18)

Christ warns everyone in Revelation 22:18–19 the dangers of either adding to or taking away from any of the words found in the Book of Revelation.

Peter, in speaking about the letters of the apostle Paul states, There are some things in them that are hard to understand which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction as they do to the other scriptures (2 Pet. 3:16).

So it is that no one born in this world from the beginning of time (with one and only one notable exception: Christ Jesus) has ever been free from falling for spin. As can be seen or read where Christ, in the Jordanian wilderness, was tempted by Satan, that Christ repulsed him every time by quoting scripture, which He neither added to, subtracted from, or twisted in its meaning. Throughout His life here on earth, Christ took all scripture at its face value and quoted it as such. Whenever He departed from scripture (But I say unto you…), it had nothing to do with taking anything away from, adding to, or twisting scripture but solely for the purpose of making a sharp contrast between the letter of the law (which leads to death) and the "spirit of the law (which gives life) (2 Cor. 3:6). Christ Himself testified, as given earlier, that the very smallest of details pertaining to the law will not pass away until all is fulfilled.

Even if one can make the case that Christ added to scripture, there is a vast difference between Him, the original law Giver (Isa. 33:22 and James 4:12), and mankind. The two are incomparable and cannot in any form whatsoever be equated. It still stood that for Christ all scripture was to be taken at face value.

Before diving into a whole host of social and moral issues, if scripture is to be consulted as the ultimate authority, then we must first determine the nature and character of the One who has given such to us.

Chapter 2

The Nature and Character of God?

There are many, many attributes of God; however, of these, only the following five characteristics of God will be examined:

1. God is omnipotent or all-powerful.

For anyone to be so powerful as to make our universe and multiplied others beyond our own and the trillions of planets and star systems in each, he would of necessity be all-powerful. Then, on top of all this, to cause inanimate chemicals to come to life either botanically or biologically is simply mind-boggling! A god who is not all powerful is no god at all as there would be greater forces to which he himself must acquiesce.

Those acquainted with Einstein’s general theory of relativity (E=mc²) know that energy, matter, and light can interact with each other very quickly, if not instantaneously, thereby able to produce either very desirable or undesirable results. The kinetic energy of flowing water turning turbines instantly produces electrical energy, but the detonation of a small particle of uranium (U²³⁵ or U²³⁸) instantly converts to a massive, destructive heat, light, and radiation catastrophe.

This omnipotent God merely needed to speak the word in order to create. By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the hosts of them by the breath of His mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the depth in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; he commanded and it stood fast.

Scientists are aware that according to the first law of thermodynamics, energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only transformed from one form to another. And according to the second law of thermodynamics (entropy), every transformation or conversion of energy weakens its availability and usefulness. This is also known as the Law of Diminishing Returns.

God’s energy from just His spoken word, on the other hand, is not subject to any entropy, therefore it is instantly available to its fullest right now and throughout eternity.

To trap individuals saying that there is nothing that God cannot do, the skeptics (usually about this time in such a conversation) pose the following two questions: (a) Can God lie or otherwise commit sin? (b) Can God make a rock so big that He cannot move it?

Really? Okay, you got us…maybe.

To ask the second question one must assume that the rock must be bound by gravity. Yet we know that the rock known as planet Earth or Jupiter or any other planet or sun no matter how large, God is constantly moving them through His set laws of gravitational fields interacting one upon another.

Point of clarification: When anyone says that God can do anything, it needs to be understood right from the get-go that that statement, or any other such phrase, assumes that God is able to do anything that is within His own character and purpose to do as He cannot deny Himself: If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself (2 Tim. 2:15).

2. God is omniscient or all-knowing.

In order for anyone to be able to make all the multiplied universes and everything in them and to order all of it like clockwork, he would have to be omniscient. For any god to be God, he must know everything; otherwise, he is no God. For as great as his knowledge might be, he himself would be subject to error. It is no wonder that imperfect humans as we are feel intelligent enough to debate this attribute of God. But what is even more appalling is that thousands of Christians who should know better do not attribute this characteristic nor His omnipotence to the God whom they report to worship. Christ very succinctly puts it to us today as He so astutely put it to the intelligentsia of His day, You do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God (Matt. 22:29, Mark 12:24).

Wikipedia puts the size of our Milky Way about 100,000 light years in diameter with the Earth near its center. Our heavenly atmosphere reaches approximately 120 mile above sea level, then our heavenly space takes over and reaches another 50,000 light years farther on out. One light year (the distance light travels in a year) is about 6 trillion miles. If we multiply 6 trillion by 50,000 we get 3 x 10¹⁷ (a 3 followed by 17 zeros!). This is only one galaxy, our own, and it is just one of untold trillions in this second heaven known as space! So just how far are these heavens above the earth? For all science knows the height of these heavens go on and on into infinity! This is exactly the point. Jehovah God has said, For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways…For as the heavens [note plurality] are higher than the earth so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts [higher] than your thoughts (Isa. 55:8–9). Therefore, to put it very precisely, God’s power, ways, thoughts, and knowledge are infinite. Man, apart from God revealing Himself, can no more comprehend God than can an earthworm understand mankind.

It is then the epitome of arrogance to even presume that we can better determine what God says from what He really means. It is self-evident in all the confusion that we daily perpetrate on one another that we very often do not say what we mean and very frequently do not really mean what we say. We just do not know everything, and in most cases, we know very little, and in the total context of everything, we know next to nothing.

So, as far as our omniscient God is concerned, let us at least afford Him the basic dignity that is due Him for being completely able to say what He means and to mean exactly what He says. He who formed the brain to think, does He not have a mind that far transcends our own? He who formed the mouth to speak, is He not able to speak intelligently to both say what He means and to mean what He says?

A vary basic rule of reading anything, whether religious or secular, is to take everything at face value except where the context indicates otherwise. Read prose and poetry as prose and poetry. Read history as history, anecdotes as anecdotes, analogies as analogies, and allegories as allegories.

The allegory (Rom. 2:22–32) Paul uses of Abraham, his two sons, and their mothers had to be based on actual historical occurrences; otherwise, it would make no sense.

Then too, regardless of the style of writing, the literal interpretation of each and every word is essential to its understanding. If one does not understand the literal meaning of the words being read, it might just as well be in a foreign tongue as it would be undecipherable to the reader.

Consequently, though the Bible is not a science text in and of itself, wherever it touches on science or scientific concepts, it is more up to date than the most recent scientific discoveries made or will yet be made in the future. Since God’s word is forever settled in heaven (Ps. 119:89), it stands to reason that there will be absolutely no scientific discoveries in all eternity that will ever negate or contradict scripture wherever it touches on science. This can only be since God is omniscient or all-knowing right from even before the start of creation.

Throughout history every science textbook that has ever been written, even the greatest and latest of today, has experienced either discontinuation or editing of one kind or another as both minor and major scientific concepts are in a constant state of flux or change. The original texts of scripture, from the beginning of time, have never changed even down to the jot and tittle. Human knowledge is fragmentary at best. God’s knowledge is complete from beginning to end.

As God is all-knowing, scripture not only contains the most complete history of man ever written, but has also prewritten the consummation (through numerous prophets and the book of Revelation) and the recreation (Rev. 21:1–22) of everything. Only an omniscient God can do this!

Scripture testifies with no hint of uncertainty: Great is our Lord, and of His power: His understanding is infinite (Ps. 147:5).

3. God is omnipresent.

Omnipresent means that God, by His Spirit, is present not only everywhere at the same time but also in all three time dimensions (past, present, future) at the same time—that is, all things everywhere regardless of time are always in His eternal presence.

It was God Who created time the very moment He spoke the words, Let there be light (Gen. 1:3). Apart from physical light, there can be no time. Physical light creates time; spiritual light is timeless. God is well able then to work both inside and outside of our time reference. Galatians 4:4 states, But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son…

The Psalmist cries out, Where shall I go from Your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend up into heaven you are there. If I make my bed in hell, behold you are there. If I take wings in the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall your hand lead me and Your right hand shall hold me (Ps. 139:7–11).

When Moses inquired of God as to what name by which He should be called when approaching