3) 20: Holocaust, Persecution & Design Creation

20. Jews Israel: Holocaust & Persecution

The Bible explains just why evil prevails at times. Think how many of the Righteous Bible characters are murdered, have to run for their lives or who are persecuted! (Hebrews 11;33-7). It is so evident that it is called the pattern of the suffering servant. A rejection of the Bible means people cannot come to terms with evil in the world. They moan it ought not be - but the Bible says Cain killed Abel! The Bible shows the elite in Judea caused Jesus to be killed.

The Jewish people had written from the beginning a witness to what would happen,

the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind: And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life: In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. (Deu 28:64-67)

For a Jewish understanding from the Jerusalem Post see God's promise to us

Warren Goldstein writes This week?s Torah portion, Bechukotai, boldly predicts the trajectory of Jewish history with its exile and dispersement: "And I will scatter you among the nations." (Leviticus 26:33) However, this week?s portion not only predicts our exile, but also our survival ? intact, as a nation, with all of our values. No one could have predicted this outcome. By all the laws of history, the Jewish nation should not exist. Our Torah portion shows the historic impact of the covenant, when it says: "But, despite all this, while they will be in the land of their enemies, I will not... reject them... nor annul my covenant with them... I will remember for them the covenant with the first ones, whom I took out of the land of Egypt." (Ibid. 26:44)

In writing this Warren shows how Israel's survival, through suffering and persecution to death, is evidence of the existence of the God of the Bible, who made a covenant as witness of his existence and keeps it for thousands of years as objective factual witness of his existence.

In that time of Jewish exile the true servants of Christ did not fare that much better in terms of suffering, than the Jews. It began in the times of Paul, who is known to have died at the hands of the Pagan Romans. Peter writes

Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. (1Peter 4:12-14)

Very few christians ponder just why Tyndale and many others were burnt at the stake, or that it was written the servants of Christ should be suffering, mouring for the dead for 1260 years,

I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. (Revelation 11:3)

For more on this long age of persecution for followers of Christ see 7 years triibulation as 1260 years

The question people will ask is why? The answer will be found in a life in Christ as all who truly engage know by experince, but Job who knew by experience said it clearly,

But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. (Job 23:10)

Jews call the Holocaust the Shoah - burning. Pure gold can only come out from a burning of something, whether wood, coal or the 'renewable' energy of the burning sun.

In this list I deal with things that may be objectively observed. It is hard to give objective witness of personal experince, because it can only be explained from a subjective viewpoint. We can know this trial by personal experince, but it is easier to illustrate it in the observed facts of the documented lives of others. Some may not experience trial as others as shown by the letters to the 7 congregations in Revelation; they were not all equally afflicted though in a similiar geographic location and time. Laodica had a differnt challenge to Pergamos, assimilation in peace.

We consider Holocaust in depth here Shoah

21. The Good Design in Perfect Asymmetry in Nature

Chance could never arrive at a symmetry that is not quite perfect, which turns out to be Perfect.

Recent research has shown that to have 'Normal' vision and not be Dyslexic we have to have different eyes! About 10% have eyes with one part too similar to each other. I the writer am one of the 10% who show the imperfection of symmetry. The 90% of 'Normal' eyes who are not Dyslexic show the perfection of slight Asymmetry.

"People with dyslexia have difficulties learning to read, spell or write despite normal intelligence. Often letters appear to move around and get in the wrong order and dyslexic people can have problems distinguishing left from right. Human beings have a dominant eye in the same way that people have a dominant left or right hand. In the University of Rennes study, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, scientists looked into the eyes of 30 non-dyslexics and 30 dyslexics. They discovered differences in the shape of spots deep in the eye where red, green and blue cones - responsible for colour - are located. In non-dyslexics, they found that the blue cone-free spot in one eye was round and in the other eye it was oblong or unevenly shaped, making the round one more dominant. But in dyslexic people, both eyes had the same round-shaped spot, which meant neither eye was dominant. This would result in the brain being confused by two slightly different images from the eyes. Researchers Guy Ropars and Albert le Floch said this lack of asymmetry "might be the biological and anatomical basis of reading and spelling disabilities". They added: "For dyslexic students, their two eyes are equivalent and their brain has to successively rely on the two slightly different versions of a given visual scene."" BBC

22. The Seasons

No other planet has seasons. It is so accepted that few think it remarkable, but it is! The earth is tilted on its rotational axis at an optimal 23.5 degrees in relation to the plane of orbit about the sun, allowing sun to both poles, and preventing overheating of one part of the surface. Like everything, this laos is always changing with this angle slightly varying, rocking over a 18.6 year cycle. But if asked how it this came to exist, none can answer. Universe Today in 2010 wrote it was part of the formation of planets in a time in cosmic history of "mystery". Go look try and find someone who can give an answer better than that!

But it is worse that that as not only is there no historical explanation, there is no explanation as to why that angle of tilt persists today with wobbling!

The Bible, by contrast, long before modern speculations, says God set the moon for seasons.

He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down. (Psa 104:19)

That the moon is related to seasons is now also modern understanding, though they may not wish to say the Bible was right or how long it has been understood!

The moon has long been recognized as a significant stabilizer of Earth's orbital axis. Without it, astronomers have predicted that Earth's tilt could vary as much as 85 degrees. Space.com

The description of creation from a view on earth,

Elohim (Mighty Ones) said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: (Genesis 1:14)

Lastly it was the Apostle's view that God maintains day-to-day, today and tomorrow the seasons, so we don't wobble off into ice ages. In addition they say this is evidence, a witness. Indeed it is evidence, because as we know full well today - the seasons are not 'natural'!

Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. (Acts 14:17)

23. Water

Water is a miracle or in the words of those who have no God a mystery (Philip Ball, 'A Biography of Water 1999). It should not even exist. None can say where it came from. From a collision is the best excuse.. come again!? This doesn't explain how the parts came to exist before the collision, let alone how it decided to collect in one place, in it's remarkable chemical combination.

Water, unlike other liquids, expands and becomes lighter as it freezes not heavier, which allows fish to live in frozen ponds, ice bergs and spalling of rock faces. Water like other liquids does become denser as it gets colder but has a peculiar phase change at 4Deg.C or 40F when it becomes less dense. None can explain it simply unless it be 'wisely ordained of God that water be an exception' (Ball 1999, quoting Dr Brewer 'Guide to the Scientific knowledge of things familiar' 1876).

But Water is weirder still when compared to other liquids, in that it has such a high boiling point, which it allows it to stay on earth longer before becoming a gas, due to a 'sticky' structure in the liquid state where the unique properties of the Electrons and Oxygen in the bond with Hydrogen, which makes one H2O wish to bond with another H2O at each of the 4 corners of the terahedron structure to form a hexagonal structure. This design peciliarity affects not only the boiling point, but also water's unique abilty to dissolve things (corrosive or cleaning) and allow things to dissolove like asprin, or to be part of blood. The structure is so complex computers struggle to model it, which speaks of inteligent design.

How do I know that this intelligence belongs to the God of the Bible? The ancients surely could have no idea of how weird, eesential and unique water was, yet they began the account with water. No other religious text does this. In addition when they showed the Power of God to Pharoah they turned the river to blood. Only the maker of water would know the role of water in blood. Either the ancients knew it without tools of observation, or the Author of the Bible inspiring the writers knew it.

One of the greatest cycles of the earth is the water cycle. Solomon takes a pure observation of things under the sun writing,

All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again. (Ecc 1:7)

If it is not remarkable enough that there is water and land, the cycle of water is so essential to all life and regulation of conditions that it looks like a design, so much so that even scientists rejecting the God of the Bible call the planet a thinking organism.

The Bible outright claims that God calls waters from the sea,

Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name: (Amos 5:8)

Though the mechanisms of evaporation and the essential water cycle are understood, the cause of it cannot be found. The God of the Bible is not the 'God of gaps' but of the Causes of all things. There is much still to be found as to mechanisms of systems on earth, but the fundamental cause of all motion will never be 'found', because it is evident it is God's day to day work! The Bible is the only book that points to the active Cause of all major motions and energies of life, including the water cycle from the begining.

24. Clouds and Rain

25. The wind, high and low pressure

For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places. He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain; he bringeth the wind out of his treasuries. (Psa 135:5-7)

26. Lightning

The Science of Lightning is great evidence for the God of the Bible, see Why Lightning is a challenge

27. Stormy Wind Fulfilling His word

For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end. Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. (Psa 107:25-29)

Fire, and hail; snow, and vapour; stormy wind fulfilling his word: (Psalm 148:8)

28. Honey Bee

For detail Honey bees & shells

He hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that flows with milk and honey. (Deu 26:9)

29. Patterns of the night sky

The most remarkable thing about the universe is that it is not even. If it came from a mindless explosion, bits would be evenly scattered, but they are not. The value to navigation is that the stars and planets form distinct patterns.

God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: (Gen 1:14)

When speaking with Job, the God of the Bible says outright that he binds the patterns of the stars. No other so called holy book or god claims this

Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion? Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons? (Job 38:31-32)

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