Was Adam a Literate?

Could Adam Read And Write?

Q. I think you mentioned in one of your articles that there is evidence that Adam could read and write and that possibly he even wrote books that Moses read and used to write the first five books of the Bible. I would love to know the evidences for this. What do we have that shows both Adam’s ability to read and to write, and what evidences are there also for his writings influencing Moses? Thanks as usual for your wisdom and heart. I read your emails daily.

A. The first appearance of the Hebrew word for book is in Genesis 5, in reference to Adam. But beginning in Genesis 2:4 we have Adam’s account of the Creation (chapter 1 being God’s version). The doubt about Adam’s ability to read and write stems from the foolish claim that man evolved from monkeys. According to the Bible Adam was created in the image of God. Do we question whether God could read and write?

Sumerian Cuneiform writing dates back about 5000 years and discoveries in Egypt and Pakistan are even older. Since Adam was born about 6000 years ago and lived for 930 years, this would place archeological evidence of writing within his lifetime. I believe the evidence of Scripture shows that man could read and write from the beginning.

I think it also makes sense that Moses had written documents from which he compiled the Book of Genesis. It contains the accounts of Adam (Gen. 5:1), Noah (Gen 6:9), Shem (Gen 11:10), Terah (Gen. 11:27), Ishmael (Gen 25:12), Isaac (Gen 25:19), Esau (Gen. 26) and Jacob (Gen. 37). The other four books of the Torah contain events that occurred during the lifetime of Moses and are eye witness accounts.

Website: www.gracethrufaith.com

Rejoice You are God's Custom Designed Handy Work

Question: "What does it mean that we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14)?"

Answer: Psalm 139:14 declares, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” The context of this verse is the incredible nature of our physical bodies. The human body is the most complex and unique organism in the world, and that complexity and uniqueness speaks volumes about the mind of its Creator. Every aspect of the body, down to the tiniest microscopic cell, reveals that it is fearfully and wonderfully made.

Engineers understand how to design strong yet light beams by putting the strong material toward the outside edges of a cross-section and filling the inside with lighter, weaker material. This is done because the greatest amounts of stress occur on the surfaces of a structure when handling common bending or stresses. A cross section of a human bone reveals that the strong material is on the outside and the inside is used as a factory for blood cells of various kinds. When you examine a sophisticated camera with its ability to let in more or less light as needed and its ability to focus automatically over a vast range of field, you find repeated imitations of the operation of the human eye. And yet, having two eyeballs, we also have depth perception which gives us the ability to judge how far away an object is.

The human brain is also an amazing organ, fearfully and wonderfully made. It has the ability to learn, reason, and control so many automatic functions of the body such as heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing, and to maintain balance to walk, run, stand, and sit, all while concentrating on something else. Computers can outdo the human brain in raw calculating power but are primitive when it comes to performing most reasoning tasks. The brain also has an amazing ability to adapt. In an experiment, when people put on glasses that made the world seem upside down, their brains quickly reinterpreted the information they were being given to perceive the world as “right-side-up.” When others were blindfolded for long periods of time, the “vision center” of the brain soon began to be used for other functions. When people move to a house near a railroad, soon the sound of the trains is filtered out by their brains, and they lose conscious thought of the noise.

When it comes to miniaturization, the human body is also a marvel fearfully and wonderfully made. For instance, information needed for the replication of an entire human body, with every detail covered, is stored in the double-helix DNA strand found in the nucleus of each of the billions of cells in the human body. And the system of information and control represented by our nervous system is amazingly compact in comparison to man’s clumsy inventions of wires and optical cables. Each cell, once called a “simple” cell, is a tiny factory not yet fully understood by man. As microscopes become more and more powerful, the incredible vistas of the human cell begin to come into focus.

Consider the single fertilized cell of a newly conceived human life. From that one cell within the womb develop all the different kinds of tissues, organs, and systems, all working together at just the right time in an amazingly coordinated process. An example is the hole in the septum between the two ventricles in the heart of the newborn infant. This hole closes up at exactly the right time during the birth process to allow for the oxygenation of the blood from the lungs, which does not occur while the baby is in the womb and is receiving oxygen through the umbilical cord.

Further, the body’s immune system is able to fight off so many enemies and restore itself from the smallest repair (even repairing bad portions of DNA) to the largest (mending bones and recovering from major accidents). Yes, there are diseases that will eventually overcome the body as we age, but we have no idea how many times through a lifetime that our immune systems have saved us from certain death.

The functions of the human body are also incredible. The ability to handle large, heavy objects and to also carefully manipulate a delicate object without breaking it is also amazing. We can shoot a bow with the arrow repeatedly hitting a distant target, peck away quickly at a computer keyboard without thinking about the keys, crawl, walk, run, twirl around, climb, swim, do somersaults and flips, and perform “simple” tasks such as unscrewing a light bulb, brushing our teeth, and lacing up our shoes—again without thinking. Indeed, these are “simple” things, but man has yet to design and program a robot that is able to perform such a vast range of tasks and motions.

The function of the digestive tract and the related organs, the longevity of the heart, the formation and function of nerves and of blood vessels, the cleansing of the blood through the kidneys, the complexity of the inner and middle ear, the sense of taste and smell, and so many other things we barely understand—each one is a marvel and beyond man’s ability to duplicate. Truly, we are fearfully and wonderfully made. How grateful we are to know the Creator—through His Son, Jesus Christ—and to marvel not only at His knowledge but also at His love (Psalm 139:17-24).

Recommended Resource: Fearfully & Wonderfully Made by Paul Brand and Philip Yancey.

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Who was there before all?

Who Created God?

Q. A Mormon friend at work asked me who created God. In Genesis 1:1 it say’s, “In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth.” I believe that with my whole mind, heart and soul. Our question is who created God, where did He come from, or how did He come into being?

A. Mormons believe God was created. Some even believe he used to be a man and that might be what prompted the question. But no one created God because God is the Creator of everything. When you translate the Hebrew name for God, it means the One who always was and always will be. In Isaiah 43:10 God said, “Before me no God was formed, nor will there be one after me.” In Isaiah 44:6 God said “I am the first and the last. Apart from me there is no God.” Between Isaiah 43 and Isaiah 50 that thought is repeated 7 times. Our God is called The Eternal One for that reason. He had no beginning and will have no end.

The Timelessness Of God

Q. I praise God for the wisdom that He gifted to you. Thank you for sharing it. I have a question about the timelessness of God. However, in Isaiah 43:10 He states: “…before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.” How can this be if He has no beginning or end? Can “eternal” have a “before” or “end”?

A. It’s figurative language. It’s like He was saying, “I always was and I always will be” which is what His name (I am) implies. To help us understand what that means He said there was no god before Him and there won’t be one after Him. He’s the One and Only. Forever.

When Did God Begin?

Q. On (another website) I saw a statement that troubled me greatly. In the never-ending debate of evolution vs. creationism, (the author) makes very good points. However, regarding the “beginning” of God he says “It is possible that the Lord may have existed for so long even He has lost track of His own beginning.”

Is this really possible? I have always believed that God “always was” but now, although I still believe our God is eternal and un-created I was wondering if you could point out some scripture that confirms the fact that Our God did not simply “lose track” of his existence and that he has in fact, although it is is incomprehensible to the human mind, existed forever.

A. Deut. 22:27 says that God is eternal. In Micah 5:2 we’re told about the origins of the Messiah. The literal Hebrew reads that they were from “the days of eternity”. The same Hebrew word us used in both passages.

Rabbinical scholars state that the way the very first letter of the Bible was formed in ancient manuscripts indicates that it’s impossible to know exactly what went on beforeGenesis 1:1. The Bible neither explains nor justifies God’s presence but from the very beginning man’s understanding has been that He’s an eternal being, without beginning or end. It puzzles me as to why any believer would want to question that.

Was God Formed?

Q. This question deals with Is.43:10. If you do a quick read of Is.43:10 it almost sounds as if God himself was formed. This can’t be, can it? Wouldn’t that negate his being eternal ,past and present? Appreciate your thoughts.

A. The last sentence of Isaiah 43:10 reads, “Before me no god was formed nor will there be one after me”, which sounds to us like he’s saying he was the first one first formed. But He really means there weren’t any gods that preceded Him and there won’t be any that follow Him. It’s another way of saying He’s the first and the last, the One True God.

Website: www.gracethrufaith.com

Why God in Haiti?

Question: "Why does God allow natural disasters, i.e. earthquakes, hurricanes, and tsunamis?"

Answer: Why does God allow earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, tsunamis, typhoons, cyclones, mudslides, and other natural disasters? Tragedies such as the 2004 tsunami in Asia, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the 2008 cyclone in Myanmar, and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti cause many people to question God’s goodness. It is distressing that natural disasters are often termed “acts of God” while no “credit” is given to God for years, decades, or even centuries of peaceful weather. God created the whole universe and the laws of nature (Genesis 1:1). Most natural disasters are a result of these laws at work. Hurricanes, typhoons, and tornados are the results of divergent weather patterns colliding. Earthquakes are the result of the earth’s plate structure shifting. A tsunami is caused by an underwater earthquake.

The Bible proclaims that Jesus Christ holds all of nature together (Colossians 1:16-17). Could God prevent natural disasters? Absolutely! Does God sometimes influence the weather? Yes, as we see in Deuteronomy 11:17 and James 5:17. Numbers 16:30-34 shows us that God sometimes causes natural disasters as a judgment against sin. The book of Revelation describes many events which could definitely be described as natural disasters (Revelation chapters 6, 8, and 16). Is every natural disaster a punishment from God? Absolutely not.

In much the same way that God allows evil people to commit evil acts, God allows the earth to reflect the consequences sin has had on creation. Romans 8:19-21 tells us, “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.” The fall of humanity into sin had effects on everything, including the world we inhabit. Everything in creation is subject to “frustration” and “decay.” Sin is the ultimate cause of natural disasters just as it is the cause of death, disease, and suffering.

We can understand why natural disasters occur. What we do not understand is why God allows them to occur. Why did God allow the tsunami to kill over 225,000 people in Asia? Why did God allow Hurricane Katrina to destroy the homes of thousands of people? For one thing, such events shake our confidence in this life and force us to think about eternity. Churches are usually filled after disasters as people realize how tenuous their lives really are and how life can be taken away in an instant. What we do know is this: God is good! Many amazing miracles occurred during the course of natural disasters that prevented even greater loss of life. Natural disasters cause millions of people to reevaluate their priorities in life. Hundreds of millions of dollars in aid is sent to help the people who are suffering. Christian ministries have the opportunity to help, minister, counsel, pray, and lead people to saving faith in Christ! God can, and does, bring great good out of terrible tragedies (Romans 8:28).

Website: GotQuestions.org

The first Messianic prophecy

The Seed Of The Woman

Q. I know Genesis 3:15 is the first reference to a coming redeemer, but my question relates to the comment in that verse where I understand God is speaking to Satan and says “And I will put enmity…between your seed and her seed”. I know what “her seed” is, in reference to many generations to follow. But what does it mean when God says of “your seed” (Satan’s)?

A. Actually the term “her seed” applies to only one, and being a biological impossibility it’s the Bible’s first reference to a virgin birth. The Hebrew word translated “seed” is in the masculine gender and seed comes from a man. But in the case of the Messiah, to whom the phrase refers, no man was involved, only a woman. The Seed of the Woman is the Bible’s earliest messianic term.

It’s the same in the case of Satan’s seed where one person is identified, the anti-Christ. God vowed to put enmity between the two. The anti-Christ will not hate all of Eve’s descendants, but he’ll have an irrational hatred toward one of them, the Messiah, whom he’ll see as his arch enemy.

Website: www.gracethrufaith.com

Are mutations a solution for evolutionists?

Q: Why do mutations pose a problem for evolutionists?

The mutations that we see in the world around us involve a loss of genetic information, not a gain. Mutations could never cause a species to gain genetic information and change into a more advanced species. This poses a problem for evolutionary claims that humans evolved from apes.

Mutations often pose problems for humans, in the form of birth defects. Some evolutionists claim that birth defects are the “trial and error” of evolution, and eventually this could create a new species or sub-species of human.

The reality is that the vast majority of mutations are detrimental (to some degree), and, thus, the genome of the human population is degrading. For more information regarding this, please see Dr. Georgia Purdom's recent article entitled Making the Evolution Pill Easier to Swallow, Part 2.

Website: www.answersingenesis.com

Day light and Night darkness from the first day or the fourth day?

Evening And Morning, Follow Up

Q. I read your article today entitled “And There Was Evening And There Was Morning”. I found the article very interesting. But I have a few points to discuss with you. Genesis 1:3-5 says, “And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.” I find myself a little confused here, God made the sun and moon on the fourth day, so where is the day and night, and morning and evening coming from on the first three days. Then I thought, well maybe a day to God, before the sun was put in place could possible be a ten thousand years or so. So maybe then the scientist’s time periods could be true. What are your views on this?

A. The Hebrew word for light in Genesis 1:3 is “owr”. It means light, and it was created by God. God then separated the light from the darkness, giving the world its first day, which consisted of a period of darkness and a period of light. There’s no reason to believe it was different from any of the days that followed. When the Bible speaks of lights on day 4, referring to the Sun and Moon, the Hebrew word is “ma’owr” meaning luminary. The Sun is not the source of light, as the ancients believed, but a place the Lord made to hold or store the light that He had created. So in effect the Lord gathered the light into an object we call the Sun to illuminate the day, and positioned another object we call the Moon to reflect the Sun’s light and illuminate the night.

Website: www.gracethrufaith.com

Is our earth really old?

Old Earth Young Civilization

Q. I read your article “And There Was Evening And There Was Morning”, where you say you are OK with an old earth. How is this possible? In Exodus 20:11 and Exodus 31:17 the word of God is very plain that God created the earth and sea and heaven and everything in it, in six days and rested on the seventh day. Therefore if we have been here just over 6,000. years, then so has the earth. You and I believe that these six days were 24 hour days. God created the earth mature as He did Adam and Eve. The earth would look and everything would appear old, but was only created just over 6,000. years ago. So in essence we have a young earth.

A. In Genesis 1:1 we’re told that God created the Heaven and the Earth. The Hebrew word for created is “bara” a word that’s used only to describe the power of God. It implies starting from scratch. In Exodus 20:11 & 31:17 Moses didn’t use “bara”. Instead he used “asah”, a word that means to make something, like a man might take some lumber and make a house.

In Genesis 2:4 he used both words. First God created the heaven and the Earth and then he made the Earth into a place suitable for habitation. Nothing in the 6 day creation account requires these two acts to be simultaneous.

Then in Isaiah 45:18, a third word was added. First the Lord created it, then He made it, and then He formed it. The word for formed is yatsar, which means to fashion something from something else, like a potter forms a vase out of a lump of clay.

Isaiah said the Lord didn’t create the Earth formless. This seems to be a contradiction of Genesis 1:2 which seems to say the Earth was formless at first. But if you look at the Hebrew of Genesis 1:2 in its most literal sense, you discover that it reads, “but the Earth became formless and void” instead of “and the Earth was formless and void.” The Hebrew words translated formless and void mean an uninhabitable ruin, implying that some kind of destructive act made it that way. It appears that something happened between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2 that turned the Earth into an uninhabitable ruin, since God didn’t make it this way. Then we’re also told that darkness was on the face of the deep at that time.

Setting aside the speculation about what might have caused this, it appears that a span of time might have passed between Genesis 1:2 and Genesis 1:3 when God said “Let there be light” and the six 24 hour day creation account began.

This is why I said that I’m OK with an old Earth and a young civilization, and that such a belief is compatible with a 6 day creation account.

Website: www.gracethrufaith.com

God's Earth Science

More On The Gap Theory

Q. Do you believe in the Gap Theory? If not, how do you explain dinosaurs and other fossils that are millions of years old. Also I believe in Jeremiah they talk about the earth being destroyed in a previous age. Isaiah talks about how Lucifer was God’s favorite and blessed angel before pride got in the way. Please give reasons for whether you believe or not. Thanks for all your insight, I’ve learned a lot from you.

A. I accept the Gap Theory as it was originally proposed. And that is that the most literal translation of Genesis 1:2 is “But the earth became formless and void” rather than “and the Earth was formless and void.” This allows for the creation of angels and the judgment of Lucifer prior to the beginning of the Creation account in Genesis 1:3. A long gap of time between verses 2 and 3 while the Earth lay in darkness as a result of the judgment (and darkness was on the face of the deep) also reconciles the evidence for an old Earth with the Biblical claim of a young civilization without contradicting the 6 Day Creation story . Both Jeremiah 4:23 and Isaiah 45:18 seem to support this, being the only other places where the Hebrew words for formless and void are found.

But you can’t use the Gap Theory to explain fossils of dinosaurs, etc. I believe this a case where science is incorrect in its dating. Nor does it justify a pre-Adamite race of human-like beings. The Bible is clear that Adam was the first man, and Paul said that sin and death entered the world through Adam (Romans 5:12) The fossil record was created in Noah’s flood.

By the way the description of Lucifer you attributed to Isaiah is actually found in Ezekiel 28:12-19. Isaiah 14:12-20 is the companion passage to this.

Website: www.gracethrufaith.com