Chapter 1

Hayah

Existence

In The Beginning...

Perhaps the most important and least understood prophetic passage in Scripture is Genesis one. Yahuweh not only introduces Himself, explains the creation process, and presents His plan of redemption; He chronicles the seminal events of human history—past, present, and future—giving us the framework with which to understand His prophetic timeline. In addition to the three essential stories embedded in God’s initial testimony—creation, redemption, and prerecorded history—Yahweh also answers mankind’s most important question: why do we exist?

It is not uncommon for God to paint several pictures with the same brush. For example, when one reads the story of Abraham taking Isaac to Mount Mowriyah (better known as Moriah and meaning: Revere Yah) within the context of Genesis, and with a knowledge of archeology and history, it’s immediately apparent that the story chronicles an actual historical event. When one studies the details of this Old Covenant journey juxtaposed to its Renewed Covenant fulfillment it becomes obvious that the story was prophetic, providing a dress rehearsal for the Messiyah’s (better known as Messiah meaning: Anointed Implement of Yah) sacrifice at precisely the same place forty Yowbel (better known as Jubilee meaning: Lamb’s Redemptive Year) later. When one scrutinizes each word, comparing them to the actual Passover and the Miqra’ey (from Miqra’, meaning Called-Out Assembly) commemorating it, thoughtful readers will come to appreciate why this day remains the preeminent date on Yahweh’s calendar. And, when all of this is understood within the parameters of God’s plan of redemption, a timeline emerges that enables us to date the seminal events of man’s salvation—past, present, and future. The same is true for Genesis one.

Another example of a timeline embedded in a Scriptural account and three stories existing in one narrative, is Hosea’s marriage to the temple prostitute Gomer. It depicted an historical event. The betrothal served to acquaint the prophet and Yisra’el (better known as Israel, meaning to strive with God), circa 700 BCE, with a tangible means of appreciating the consequence of their infidelity with their Creator. Hosea’s marriage to Gomer, therefore, served as a metaphor, illustrating how the Yahuwdym (better known as Jews and meaning related to Yah) had broken their covenant with Yahweh. But that was not all. The story provided God with the framework with which to explain why He legally had to divorce Himself from His people. Moreover, the account provided relevant lessons for us today—especially for Catholics, Orthodox Christians, and Protestants—as their belief systems and cultures are very similar to those assailed in Hosea’s open letter to the Northern Kingdom. Finally, Hosea’s troubled marriage provided the framework on which to hang the timeline of the Messianic prophecies depicting Yahushua’s (better known as Jesus, and meaning Yah Saves) arrival in Jerusalem in 33 CE and again in 2033—God’s plan of salvation and reconciliation.

There are three timelines and three simultaneous narratives embedded in Genesis one, but the brush strokes are much broader, bolder, and more complex. As is His custom, Yahuweh chooses His colors for a reason and shades each word with great precision. So we will honor the universal artist by examining His selections under the microscope of Hebrew lexicons and amplification. As is my style, I will share the insights His Scripture and Spirit have revealed, connecting this painting to others the Master has drawn. If nothing else, my commentary will slow you down, causing you to reflect on the majesty of our Maker’s world and Word.

However, be forewarned: this chapter on “Existence” requires an additional layer of complexity in the midst of what is already an extremely challenging interwoven Scriptural tapestry. To comprehend the creative side of Yahuweh’s testimony, you will have to understand aspects of the theory of relativity, some physics, astronomy, biology, and evolution, as well as have some familiarity with the fossil record, statistical analysis, the concept of space-time, and the nature of light. I will do my best to provide the necessary insights for the uninitiated while not boring scientists or overwhelming those who have a limited interest in these discoveries. But no matter where you reside on the spectrum of contemporary scientific awareness, I beg your indulgence. What lies before you is challenging.

Before we begin, there is some good news. Yahuweh is correct. From His perspective it took precisely six twenty-four hour days to create the universe, our planet, life, and man. And scientists are right. Looking back from our perspective, the universe is somewhere between 10 and 20 billion years old. Yahweh is correct in that plants and animals reproduced after their kind and evolutionists are accurate in saying that some species have evolved. Yahweh not only agrees with the concept of the Big Bang, He was the first to use the term. God even uses scientific jargon in his presentation of dinosaurs, and in this regard His testimony is in complete harmony with the fossil record. Therefore, this scientific review of Genesis isn’t going to pit Creationism against Big Bang and Evolution, but instead demonstrate that they agree, right down to the details—at least where the facts are known and science is rational. The controversy only rages between the advocates of religion and secular humanists. God’s accounting and the facts are not in conflict, nor is Genesis contrary to valid science.

Yahuweh begins His open letter to man with a seven word sermon. “Bare’shith ‘elohiym bara’ ‘et hasamayim wa‘et ha‘erets...” Let’s examine each of these words.

Ba is from beth, the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It means “in, with, among, near, or in proximity to something.” Ba is “a maker of cause and effect, of reason, and of the account of simultaneous and overlapping events in time.” However, the word is not found in this form in Genesis 1, but rather exists as a compound representing the preposition “in,” before the Hebrew noun re’shith.

Re’shith conveys many pertinent thoughts, including: “first, beginning, the initiation of a process, the state of being or existence, firstfruits, that which is set aside or set-apart, best, and head of family.” In relationship to Yisra’el and the Yahuwdym, the “control group” of Yahuweh’s revelation, re’shith means “to make a division and to set apart.”

I use the term “control group” because that is the role Yahuwdym perform in Scripture. By choice and covenant, by word and deed, by land and spirit, they were separated from all other peoples to serve as a living, quantifiable, and documented example of the benefits of choosing to form a covenant relationship with Yahuweh, as well as the consequences of separating oneself from Him and the covenant. In these people, we witness the consequence of bonding with the Adversary via the religions and politics of man. By way of comparison, the mostly Gentile Ekklesia (better known as church, and meaning Called-Out Assembly) the beneficiaries of the Renewed Covenant, were “called out” of the world rather than separated from it like the Yahuwdym. Our roles and places are different.

The most significant aspect of re’shith, and the word’s second most frequent translational rendering, is “firstfruits—reaping the harvest of grain and waving a sheaf before Yahuweh so that it will be accepted.” (Leviticus 23:9-11) This is indicative of mankind’s vindication. As Yahweh’s third of seven Mow’ed Miqra’ey, or Appointed Called-Out Assembly Meetings, the Festival of FirstFruits follows Passover and Unleavened Bread, and is symbolic of the remission of sin. It signifies our acceptance before God and our reunification with Him.

The three spring Feasts commemorate actual historical events experienced during the Exodus. They are also prophetic, predicting when the Messiyah would redeem us. They are instructive, explaining precisely how God would ransom us from sin. During the Exodus, and during the ultimate fulfillment of the Miqra’ey, the blood of the Perfect Passover Lamb was smeared on an upright pole forming the doorway to eternal life. The following day, during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, yeast was removed from grain, synonymous with the removal of sin from our souls. This conferred an anointed and sinless state upon us, enabling us to be harvested by God, redeemed, and brought to His eternal storehouse on the third day in commemoration of FirstFruits. So in Scripture’s first word, God used a term which suggested that He had a specific plan to redeem that which He had yet to create, bringing mankind back into eternal fellowship. In many ways the first word’s diverse meanings summarize all the words which follow.

Continuing to focus on re’shith, we discover that the portal, or doorway, for the healing and reconciling transformation inferred by the use of the first word in the Genesis account also means “summit.” The summit of Mount Mowriyah is where Yahushua stood up for us so that we could stand with Him.

Re’shith can also be translated “head of family”—signifying that God is our Father. I find it interesting that ‘ab, the Hebrew word for “father” alphabetically, is the very first word in Yahuweh’s chosen language of revelation.

Re’shith denotes “sum and total,” communicating that the Scriptural message of redemption which follows is a complete summation of God’s plan and prescriptions. Re’shith even means “company,” introducing with the first word the subject of His revelation: beriyth/relationship.

Since Yahuweh created language, since He used language to create, and since Hebrew is His chosen language, every linguistic nuance of His Word’s first word, is worthy of our consideration. In that light we discover that re’shith has a scientific connotation in addition to its spiritual meaning. Re’shith “denotes the point when and where space and time began.” This is something we only came to understand quite recently. Despite what you may have been told, that scientists have demonstrated that the Genesis account is inaccurate, the truth is just the opposite. With each new discovery, the position of science is changing from being in conflict with Yahweh’s 3,200-year-old testimony to being in harmony with it. Old science has been refuted, not Yahuweh. For example, as recently as fifty years ago, prior to the discovery of the red shift in light, the overwhelming preponderance of scientists believed the universe was a constant, that it had always existed, and that it therefore wasn’t created. To quote England’s most acclaimed astronomer: “The notion the universe had a beginning is repugnant.” The truth is often repulsive to those who focus on the creation rather than the Creator. Yet if they were to change their perspective they would come to understand both better. They would discover that the universe had a beginning, a place where space and time began—a truth revealed three thousand years before man stumbled upon it.

While Yahuweh’s creation account isn’t merely a scientific explanation, it has proven scientific implications that humankind couldn’t appreciate before Einstein’s Theories of Special and General Relativity. They demonstrate that before matter was created through the transformation of energy into mass, there was no time or space. Time began when matter and space were formed. That is precisely what re’shith is telling us because re’shith is defined as: “the initiation of the process of the state of being, the first point in space-time.”

Consistent with Einstein’s Theory, where light is the universal constant, light was the first thing God made manifest. Like Yahuweh Himself, light exists outside, or beyond, the constraints of time. According to Relativity, at the velocity of light, the past, present, and future exist simultaneously. That is why the verb, hayah, “I was, I am, and I will be, We were, We are, and We will be,” lies at the heart of Yahweh’s name.

God exists beyond the confines of the four dimensions of time and space we understand. He sees yesterday, today, and tomorrow, here and there, as if they were all here and now. However, to relate to us and to enter our more finite realm, Yahweh can and does convert some of His light energy into matter. As a matter of fact, modern science has come to recognize that “all matter is just a mass of stable light.” And I believe this transformation, this diminishment of dimensions and energy, is what enabled Yahweh to tread among us as the Messiyah Yahushua—God existing in the confines of our dimensions and time.

Light, like Yahuweh, is not only the universal constant; it is the purest form of energy. And energy is the source and substance of matter. At creation, when energy became matter through Einstein’s E=mc², the four-dimensional construct we call “spacetime,” began. This is important because everlasting life—the nature of light, the definition of Yahweh’s name, the substance of Firstfruits, and the essence of revelation—requires a transition from our mortal three-dimensional existence, to God’s four-dimensional realm where time eternally exists in the past, present, and future.

That is not to say that Yahuweh and the universe He created are limited to four dimensions. The empirical evidence confirms that there are more. For example, scientists are completely baffled when it comes to explaining the nature of the strongest macro influence on the universe—gravity—the tendency of energy/matter to attract. And even if we were to stumble on gravity’s nature or cause, we would then only understand ten percent of the forces influencing our observable reality. Ninety percent of the energy/matter at work in the universe is black, or invisible to our observations. This completely unknown effect provides a counter-force to gravity, demonstrating a repulsive nature. String Theory suggests this could be the result of several more dimensions, albeit within a point and thus acting at the micro-atomic level.

While I could neither understand it nor prove it, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were seven dimensions—Yahuweh’s favorite number—with three of them intersecting at right angles at the micro level. If that were so, the fifth dimension might explain the repulsive nature of the unknown force influencing our universe. God might call this dimension choice, as it provides the ability for us to separate from God if we make light of His gravity. Under this premise, the sixth dimension would be gravity itself—the unknown source of universal attraction, the tendency of things to draw closer together. He might call it beriyth/relationship.

The seventh could provide the basis of consciousness and communication, the language of perfect communion, the essence of thought and creativity which binds us together and causes all things to happen. Many aspects of our universe, especially at the sub-atomic and galactic levels, demonstrate cognitive awareness. Examples are the half-lives of radioactive decay, whereby individual particles demonstrate coordinated behavior, and the ability of living cells and inorganic light to consciously communicate with and influence the behavior of other wave particles. Yahuweh might call the seventh dimension the Word, which may be why He had John write: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...and the Word became flesh and tabernacled with us and we beheld His radiance.”

From the perspective of the subject-verb-object sentence structure we are accustomed to in English, ‘elohiym is the second word in Yahweh’s opening salvo. It is the plural of ‘el, meaning “mighty one, deity, or god.” By using the plural form, Yahweh implied that His paternal nature, His maternal Ruach/Spirit, and their physical representation, Yahushua, were all present at creation—something the Messiyah confirms throughout His witness. While there is only one God, ‘elohiym serves to confirm that His redemptive and relationship manifestations—Son and Spirit—co-exist eternally, and that they are both set-apart from the same source.

Scripture’s third word is bara’. It means “to create” in the sense of “initiating something new which had not been in existence before.” The term is used prolifically by Isaiah in the context of his Messianic prophecies, especially as he predicts the advent of the Renewed Covenant. We will examine many of these predictions in due course.

Consistent with this regenerative and redemptive concept, ‘bara means: “creator, choice, transformation, dispatch, birth, perfection, produce miracles, perform a task, be cut down, and renewal, bringing back to a prior state.” The Creator chose to save mankind by transforming and dispatching part of Himself to be born among men, to live perfectly, producing miracles, and performing the task of allowing Himself to be cut down so as to renew our souls, bringing us back into fellowship.

By using re’shith, ‘elohiym and ‘bara Yahuweh is saying that He existed before anything else, and that He is first and foremost—our Creator, our Father, and our Savior. In addition, He is taking credit for the very existence of the universe and everything in it.

In the world’s only credible creation account, the Spirit who inspired Genesis is putting us on notice: we can accept or reject the claimant and His claims. In the thousand pages which follow His genesis testimony, the Author provides what He deems to be sufficient evidence for us to evaluate the veracity of His claims and determine the wisdom of choosing to acknowledge the Creator’s, Savior’s, and Father’s role in our existence and lives. What you choose to do with this information is up to you.

Scripture’s fourth and sixth words share the same base, ‘et. While the Hebrew term doesn’t need to be translated into English, it conveys “association and accompaniment.” ‘Et can be rendered “with, among, through, accordingly, and also.” ‘Et, or ‘eth, is derived from ‘owth, meaning “sign or signal to be observed and remembered.” It in turn is related to ‘uwth, meaning “consent,” as in “reaching an agreement.” These are both Messianic concepts.

Vocalized differently, the Hebrew letters in ‘et, alph thaw (אֵת), can be rendered ‘ath, also meaning “miraculous sign.” According to Scripture, and the Genesis account in particular, Yahweh’s most “miraculous sign” was the redemptive advent of Yahushua. And that’s particularly interesting because in Revelation, Yahushua says that He is the “alpha and omega,” the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, signifying that He is the beginning and end of all things. Alph thaw likewise represent the first and last letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  

Samayim, Yahuweh’s fifth word to mankind, can describe both “Heaven, the abode of God,” and “the physical heavens, the realm of stars.” Both are relevant to each of the three storylines. Samayim is based upon the Hebrew root meaning “lofty and elevated,” and as such, it speaks of the spiritual realm.

The seventh and final word of God’s first sentence is ‘erets. It’s primary definition describes a “region, realm, land, or territory,” which in this passage could be the material Universe, but neither our Solar System, Earth, Eden, nor Israel because these things wouldn’t come to exist for another ten billion years. ‘Erets can also be rendered “earth, as in “ground and soil,” and thus represents the abode of mortal man.” At the heart of ‘erets is the concept of “dirt,” as in “the minute physical and natural particles of matter” from which men and the universe are made. Therefore in this passage, at this time and in this context, the most obvious way to distinguish between samayim and ‘erets, is to render the samayim “the spiritual abode” and ‘erets “the material realm.”

It is important to remember that the first people who heard this message had no concept whatsoever of the planet Earth, much less any idea of what stars represented. It is likely that they would have understood ‘erets as the material world beneath their feet, as the ground itself. And they would have seen the heavens as the opposite of that which they could touch, as the abode of God, and as the place they wanted to be welcomed into at the end of their mortal life. So long as the divide was between physical and Spiritual, their perceptions would have been accurate and meaningful. And yet today, blessed as we are with a world view, and with a partial understanding of the universe, we can deduce a much bigger and more profound sense from these words. In that way, Yahweh’s Word was meaningful to all people in all ages.

Bringing it all together, the first seven words reveal: “In (ba - near, with, and in proximity to, regarding the account of) the beginning (re’shith - at the start of time and the initiation of the process of existence, concerning the first fruits, the head of the family), God (‘elohym - the Mighty Ones) accordingly (‘et - accompanying and in association) created (bara’ - performed a miracle, choosing perfect transformation and renewed birth, conceiving, planning, preparing, and producing) the (ha) universe, the spiritual world (samayim - the heavens, and the abode of stars) and (wa) also (‘et) the (ha) material realm (‘erets - matter, the physical and natural world).” (Genesis 1:1)

Speaking of these things, let’s take a moment to ponder the massiveness of our earthly spaceship and its universal intergalactic home, because there is a reason for its enormous scale in energy, space and time. It had to be precisely like it is for us to exist temporally as stardust transformed into life and for us to have the option to choose greater dimensions, to be reborn in the Spirit of Light. Should any aspect of the universe differ by so much as one part in a million million million million million million million million million million million million million million million million million million million million (1 in 10¹²⁰), the ripple effect on every other aspect of existence would cause our entire universe to implode. We could not and would not exist—nor could any form of life. While this does not prove the existence of a creator, it does demonstrate just how marvelously creation is tuned for the existence of life.

However, in our present form, trapped in time, humankind will never so much as leave our solar system. Three-dimensional mass cannot be accelerated to the speed of light, because the faster something moves, the greater its mass becomes. If an object were to reach the speed of light its mass would become infinite, filling the entire universe. Further, to move an infinite mass would take an infinite amount of energy-more energy than there is in the universe. Thus, no material thing can ever attain the speed of light, leaving the universal distances far too great to navigate. Complicating the matter, not only is the preponderance of the known universe beyond our cosmic neighborhood, because the most distant stars are moving away from us, due to the stretching of space, even if we could travel at the speed of light—a physical impossibility—we still wouldn’t be able to get there.

Therefore, our only hope of exploring the universe is to become greater than we are and eternal like our Creator. And when that happens, we will embark on a grand voyage. There are over 100 billion galaxies, each averaging 100 billion stars. Many, if not most, are replete with solar systems, planets, and moons. So when we are born anew in Spirit, and like light can travel through time, we will be able to explore the vastness and brilliance of Yahuweh’s creative genius. Since Scripture tells us that we will become like God and be light, we will experience the photon’s perspective, where from its point of reference while traversing enormous distances (186,282 miles per second) it appears to travel no distance and takes no time to do so.

While the vast scale of our universe is instructive, suggesting the need for a designer and creator, its minute scale is also thought-provoking. From our perspective, the substance of creation diminishes in scale equally rapidly and marvelously as it expands. The micro realm is comprised of molecules, atoms, electrons, and quarks, retreating infinitely inward beyond our vision. This suggests that our eternal investigations may one day be limitless in all directions and dimensions. This is why even agnostic scientists are anthropocentric—recognizing that man is actually at the center of the universe with regard to scale, and that the cosmos was tuned precisely for human existence. But why was it tuned for our existence and by whom is the question we are exploring.

Scripture’s second sentence provides some clues. It is equally enlightening. “The material realm (‘erets - the natural material of which the universe is comprised) exists (hayah) formless (tohu), as an orderless and empty void (bohu), obscured in darkness (chosek) along with (‘al - beside and together with) the presence (paniym) of the inaccessible and mysterious depths (tehowm - the abyss).” (Genesis 1:2)

Dissecting God’s message, we learn that without light, without Yahuweh who is Light, the universe, as well as our universe, is “tohu, bohu and chosek—lifeless, orderless, and dark.” Tohu is “formless, confusion, lifelessness and nothingness.” It is “ruinous and destructive chaos, the idolatry of worthless worship that emanates from false testimony.” Bohu is “a complete lack of order, a desolate and empty void.” To be chosek is to be “obscured in darkness.” Yahuweh relates these things to tahowm, the “abyss—the place of separation.” Tahowm is the “deep, dark, inaccessible, inexhaustible, and place” created for the eternal sorrow of Satan, his fellow demons, and those who league with them. This is a rather profound Spiritual insight.

But there is also a hint of science here. Tahowm is derived from huwm, meaning “great movement and noise.” Its most direct definition is “great explosion” or “big bang.” So, by using the term “Big Bang,” mankind’s most acclaimed competitive alternative to Genesis One, Yahweh is demonstrating that He has a sense of humor.

While most Americans are aware of the Big Bang Theory, a proposition in which the universe is said to have started out a hundred billion times smaller than a photon of light, it should be noted that according to MIT’s 2002 Physics Annual: “the theory doesn’t explain the big bang but instead its aftermath—that period of time in which the universe expanded and cooled. The theory says nothing about the underlying physics of the primordial explosion and provides no clues about when the bang occurred, what caused it to bang, or what happened before it banged.... The explosion theory gives no explanation for the razor-sharp fine-tuning of the universe...and thus does not describe a universe that resembles the one in which we live.” Now that’s the kind of honesty they don’t typically teach in schools or reveal in the media.

So that which is purported to be science, and thus is assumed to be testable, and taught as fact, isn’t either. The simple truth is: scientists still have more questions than answers and even their conclusions are constantly changing. But don’t accept my testimony on this, consider P.J.E. Peebles’ conclusion. He is the acknowledged leader in the field of universal beginnings, professor of Cosmology at Princeton University: “Cosmology—the study of the beginnings, formation, and evolution of our Universe—is currently in a badly confused state. At the moment, scientists don’t know what makes up 99% of the Universe. This, needless to say, is a rather embarrassing situation. Although much of what is visible in the Universe is becoming comprehensible, with great recent strides in understanding star formation, galactic structure, and spectacular events such as supernovae, it would appear that there is another component of the universe—possibly making up most of its mass—which we cannot see, and we do not understand.”

Turning to Someone who does understand, Genesis 1:2 reveals that while the scientific term “dark matter” is only a score of years old, Yahweh has always been familiar with the concept: “The natural material of which things are comprised (‘erets) exists (hayah) formless (tohu), as an empty void (bohu), obscured in darkness (chosek) along with the presence of the inaccessible and mysterious depths.” If they only knew where to look, long ago scientists would have come to recognize that God was explaining what happened, defining the very terms “Big Bang” and “Dark Matter” which astronomers and physicists would come to ponder, perhaps suggesting that they would never come to understand these “mysteries.”

In these verses, Yahweh is introducing the concept of relationship and separation. We must choose which side of the divide we want to be on—darkness, confusion, and lifelessness or light, instruction, and life—the family or the void. It should therefore be no surprise then that light, instruction, and life occupy Yahweh’s thoughts over the first three days of creation and that on the fourth day He presents the ultimate guide to them.

While we are on the subject of God knowing that which man does not know, of God being light, and of man stumbling in the darkness, the most recent tests conducted by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe satellite experiment show that dark energy, the force which is unknown to man, occupies 73% of the universe, and dark matter, the effect which is unknown to man, represents 23% of universal content. Thus our known and testable theories can only account for 4% of the energy and matter in the universe. All we know about Dark Energy is that it is both ubiquitous and repulsive and that its relationship to Dark Matter suggests fine-tuning manifest through intelligent design.

While it isn’t pertinent to our discussion, should you be interested, the reason scientists know that a substance they call “Dark Matter” exists is because spiral galaxies are spinning ten times faster than the laws of physics specify based upon the gravitational effect of their observed mass. And the reason we know that something scientists refer to as “Dark Energy” exists is because the universe’s expansion is accelerating. If it were not for an unknown source of enormous energy, the cumulative effect of gravity would slow and then contract the universe—the opposite of what we are observing. Further, “dark” isn’t a pejorative. It simply means that we are unable to see it, much less understand what it is. Also, keep in mind that “matter” is a form of energy, so the distinction between them in these terms isn’t instructive.

Before we advance further into Yahuweh’s testimony, let’s establish a more complete foundation so that we can better appreciate what God has to say. In that regard, it’s important to recognize that how God created the universe was well beyond the vocabulary and comprehension of His initial audience. The languages of astronomy, physics and calculus, the matrix of space-time and relativity, the equivalency of energy and matter, and the language of life, DNA, would not be understood for another 3,500 years. Without them, it was absolutely impossible to explain how the universe and life were conceived. Even with these advances, mankind’s quest to comprehend our existence remains clouded and unfulfilled. Therefore, for the Creation account to be relevant for all people in all ages, for there to be something all generations could understand and apply regardless of their time or circumstance, there must be storylines other than how.

And so there are. But sadly, these themes are not commonly known. And what’s even more egregious is that which is taught is usually wrong. Fortunately, today we are in a position to appreciate the significance of each message.

For example, in the last thirty years scientists have discovered that Yahuweh was right regarding every important aspect of the beginnings of the universe and of life. The cosmos had a genesis, contrary to what most astronomers believed at the middle part of the 20^th century. The universe began with an enormous, practically infinite, concentration of energy in a singular place and time, a big bang, consistent with Yahuweh’s declaration and terminology. Light was in fact the first thing to exist. This energy would eventually coalesce to form matter. We even find that the universe is stretched out and consists of space-time, again harmonious with Yahweh’s accounting.

Plants preceded animals, and such simple forms of life emerged from the sea the moment liquid water existed on the earth, consistent with Yahuweh’s assertions but not with Darwin’s. Plants and animals are both comprised of the elements of the earth and they literally exploded unto the scene in separate eras, in absolute accordance with the Genesis testimony. The fossil evidence confirms that there was no gradual mutation from simple to complex life forms nor was there an evolutionary tree between phyla—the basic categories of life. As we shall discover, Yahuweh’s witness is accurate: representatives of each of the thirty-four animal phylum alive today were present among the fossils of the Cambrian Period. They all came to exist, reproduced after their kind and flourished in their complex forms within a cosmic nanosecond of less than five million years. Insects and fish, vertebrates and invertebrates, complex bone structures and most sophisticated internal organs, even male and female forms all appeared simultaneously in one enormous explosion of life—precisely as Yahuweh described it, and in complete discord with macro-evolutionary theory.

In fact, it is macro-evolutionary theory which is errant. Not only do harmful mutations (which destroy information) outnumber beneficial ones by a million to one in the genome (genetic structure including chromosomes, genes, and nucleotides), natural selection, acting on the phenome (entire body) rather than genome, is unable to keep pace, meaning that every animal species is irrevocably degenerating over time—not evolving to become more complex organisms. Further, no scientist has been able to demonstrate that any animal gene mutation has actually added a meaningful amount of new information. While some random mutations have been beneficial, they are insignificant in quantity compared to destructive changes, and they are irrelevant in comparison to the vast differences between species. We will return to this subject (which forms the foundation of the scientific mindset and secular humanism) and discuss in great detail in the “Chay - Life” chapter.

Yahuweh’s three-thousand-year-old creation account, barring three potential and very revealing exceptions, is completely consistent with the evidence mankind has most recently discovered. And yet while that’s true, one-year-old high school and college textbooks, still clinging to the notions modern scientists have since disproved, are errant. In fact, science would be advanced in schools if Genesis were understood and taught.

Now don’t get me wrong. This will not be a religion versus science debate. I despise the first, because clerics are usually misguided. And I enjoy the latter, because the evidence scientists discover almost always points to God, confirming His witness. Such is the case regarding our existence. Yahuweh’s testimony has not changed in 3,000 years. He was right all along, which is not surprising since He was an eyewitness. It is the late 20^th-century scientists who have come full circle. Based upon the evidence, they now agree with God, although it remains too painful for most of them to admit it. Moreover, their predecessors, the fathers of modern science—Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Newton, even Darwin and Einstein, were acquainted with the God of Scripture.

In this light, let’s review some scientific highlights that are pertinent to our discussion. We begin by recognizing that without the existence and active engagement of God, or an inconceivably enormous energy system completely unknown to us, the universe could not be expanding at an accelerating pace. Its expansion would slow due to the effect of gravity if there were not an active and enormous source of energy currently at work.

Next we must consider, DNA, the double helix computer code of life. This blueprint is a language, and languages require a creator, a beneficiary, and a purpose. No designer, no language—especially one with billions of character combinations providing instructions to one hundred trillion human cells.

Further, the odds of elements accidentally engaging in a manner capable of forming life, and doing so with nutrients available, a means to acquire and process a food source, and a means to reproduce itself, all within the five million year timeframe this actually occurred, is astronomical beyond reason, beyond belief. Statistically, it is less than one chance in ten to the billionth, billionth power. This probability is so ludicrously extreme the number exceeds the quantity of fundamental molecular particles in the entire universe by a million-billion fold.

Furthermore, since life existed on earth immediately after liquid water was available; there was no time for random chance in either inception or mutation. Mathematically, biologically, and physically speaking, macro-evolution from inorganic matter to complex life forms through random chance and natural selection rather than intelligent design is so improbable that belief in such a theory ironically requires a blind leap of faith, one that requires ignorance of the evidence and a complete suspension of reason.

Moreover, the universe is clearly built around man in scale, substance, and tuning. It retreats inwardly just as significantly as it expands outwardly. Life requires the specific elements, parameters, and behaviors we find. According to current scientific models, if any one of a thousand physical aspects differed by as little as one part in 10^120th power, life could not exist in any form. Therefore our reality is consistent with God having created the universe for man and inconsistent with random chance.

There are three places where some see Scripture to be in conflict with the still-touted, yet completely irrational and unverifiable, universal theory of non-causal big bang and random chance macro-evolution. They are as follows:

First, the Scriptures speak of micro-evolution, of all phylum of things replicating after their kind, and not of systemic macro-evolution, that is of chemicals to amoebas to humans. In support of God’s position, there is but one transitional body form in the fossil record (not so coincidently the very one that the Scriptures anticipated us finding), and there would have to be millions of them for macro-evolution to be accurate. Further, the second law of thermodynamics, the notion of entropy, that disorder and randomness evolve in closed systems, or that systems mutate from ordered complexity to confused disarray, without outside influence, has always served as macro-evolution’s death certificate. This law states that information is lost, not gained in transmitted messages and that there is a universal tendency for all matter and energy to evolve toward an inert and deteriorated state. Animals evolve downward, losing genetic information with time, consistent with the laws of thermodynamics.

The second difference between creation and science is the early timing of water on the first day and its emphasis on the second day of Genesis. But even here, God’s testimony is accurate. He isn’t talking about liquid water on earth but instead interstellar molecular clouds. When we apply the lessons of relativity to creation, the first day covers eight billion years from our perspective and the second day, four billion years. Calibrated to the perspective of the witness, the focus on water during these stages is essential. Water is the second most abundant molecule in the universe, ranking only behind molecular hydrogen, H₂. Interstellar clouds are especially loaded with it, and they serve as the maternity wards of the universe where new stars, planets, and comets are born. Moreover, water is the central ingredient in all organic systems, which is why scientists look for it first when searching for extraterrestrial life. Therefore, in Genesis, water takes its rightful and scientifically accurate position related to the beginnings of stars on the first day, of our solar system on the second day, and for the emergence of plant life on the third day.

But there is more to it: water plays a crucial role during this period of our spiritual development as well as in man’s history. So its inclusion makes perfect sense when the creation account is seen depicting the why of creation and the when of our salvation, replete with Yahuweh’s plan of redemption. Water is Scripture’s primary metaphor for the purification of man’s soul. Moreover, in the second millennium of human history, the waters of the flood were used to purge the earth of corruption. We will detail how these events relate to the Genesis account as the days unfold.

The third perceived conflict between science and Scripture is the most glaring. If the fourth day were about the creation of the sun and the moon, it is out of place. Vegetation, which is said to have blossomed on the third day, could not have existed without the sun. But if, as God shall demonstrate, the fourth day is the fourth millennium in the story of man’s redemption after the fall, then its “signs, signals, and remembrances” are precisely where they must be—tied directly to the arrival of the Messiyah. Additionally, God does not say that He created the sun, moon and stars during the fourth day, but only that they would be “signs,” and thus would be visible at this time.

Scientifically speaking, the Genesis testimony is an accurate chronological depiction of what actually occurred. The sun had existed for billions years before the atmospheric debris from the onslaught of volcanic activity and the aftermath of countless asteroid impacts settled sufficiently for the sun to be seen. The dust settled and plants gradually filtered out the carbon-dioxide that had been spewed into the air, creating and transforming the atmosphere into the oxygen rich and nearly transparent condition which exists today. The sun and moon could finally be seen in the fourth era of universal creation.

Also pertinent, we find in the fossil record that there is a billion-year gap between the “earth bringing forth simple plant life” and the emergence of complex “sea animals which exploded unto the scene,” using the parlance of Genesis. This gap is acknowledged in God’s accounting. Further, having the creation of plant and animal life separated by a cosmological epoch enables Yahuweh to devote the fourth day to a different form of life—eternal and spiritual life.

The biggest barrier for most people however, between science and Scripture, is that it’s obvious that all of this could not have occurred in six earth days. Unfortunately, most everyone deals with the conundrum by either accepting the impossible as fact or by discrediting the Genesis account, and therefore all Scripture with it. Not only are both choices errant, they both lead away from God.

On the subject of a cosmological day, over the course of the first three chapters, we’ll reveal how the universe can be both six days and fifteen billion years old—depending upon the perspective of the witness. But for now, appreciate the fact that the best current estimation of cosmological age is between 10 and 20 billion years—with 14 to 16 billion years, plus or minus 10%, being the most likely range.

There are two primary astronomical methods of measure for universal age, pulsars and red shift, but they both employ a substantial array of unproven and even un-testable assumptions. For example, we know that the universe has not been constant, and consistency is required for either method to render a reasonable result. In addition, both astronomical calculations are forced to speculate regarding the nature and effect of 96% of the actual energy and/or matter in the universe, rendering their conclusions based upon the observable 4%.

This known and assumptions aside, man’s most enlightened guess, inclusive of studies of carbon dating, star evolution, and nuclear fuel consumption is that the universe was created in a “Big Bang” some 14 to 16 billion years ago when energy was first transformed into matter. The initial galactic formation stage lasted about eight billion years. Our planet, orbiting around a second generation star, was formed just over four billion years ago. The first signs of plant life on Earth manifest themselves shortly thereafter, as liquid water made its way onto the scene. These plants produced oxygen, helping to clear the atmosphere two billion years ago. This provided the catalyst needed for the emergence of more complex and energy-dependant animals one billion years later.

As you may have noticed, these events not only parallel the Genesis account, they occurred in the same order God specified. Equally important, the duration of each cosmological epoch diminished at the rate of what’s known as nature’s spiral. Each successive aspect of the spiral is approximately half the size of the one which preceded it.

While it would be too premature at this point to get into a discussion on the longevity of man’s time on earth, the evidence indicates that Homo sapiens have existed a hundred thousand years or more. In the “‘Eden - Joy” chapter, we will discuss why this too is completely harmonious with God’s testimony.

Since I’ve broached the subject of “testability,” there are two popular and contemporary myths I’d like to bust. First, despite secular humanist claims to the contrary, many of the scientific theories taught in schools as “science,” which by their definition comprise those things which can be empirically tested, cannot in fact be validated. Even worse, many, if not most of man’s cosmological, molecular, and biological evolutionary theories are in conflict with the empirical evidence and reason. While we know many things, most of the fundamentals currently escape our grasp.

For example, we don’t even know how many dimensions actually exist. Some scientists claim two within a holographic construct, the mundane say three, relativists claim four inclusive of time, but the more adventurous string theorists promote seven to ten.

We don’t know how many forces are operating within these unknown dimensions. Electricity and magnetism are both forces but they not only change from one form to another in moving fields, they coexist in light which is not a force. Gluons are thought to generate the strong nuclear force, holding quarks together, but explanations of how that occurs requires un-testable String Theory in which the math itself is too complex to formulate or calculate. According to the theory, as many as 10^60th colors, or variations, of these invisible rascals are needed to rationalize our reality.

Gravity remains a complete mystery to man, with Quantum Theory and Relativity mired in an unresolvable conflict as to what generates its attraction. The first calls it a force but can’t qualify the mechanism and the second says it’s an effect. Staying in the macro realm, ninety percent of the universe’s energy cannot be accounted for within the matrix of spacetime or within the assumed construct of three to five fundamental forces. And that means that the Big Bang theory, apart from an intelligent designer and instigator, is errant by 96%. Only arrogant fools would postulate a theory as being “true” when it is in fact 96% wrong.

Turning to molecular constructs, there is no assurance that quarks and gluons represent the minutest atomic particles, but only that something smaller in scale eludes our ability to detect it or them. More befuddling still, there is no assurance these or any particles actually exist. The material world could be, and probably is, nothing more than organized manifestations of energy with everything in motion.

On the biological front, every attempt to mathematically demonstrate that life, given enough time, could have emerged by random chance from inorganic matter has failed. The fact is, the fossil record confirms that the two billion years needed for the improbable to become probable has evaporated by at least 99%, thereby rendering man’s conclusions errant once again. Further, in the transition from plant to animal life, macro-evolutionary theory predicts the opposite of what we have observed. Rather than a single and simple animal body-type gradually coming to exist from which all others were eventually evolved, every animal phyla known today burst on to the scene at the same time.

Without a Creator there is no way to explain the development of life’s extraordinarily complex blueprint, the binary language of cell communication, DNA. And the simultaneous existence of male and female forms occurring in one species, much less every species, by random chance and evolutionary mutation is absurd. Moreover, even if these things could be miraculously resolved, science still has no concept as to what consciousness is or how it came to exist. Nothing is more fundamental to life.

Therefore, the core building blocks of cosmological, molecular, and biological science remain mysterious and un-testable. Scientific assumptions not only haven’t been proven, they can’t be tested, and those which can be demonstrated have been found to be wrong. And that would explain why secular humanists don’t want intelligent design taught in schools. They know that their theories won’t stand up to scrutiny. But it begs the question: why are the promoters of America’s national religion so arrogant as to say that they are right and that God is wrong when the opposite is actually true? (If you’re curious you’ll find the answer in Romans, chapter one.)

That leads us to the second myth. All of these things, and especially the existence of the male and female form, are explained in Genesis, with God providing His rationale for everything He did. Moreover, the notion that is advanced in popular culture, that Scripture cannot be tested and therefore cannot be taught as science, isn’t accurate. Yahuweh’s Word can be validated. God even told us how to do so: evaluate His prophetic predictions. Yahweh inspired men to document His forecast of future history centuries and millennia before the events they foretold occurred. He provided us with tangible evidence of their existence—proof—a paper trail of His prophetic proclamations. We can therefore test His witness against the ledger of history and archeology.

By checking to see if each prediction was fulfilled exactly when, where, and how the Scriptures predicted it would occur, as evidenced by archeology and recorded history, we create a testable environment consistent with scientific theory. Then using statistical analysis we can compute the probability of these events unfolding as they were predicted by random chance versus the actual foreknowledge of the Author. In the “Playing the Odds” chapter of Tea With Terrorists we calculated the probability that twenty of the more specific Messianic prophecies could have been fulfilled randomly. I chose these because with the Dead Sea’s Scrolls, we possess actual written copies of God’s predictions that predate the forecast enactment as well as copious contemporary written eyewitness records of the fulfillment. The odds against Yahushua being “lucky” were at least 10, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000 to one—more commonly known as impossible.

Testing aside, there is another measure of proof. Consider the fact that God’s testimony regarding the creation of life and the universe is over 3,000 years old, and yet it is perfectly accurate. The scientific assumptions over that period have been rewritten a thousand times, with each new theory repudiating the prior one. The moral of this story is that it is wise to trust someone who has consistently told us the truth.

That said, the universe isn’t 6,000 years old as the Creationists advocate. When they postulate such nonsense they embarrass themselves and prevent many from trusting the only Scriptures that can not only explain the existence of life but can also provide the means to sustain it.

The word for “day” used in Genesis is yowm. It is based upon an unused root meaning “to be hot.” Yowm can mean “day, time period, year,” or simply “warm.” As a day, yowm can last from sunrise to sunset, from sunrise to sunrise, or from sunset to sunset, as is Yah’s custom. A yowm is “a lifetime, an indefinite period in time, a generic temporal reference, today, yesterday, or tomorrow.” It is only a twenty-four hour period of time when yowm is modified by the definite article or by a cardinal number. In Scripture, yowm is translated: “afternoon, age, always, chronicles, continually, daily, day, days, first, forever, life, long, period, time, today, when, year, and years,” on multiple occasions.

That said, I have a confession to make. Not long ago I viewed the creation account through this lens. I considered yowm to designate a general period of time or an unspecified era. But live and learn: time is not a constant, and like matter, it did not always exist. Time is relative, differing considerably in relation to the velocity, energy, and/or mass of one observer relative to another. At the velocity of light, for example, time stands still. As we progress in this study, with the help of physicists, we shall prove scientifically that from Yahuweh’s vantage point at creation, not only is the universe six twenty-four-hour days old, but that each day uses a natural spiral to lay out a timeline from light to life over the course of nearly 16 billion years looking back in time from our perspective.

But there is more. As I have shared, the Genesis account is three stories in one. In addition to creation, Yahuweh is providing us with an accounting of our salvation and of human history. So to appreciate how and when the events unfolded, to understand Yahuweh’s timeline past and present, we will have to search the Scriptures for definitions. And for that, there is no better place than the 90^th Psalm. In it Moshe (Moses) provides us with the quantification of the unit of measure Yahuweh is using. But before he gets to it, the great liberator and prophet shares some valuable insights for living that I’d be remiss for not exploring.

If you’re checking, the 90^th Psalm opens with “Lord,” regardless of which Bible you are reading. Lord was rendered from the Masoretic substitution of ‘adonay for YHWH, pronounced, Yah · uw · eh. Fortunately, based upon the Septuagint, we know Moshe wrote “Yahuweh.” This is one of 132 times that the Masoretes were guilty of making this specific copyedit, purposely changing Scripture to suit their agenda—which was to keep God’s name unknown. On 6,868 other occasions, the rabbinical Masoretes (meaning: those who vocalize) left Yahuweh’s name in the text but wrote “’adonay” above it so that whoever read the passage wouldn’t commit the religious crime of actually revealing God’s personal and proper name. Then, rather than transliterate (replicate the sound of) the name which actually appeared in the text 7,000 times, consistent with the required convention, English translators ignored YHWH and translated the rabbinical substitution instead. The combination of these grievous and purposeful errors has robbed billions of people of a personal relationship with God and has served as a catalyst in the growth of many religions. The systematic removal of Yahuweh’s name from His Scripture may be the greatest crime ever perpetrated against humanity.

“A request and petition (tapillah - an earnest prayer and plea for favor, a sincere request for intervention and judgment, for a decision which is morally and justly discerned) of (la - by, concerning, and on behalf of) Moshe (Mosheh / Moseh - the one who draws out), a man (‘iysh - male individual) of God (‘elohym - the Mighty One): Yahuweh, You (‘atah) are, have been, and will be (hayah - exist as) associated with (la - concerned about, near, and the means to) our (nahanu) dwelling place and provision (ma’own - abode and refuge, help, and support) throughout (ba - in, among, and with) all periods of time and generations of life (dowr dowr - in the household and family home, in the encampment and dwelling place for those who are related by birth).” (Psalm 90:1)

This passage links hayah, the basis of Yahuweh’s name (I was, I am, and I will be), and the second most repeated word in Genesis one, to our past, present and future dwelling place, our ultimate provision through rebirth, leading to everlasting life. As we have just discovered, hayah, plays a significant role in the account of our creation and continued existence. The Hebrew verb is all about time. It is another way of Yahuweh telling us that He and His accounting of time combine past, present, and future together as if they were one and eternal. Because He is one and eternal, we can be one with Him eternally.

By speaking of redemption in a creation context, this Psalm provides additional clues to suggest that God’s creation account is a spiritual guide to salvation, a scientific explanation of our existence, and a prophetic history of time all melded together. As such, it is the most brilliant and inspired treatise ever committed to paper.

In this passage, ma’own’s dual meanings coalesce within the nature and purpose of Yahuweh. God’s principle goal is to bring us into His “dwelling place,” His “home and abode, the place where we live and abide” with Him in the spiritual realm. But this is a place only God Himself can take us. So in the material world, His “great care and concern for us” has caused Him “to help us by providing the provision and support” which is required to transcend material mortality and enter spiritual immortality. Interesting in this regard, ma’own is derived from ‘ownah, which conveys “cohabitation, to dwell together in marriage as a family.” All of Scripture is focused on a Covenant relationship which in turn is based upon family, home, and marriage. That perspective is being underscored here.

Similarly, dowr’s dual connotations coalesce into one when they are considered in this context, which is why I suppose the word was repeated in the text. Yahweh didn’t want us to miss the fact that He is “associated with, concerned about, near, and the means to our provision and dwelling place” not only “throughout all periods of time and generations,” but also with regard to His “household and family,” His “encampment for those who are related by birth.” Here, God is speaking of our Spiritual rebirth which leads to being adopted into His family, becoming Yahuwdym, meaning: “those who are related to and belong with Yah.”

But more than this, Yahweh is introducing us to the underlying meaning behind the fall Miqra’ey: Taruw’ah, Kippurym, and Sukah. Taruw’ah, meaning “to signal an alarm,” “to shout for joy,” and “gateway to healing,” is encapsulated in the twin connotations of tapillah: “an earnest prayer and plea for favor,” as well as “a sincere request for intervention and judgment, for a decision which is morally discerned.” Kippurym, meaning “reconciliations,” is based upon ma’owm. Because of God’s “great care and concern for us” at Kippurym He “summons us, calls and pleads with us, to come into the presence” of His “provision, help, and support” which is provided by the Set-Apart Spirit. By way of our Spiritual Mother, we are reborn and thus prepared to “campout” with God. This in turn leads us to Sukah, meaning God’s “encampment for life and protected shelter,” His “tabernacle and home.” Sukah is synonymous with dowr: “the timeless household and family home, the encampment and dwelling place for those who are related by birth.” It means that we get to campout with God.

Before we continue, I’d like to pause here for a moment and reflect. What we have done with Psalm 90, verse 1, is to meticulously examine the complete meaning and shading of each Hebrew word using the best etymological lexicons and dictionaries and then consider the full implication of these words within the context of the passage and Scripture as a whole. This is not unlike viewing blood under a microscope as opposed to the naked eye. The microscope doesn’t change or alter the blood in any way; it simply reveals what was always there, enabling us to better understand its nature, design, and function.

This does not make my translations inerrant nor my commentary inspired. That said, the only inspired commentary is when Scripture explains itself. Further, all translations are inadequate and misleading at best. So my advice to you is the same as God’s: trust Yahweh and not men. Purchase some of the tools listed in “Re’shith - Beginning” and with the aid of the Spirit, examine Yah’s Word yourself. Do what Moshe did: “tapillah - earnestly pray and plea for favor, making a sincere request for intervention and judgment, for decisions which are morally discerned.” Test the evidence, and be judgmental, discerning, and discriminating.

As mentioned before, Psalm 90 provides some of the keys needed to decipher and quantify the Genesis one revelation. That is why I believe it references the formation of the earth. But you’ll also notice here that God accurately depicts the earth’s violent beginnings. “Because (ba) before (terem - previous to the time) the mountains (har - hills, ridges, ranges, and elevated land formations) were born (yalad - conceived through labor) on the earth (‘erets - on the land, in the area or region, or on the ground) and the world (tebel - planet or universe) was brought forth violently (hyl -  born in distress, akin to labor pains, in trembling and shaking), even from (min) before time (‘ad - from perpetuity, from as far back as eternity, and continuously existing, forever), You (‘atah) were infinitely powerful, and always existed as God (‘owlam ‘el - the everlasting Mighty One, the limitless authority with unlimited ability and authority throughout all time).” (Psalm 90:2) In this verse, Yahweh used ‘erets, meaning “region, realm, land, area, or earth in the sense of dirt,” and tebel, meaning “world,” to help distinguish between these concepts. Keep this in mind as we cover the subject of Noah and the flood.

Man is wont to make God infinite in all areas, saying that He is omnipresent, omnipotent, and all knowing. But Yahuweh only says that His power and mercy are unlimited—as well as His existence. For God to be omnipresent, and thus to be unlimited in scale or size, He ceases to be a unique individual, becoming the universe itself, and thus would be in all things from rocks to slugs. For God to be all knowing, there would be no merit to creation or to forming a relationship with other individuals. These are things He wants to experience, to enjoy, and to grow from.

Also relevant, Yahweh specifically tells us that the sins of those who are born anew into His family are no longer known to Him. And He makes no attempt to know those who make no effort to know Him.

“You return and restore (shuwb - come back to change and renew, transforming) mortal humankind (‘enowsh) forever (‘ad - eternally) from being crushed, diminished, and destroyed (dakka’ - from being reduced to nothingness by grinding and pressing minute natural and material particles into annihilation; a state of despondency pertaining to emotional grieving as the result of sin), and say (‘amar - think, instruct, declare, and promise): ‘Return, be changed and restored (shuwb - turn around, be renewed and transformed, establish spiritual relations, repaired, and refreshed) children (ben - sons and offspring, descendants; from banah, meaning those who build a home and family, who are restored and established) of Adam/man (‘adam - the name of the first man with a nesamah/conscience).’” (Psalm 90:3) Mortal men must be restored in order to keep from returning to the dust from which we came.

While we turned to this passage for the unit of measure needed to unlock the prophetic implications of the Genesis one timeline, the journey into this Psalm has been priceless. Here God reveals that His plan is to “restore and renew mortal man.” And to that purpose He “calls us to return to Him, to change our ways, and thus to be “transformed and established,” “eternally kept from being annihilated.” This is the embodiment of Yowm Kippurym, of the Day of Reconciliations, where God summons us to come to Him, warning those who don’t, that their souls will be destroyed.

Over the course of three verses, there have been three words for “man.” The first was ‘iysh/individual, which was used in reference to Moshe being a “man of God.” The second, ‘enowsh, represented “mortal humankind” on the precipice of annihilation or eternal existence. Third we found ‘adam, representing the descendants of the first man with a nesamah/conscience, the unique ability to distinguish between right and wrong. Without transformation, the ‘enowsh/mortals are returned to dust. They are diminished with some being destroyed and others rendered to a state of despondency over sin. The sons of Adam, however, who respond to God’s call, choosing to change and to be restored, are able to establish eternal spiritual relations with Yahweh.

Now, from the perspective of Genesis one, here is the payoff line: “Indeed because (kiy - truly and surely) a thousand (‘eleph) years (shanah - renewals, a repetitive division of time marked by seasons and equating to the duration of life) in (ba) your (‘atah) sight and perspective (‘ayin - eyes, presence, knowledge, thinking, and understanding) are like (ka - the same as and equate to) a day (yowm), the same as yesterday (tamowl) when (kiy) it passes by (‘abar) a perceptive observer (shamar - one who takes heed and pays attention so as to be saved) in (ba) the (ha) night (layil - time of darkness when there is no light).” (Psalm 90:4)

According to the Psalm, “perspective” and “presence” are essential elements in the calibration of time. This is in essence, the same claim Albert Einstein made in support of Special and General Relativity.

But more than that, from our “perspective” and from our “presence” here on earth as mortal men, one of our “days” is “like a thousand years.” Therefore, if we extrapolate to the portrayal of prophetic history and the unfolding story of our salvation in the Creation account, each of the seven days depicted in the Genesis one represents a one-thousand-year period. This aspect of time is not random, but instead has been quantified.

But as it relates to cosmological time, Genesis readers still have several choices. They can believe that the universe, our solar system, life, and man were created in six solar days, one of which occurred before our sun was created, two before the earth existed, and three before sunrises and sunsets were even visible, in complete disregard for the scientific evidence to the contrary. According to recent surveys, most Americans believe the unbelievable. If you are one of them, visit the Creation Institute on the web. You will find many like-minded folks.

The second option, at least at this point before Yahweh has introduced us to the concept of relativity, is render the word yowm as an imprecise “period of time” and not fret over the details. But if you were of that inclination, you probably wouldn’t be reading this book. Yada Yahweh is committed to taking Yahuweh at His word and to considering His words seriously.

Third, Genesis can be scrapped as a scientific explanation and be read exclusively for its spiritual insights. This is the Vatican’s most current view. The Church, which has a knack for being wrong, recently issued a statement saying that the creation account wasn’t accurate and that at best, God played a distant, fatherly role, in our genesis.

I am partial to the fourth option, viewing yowm as a precise quantitative measurement, as an accurate accounting, but relative to the “presence and perspective” of the witness. That is the course we shall chart in this chapter because it provides the best fit between Yahuweh’s testimony, evidence, and reason.

However, within the framework of six plus one and of a day being equivalent to one thousand years, the readers of Genesis cannot be faithful to the text and ignore the fact that the “days” of creation are prophetic. They reveal the key aspects of our salvation history—past, present, and future—from the fall of Adam to the fall of man, and then to the final Millennial Sabbath. For this accounting Psalm 90 was essential because it provided the scale of one day representing one thousand years. Nearly six millennia of human history has passed since man, as we know him, came to exist. In that, God’s word, science, and recorded history all agree.

 Now that we have our bearings, let’s move on to the second half of Genesis’ second verse, picking up the relative cosmological timeline at the end of the first day. Here we are told that the Creator is Spirit (a radical concept at the time idols were ubiquitous), and that God set apart part of Himself for a purpose. The Ruwach/Spirit is introduced “purifying and cleansing, protecting by hovering over” God’s creation. This is the role the Spirit plays in the lives of those who are saved.

After saying “The material realm (the natural material of which the universe is comprised) exists formless, as an orderless and empty void, obscured in darkness along with (beside and together with) the presence of the inaccessible and mysterious depths,” Yahweh revealed: “And (wa) the Spirit (ruwach) of God (‘elohym) washed, purified, and hovered over (rachaph - quickly and rapidly moved) in accordance with (‘al - upon, concerning, beside, on behalf of, on account of, and together with) the presence (paniym) of water (mayim).” (Genesis 1:2)

Before we examine this passage, a word regarding transliteration is in order. There is no right or wrong way to alphabetically convey the proper pronunciation of Yahuweh, ruwach, or ‘elohym, but there is a right and wrong way to present them. Names must be transliterated while words should all be translated. That known, the “w” in God’s name is a consonant-vowel. It usually conveys the “u,” “o,” or “oo,” sound in English. Therefore, writing “Yahweh” is correct so long as the “w” is vocalized as a “u.”

Also be aware that since God told Moshe that His personal name was based upon the verb hayah, meaning “to exist,” it is possible, even probable, that the Creator’s proper designation is pronounced “Yah · uw · ah” rather than “Yah · uw · eh.” In Yada Yahweh I have chosen to consistently represent God’s name as “Yahuweh” in the Scripture citations, but then use “Yahweh” in my commentary (the most common and accepted form of His name) to accommodate those using search engines to find articles on this subject. I will also use “Yah,” knowing that Scripture confirms God’s acceptance of this friendlier form.

In that ruwach and ‘elohym are words and not names, the only purpose in transliterating them is to convey the sound of the Hebrew words using English characters. This is done so that readers come to know the basis from which the translation is derived. In this regard, there are often several acceptable variations. For example, while there is a “w” in ruwach, it is often omitted in favor or the “u” sound it renders. In the case of ‘elohym, the first letter is the Hebrew Alef. While it almost always conveys the vowel sound of the English “a” or “e,” it is considered silent by linguists and is thus usually represented in transliterations with an apostrophe. The same is true with the Hebrew letter Ayin, but omitting the apostrophe is also considered acceptable, making elohym and ‘elohym equally suitable. And that brings us to the Hebrew Yod. Since it is usually a vowel conveying the English “i” sound, the letter “y” is often replaced with an “i,” or shown with an “i” in addition to the “y,” in transliterations. Therefore ‘elohim, ‘elohiym, and ‘elohym are all acceptable.

While on the subject of ‘elohym, there are many who prefer to see the Hebrew word transliterated rather than translated. As a title, this is perfectly acceptable so long as the reader was aware that it means: “God, Gods, god, gods, mighty one, or mighty ones.” The principle argument rendered against translating ‘elohym “God,” is that the English word has a pagan origin, based as it is on Gott and Gad. But not only does this condition permeate our language, Yahweh uses ‘elohym to identify Himself and to describe false gods.

Now that you know how the Hebrew words and names are being rendered, let’s shift our focus back to the meaning of Yah’s message. There is a parallel between the Genesis 1:2 testimony and the primary purpose of God’s Spirit. A feminine noun, the “ruwach/Spirit of ‘elohym/God washes” sin from our souls. She “purifies” and renews mortal man by covering us with Yahuweh’s Garment of Light. And She “hovers over” us in a protective way, nurturing and guiding our hearts and minds thereafter.

As this story unfolds, we will discover that the ruwach/Spirit highlights by contrast the mortal nature of our nepesh/souls. Most are unaware that “consciousness” is something which both man and animals are said to have received on the sixth creative day. Shortly thereafter we will learn that the ruwach of ‘elohym is distinguished from the nesamah chay or “conscience of life” which is “napah/breathed” into ‘Adam, making him more like God and less like all other animals.

God “rapidly moving, washing, and hovering over, even quickly protecting” His infant creation at this phase of the “big bang,” to use His term, is consistent with current scientific thought. There was a time in which physical laws were stretched. It occurred early on, during what is called “the inflationary period” of the cosmos’ formation. Physicists claim that most all physical laws were suspended, enabling a great, instantaneous expansion (10⁴³ increase in size in 10^-34 seconds) to take place instantly after the Big Bang commenced. This period of rachaph, or “quickly moving and hovering over,” was so extreme, that two objects an inch apart prior to the inflationary period would be 27 septillion light years separated after it. Not only did the inflationary period commence in creation’s first day, its influence on our reality remains at the heart of all universal explanations.

This understanding is also consistent with the primary purpose of Yahuweh’s testimony, to convey why He created the universe and us, illuminating His plan of redemption therein. Yahuweh’s Spirit must be shown using water to baptize and purify. The ruwach/spirit, mayim/water, and rachaph/instant purification must follow tohu/lifelessness, bohu/confusion and chosek/darkness because they form the essence of Yahweh’s solution.

Spirit and purification are well developed aspects of salvation and eternal life, but so is water. For example, in Revelation we find two of many such confirmations: “I will bestow a gift to the one who thirsts, longing for what refreshes the soul, from the spring of the water of life, as a gift freely, without cost.” (Revelation 21:6-7) “He showed me a river of the water of life, crystal clear, coming from the throne of God and the Lamb.” (Revelation 22:1)

Hosea equates living waters with Yahushua too: “The Spirit (ruwach) of Yahuweh will ascend out the wilderness. His source of life, His basis for purification, and His fountain of joy” are equivalent to “His cistern of grace, His source of blessings, well of sustenance, and fountain of life....” (Hosea 13:15)

If I am right about what seems so utterly obvious, rachaph, the word for “swiftly moving to cleanse and purify, and hovering to protect” used in the second verse of Genesis in relation to Yahuweh’s Spirit, will convey as much about mankind’s redemption as it does universal formation. And fortunately, such theories are not hard to verify because Yahweh most always defines His terms. In this form, rachaph is only used three times in the Torah, Prophets, and Psalms. With a little digging we should be able to determine its meaning and thereby ascertain whether Yahweh used it to speak of creation, salvation, human history, or all three.

Since this is obviously the first use of rachaph, let’s flip forward to the second occurrence. It is found in the 32^nd chapter of Deuteronomy. The context begins similarly to opening lines of Genesis, speaking of “heaven and earth,” and of “Yahweh’s spoken words.” This passage, like Genesis, even mentions “water” in the forms of “droplets, dew, and rain” in its initial poetic couplet. Then Deuteronomy turns its focus to salvation, just like Genesis. We are told that “Yahuweh is God’s name,” that “He is the Rock of our salvation,” and that “His work is perfect, just, faithful, and upright.” By contrast, we are also told that Yisra’el would “act corruptly toward Him,” and that a time would come when they “would not be His children,” but instead be “a perverse and crooked generation” of “foolish and unwise people.” Yahuweh provided this contrast, as He does with “tohu/lifelessness, bohu/confusion and chosek/darkness” in Genesis to make the benefit of “rachaph/rapid purification” more apparent. In addition to introducing Himself as our “Savior” in Deuteronomy, Yahuweh, consistent with His Genesis account, says that He is “our Father,” the “Rock who begot us,” and “the God who gave us birth”—in this case Spiritual rebirth from above.

In the midst of this treatise on salvation, Yahweh introduces rachaph in a metaphor: “As an eagle arouses and stirs (‘ur - awakens and raises) her nest, quickly cleaning and hovering over to protect it (rachaph) on behalf of (‘al - above and together with) her young, spreading out her wings like a garment covering them (paras kanap), receiving and keeping them (laqah - grasping and acquiring them, instructing and carrying them), lifting them up and carrying them away (nasa’) upon her wings (‘ebrah), so Yahuweh alone, separated from others (badad) led the Way (nahah - provided the spiritually correct path). And there was no foreign or false (nekar) god (‘el) working or associating with (‘im) Him.” (Deuteronomy 32:11-12)

The eagle is depicted as a mother bird with her children because Yahweh’s ruwach/Spirit is our Spiritual Mother. The benefit of being reborn in the Spirit from above (see Yahshua’s discussion with Nicodemus in John 3 for more on this), is that we become Her children—eternal sons and daughters of God. Our Spiritual Mother is not only the source of our purification, instantly removing our guilt, She hovers over us forever, keeping us pure in Yahweh’s eyes, protecting us so that our life might be everlasting. Like the mother bird in the metaphor, Yahweh’s Maternal Spirit washes us, feeds us, nurtures us, clothes us, comforts us, protects us, instructs us, and in the end, carries us away on Her wings. All of this serves to confirm that the second use of rachaph is consistent with the first. Rachaph means rapid cleansing and lingering protection leading to salvation, just as we suspected in Genesis one.

The third and final occurrence of rachaph also follows an overt Messianic salvation prophecy. In Jeremiah 23, our suspicions regarding rachaph are confirmed. The paragraph which eventually leads to rachaph begins: “Behold (hineh - pay close attention), the days (yowm - period of time, years, or seasons) are coming (bow’ - shall arrive leading to a return, an association, and a harvest), Yahuweh declares (na’um - reveals by the spoken word), when I shall raise and stand up (quwm - establish and confirm, fulfill and ratify, endure and accomplish) from David (Dawid - the dwd root means love, thus out of love) an upright and vindicating (tsaddiyq - just in conduct and character, righteous and lawful, innocent, sinless, and guiltless) branch (tsemach).” (Jeremiah 23:5)

Tsemach/branch is used prophetically of the Messiah in Isaiah 4:2, Jeremiah 33:15, Zechariah 3:8, and Zechariah 6:12. While we will review these passages in the chapters dedicated to Messianic prophecies, please don’t miss the inclusions of bow’ - “shall arrive, prompting a return, an association, and a harvest” by quwm - “standing up, being established and confirmed, fulfilling and ratifying, enduring and accomplishing” as they are used in the context of Yahweh acting as our Savior. Yahushua is the Upright One, the One who vindicates, the only One who is innocent, sinless, and guiltless. He is the One who stood up for us so that we could stand with Him.

“He will reign wisely (sakal - prudently with insight and understanding, teaching and instructing so that those led will prosper), accomplishing, preparing, producing, and executing (‘asah) judgment (mishpat - the act of rendering a verdict in a legal dispute)—vindication (tsadaqah - justification and salvation) in the land. In His days Yahuwdah (Yahuwdah - from Yahu and yadah, meaning, those who are related to and belong with Yah) will be saved (yasha’ - delivered and preserved, rescued and defended). Israel (Yisra’el - from sarah and ‘el, meaning, those who strive with and are empowered by God) will dwell (shakan - settle down and abide, continue to live, and tabernacle) securely (betach - safely, confidently, and assuredly by trust). This is His personal and proper name (shem) by which (‘asher - by whom) He will be called (qara’ - commissioned, appointed, endowed, proclaimed, summoned, invited, recited, and read out loud), Yahuweh our Vindication (tsedeq - salvation and redemption, justification and deliverance; the righteous judge who offers acquittal; the ruler who consecrates, justifies, makes pure, and declares innocent).” (Jeremiah 23:5-6)

The Messiah’s name will be “Yahuweh our Savior.” That is synonymous with Yahushua, meaning “Yahuweh is Salvation.” Vindication is just a specific form of salvation whereby the guilty is declared innocent. Fulfilling the prophetic proclamation included in this passage, Yahuweh in the form of Yahushua, tabernacled (camped out and lived) with us so that we would be able to dwell eternally with Him. He stood up for us so that we could stand with Him. He arose so that we might rise. He vindicated us so that we would be declared “not guilty.”

The passage goes on to explain that a day will come in which Yahweh will “lead the descendants of the household of Yisra’el back from the north land and from all the countries where He had driven them and they will live on their own soil.” That day began in 1948 when the European Jews who had survived the Holocaust traveled south to the Promised Land. There is great specificity in Yah’s predictions.

Then in the 9^th verse, prefaced by this wondrous tale of salvation, we find rachaph, the word which led us to the passage. “As for the prophets, my heart bursts (sabar - a metaphor for deliverance based upon the breaking of the yoke of bondage) within me. All of my substance and identity (‘esem - bones, an idiom for close relationship) are clean, pure, and protected (rachaph).”

The reason that the Messiah’s heart burst for the prophets is that Yisra’el didn’t recognize the prophetic nature of His redemptive advent—killing Him rather than accept His vindication. And nearly 2,000 years later they failed to appreciate how their return to the Land would usher in the Messiyah’s physical return (in substance and identity, in flesh and bones) and how that would influence their return to fellowship with Him. For those who accept Yah’s vindication, our substance and identity are instantly purified by the Messiah’s blood, allowing the Set-Apart Spirit to hover over and protect us—making us like Him. This relationship between Savior and Spirit is beautifully explained in the 14^th chapter of John, a passage we will ultimately dissect and ponder.

Consistent with this review, the root of rachaph, is rachats, which means: “to cleanse and to make pure by washing.” It is analogous to the Torah instructions related to the immersion in water to become pure prior to entering the Temple of Yahweh. It is symbolic of the renewal properties of spiritual baptism in the Renewed Covenant. Rachats also means “to trust and to rely upon,” in this case: the source of washing, instant purification, and lingering protection.”

Another word formed from the same Hebrew base is racham, meaning “tender love, mercy, grace, and compassion.” Racham explains the reason for the gift. A third variant is rachamah, telling us that the source of divine grace would come from: “the womb of a virgin.” A fourth derivative, rachal, also helps identify our Savior, because it signifies “a young lamb.” Therefore, it is safe to say that this portion of Genesis contains an essential ingredient relative to our redemption, even as it explains proven aspects of our creation.

In the next verse, the Creator revealed the root of His name and His nature. Here Yahweh links four extraordinary words together, connecting God, instruction, light, and eternal existence. “God (‘elohym) said (‘amar), ‘Let there be (hayah - exist) light (‘owr) and light (‘owr) existed (hayah).’” (Genesis 1:3) According to Zondervan’s Hebrew-English interlinear, the verse reads: “God said let Him be light and He was light.” Also interesting, Zondervan renders the first hayah as YHY and the second as WYHY, collectively representing the basis of Yahuweh’s name. The important thought here is that throughout Scripture, we find God identifying Himself with light.

But there is more: since hayah vocalized in first person, ehayah, means “I Was, I Am, and I Will Be,” the passage could also be translated: “God said, I was Light, I Am Light, and I will be Light; I exist as light.” Or even: “God said, Yahuweh was, is, and will be Light; Yahuweh exists as light.” Light, like Living Waters, is one of the seven metaphors Yahuweh uses to describe Himself in tangible terms. The others include: the Word, the Upright Pillar, the Set-Apart Family, the Bread of Life, and the Rock of Salvation.

‘Owr, the word rendered “light” can be “the light of instruction and guidance, the light of judgment, the light which removes someone from darkness, trouble and danger, the light of life, the light of a lamp, or the light of God.” ‘Owr can also be the “light of the sun and stars” which is significant because, while universally manifest in day one, they were not visible on earth until the fourth yowm/day.

In a related verse in Isaiah, Yahuweh introduces Himself as Light. But first He sets the scene. The passage begins by predicting that the chosen people would be unfaithful, and that while there would be a consequence, God would continue to care for them. “Instead of forming allegiance (tachath) you were, are, and will be (hayah) forsaken (‘azab - separated and abandoned, refused and destitute) and shunned (sane’ - disliked and loathed) without (‘ayin) passover (‘abar). Yet I shall appoint and establish (suwm) you as an everlasting (‘owlam) exaltation (ga’own), rejoicing (masows - delighting, and celebrating merrily) for generations, eternally dwelling in the household (dowr dowr - living in the tabernacle with the family forever).” (Isaiah 60:15) Without Passover there is no allegiance, only azab/separation and abandonment. Eternal splendor, rejoicing, and joy are the result of Tabernacles, dwelling in Yahuweh’s tent with Him. Passover, like Tabernacles and FirstFruits, serve as part of Yahweh’s seven Miqra’ey, or Set-Apart Meetings. The others include: Unleavened Bread, Sevens, Trumpets, and Reconciliations—each of which are significant in the roles of the Messiyah and Set-Apart Spirit.

“Then you will know (yada’ - recognize in a relational sense and acknowledge) that (kiy - in fact, surely, and indeed, by oath and demonstratively) I (‘aniy), Yahuweh, am Salvation (yasha’ - the one who saves, rescues, delivers, and liberates), a kinsman and Redeemer (ga’al - a male relative who ransoms individuals from bondage and death), the Mighty One (‘abiyr) of Ya’aqob.” (Isaiah 60:16) Once again we are told that Yahweh is our Redeemer and that the Savior’s name is “Yahuweh-is-Salvation”—Yahushua. God predicted that He would become a man, kin to the Yahuwdym (Jews), to rescue us from death and bondage. Redemption, like vindication, is another specific form of salvation, one in which the person being saved is ransomed—having their debt paid by another.

 Then, in this continuing story of redemptive salvation in accordance with the Miqra’ (Called-Out Meetings) of Passover and Tabernacles, Yahuweh tells us that He is the eternal Light and that His Spirit is a radiant Garment of Light. Speaking of eternity following the Millennial Sabbath, “The sun (semes) shall no longer exist as (lo’ ‘owd hayah) your light (‘owr) by day (yowmam) neither for brightness (ngah - radiance and enlightenment) shall the moon (yareha) give light (‘owr). Yahuweh exists as (hayah) everlasting and eternal (‘owlam) light (‘owr), your God and your adornment, a garment of shining appearance which brings honor, glory, and splendor to the wearer (tiph’eret).” (Isaiah 60:19)

Within the context of Yahweh being Light and saving us by purifying and protecting us with His Garment of Light, the next verse could be literal in the sense of illumination or symbolic in the sense of the Adversary. “The sun rise (shemesh - the object of illicit worship) shall no longer come and go (bow’ - arrive, pursue, and reap), neither shall the moon (yareha - as an object denoting false gods, especially Islam) remove, gather and receive (‘acaph - take away in a harvest, assemble together in the rear, and cause to perish), for Yahuweh shall exist as (hayah) your eternal and everlasting (‘owlam) Light (‘owr - instruction, guidance, and that which removes someone from darkness and danger). The days of mourning over death (‘ebel) shall be finished and fulfilled by way of restitution (shalam).” (Isaiah 60:20) In this case, Yahuweh’s eternal Light is personal—it becomes ours. The purpose of His Light is to end the sorrow of death and to fulfill His Passover and Tabernacle promises of salvation and relationship. It’s also interesting that during the fourth day of creation, Yahweh will once again refer to the sun and moon as signs of the Miqra’ey and of the promise of life they foretell.

To more fully understand the correlation between Yahuweh and light, let’s turn from God’s first prophecy to His last. In the apostle John’s (Yahuchanon, meaning Yah is Merciful) Revelation, Yahweh and Yahushua are presented as Light—a light that shall always remain within us. “I saw no temple in the New Jerusalem for Yahuweh Almighty and the Lamb are its Temple. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine upon it, for the radiance of God has illumined it. Its Lamp is the Lamb. The congregation shall walk remaining within its light.... And there shall no longer be any night. They shall not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because Yahuweh shall illuminate time, and they shall reign forever and ever.” (Revelation 21:22-24 & 22:5) Our union with Yahuweh’s Spirit, which causes us to be adorned in the Garment of Light, by way of the Lamb’s sacrifice, is eternal, illuminating time itself. That is the essence of hayah/existence.

From the perspective of science, this is precisely what light accomplishes. Einstein discovered, and others have confirmed, that light defines time, illuminating what it means to be eternal—existing in the past, present, and future simultaneously. Light is the purest form of energy, the universal constant, the source and measure of time, the means to enlightenment, and to life itself.

So whether “God (elohiym) said (‘amar), ‘Let there be (hayah) light (‘owr) and light (‘owr) existed (hayah),’” or “I was, am, and will be Light, always existing as light,” or even “Yahuweh is Light and Yahushua shall become light,” He was speaking about how light, the first thing He created, was synonymous with His nature, and how His nature would lead directly to our salvation and to life. Yah exists to enlighten us, and to shed light upon the path to Him so that we might become like Him.

This is why Yahuweh completed His opening Genesis declaration with: “God (‘elohiym) saw (ra’ah - perceived and regarded, appeared and presented Himself as, became visible as, found delight in, and distinguished that) the light (‘owr) was good (tabab - pleasant, cheerful, and agreeable; of a higher nature; beautiful, valuable, beneficial and prosperous, thus reliable and true). And God (‘elohiym) separated (badal - divided and set apart) light (‘owr) from darkness (hosek - obscurity, that which shrouds in blackness, veils by withholding knowledge, imperfects and clouds revelation with sinister suggestions, concealing and mystifying by way of ignorance and confusion).” (Genesis 1:4) All who avail themselves of the Light are called out of the darkness and separated unto Yahweh. This is one of a dozen times that separation and division are discussed in Yahweh’s opening statement.

There are two additional aspects of this verse I’d like you to consider. First, Darkness isn’t the opposite of light; it is the absence of light. Satan isn’t the opposite of God; the Devil is the absence of God. Death isn’t the opposite of life; it is the absence of life.

Second, the dark spirit’s deceptive arsenal is itemized in hosek. He wants to conceal rather than reveal himself. He lurks in the shadows, behind the scenes, obscuring his true nature and purpose. His religious and political schemes are seldom considered satanic for if they were, they wouldn’t be seductive. Satan is clandestine, wrapping himself and his beguiling institutions in mystery and secrecy. The Devil preys on ignorance. A confused and distracted society is his sandbox.

The reason darkness and separation are making a second appearance in the first day is to highlight the choice we must all make—to choose God or the Adversary. Choice remains paramount to Yahuweh because it is the prerequisite of love.