Chapter 2

'Owr

Light

And There Was Light...

Yahweh’s open letter to mankind began: “In (near, with, and in proximity to, regarding the account of) the beginning (at the start of time and the initiation of the process of existence, concerning first fruits and the head of the family), God (the Mighty One) accordingly created (performed a miracle, choosing perfect transformation and renewed birth, conceived, planned, prepared, and produced) the universe, the spiritual world (the heavens and the abode of stars) and also the material realm (matter, the physical and natural world). The material realm (the natural substance of which the universe is comprised, matter) 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 (the abyss or lightless places). And the Spirit (ruwach) of God (‘elohym) washed, purified, and hovered over (quickly and rapidly moved) in accordance with (upon, concerning, beside, on behalf of, on account of, and together with) the presence of water.

“God said, ‘Let there be (exist) light, and light existed. God saw (perceived and regarded, appeared and presented Himself, became visible, found delight in, and distinguished that) the light was good (pleasant, cheerful, and agreeable; of a higher nature; beautiful, valuable, beneficial and prosperous). And God separated (divided and set apart) light from darkness (obscurity, that which shrouds in blackness, veils by withholding knowledge, imperfects and clouds revelation with ominous and sinister suggestions, concealing and mystifying by way of ignorance and confusion).” (Genesis 1:1-4)

God’s creative testimony was accurate when He revealed that cosmologically, time began the moment energy became matter. Before the conversion of energy to matter, time did not, and could not, exist. In fact, Yahweh’s suggestion that the “material realm was formless and orderless” initially, syncs with current scientific thought, whereby matter is considered to be nothing more than an organized form of energy.

Also noteworthy, the Genesis account indicates that before Yahweh created the light energy which became the cosmos, there was a lifeless, purposeless, void. Scientists are in lock-step, confirming that before the Big Bang, there were no physical laws, no matter, or life—only a powerful source of energy. Furthermore, we now know that the inception of the universe was incredibly chaotic. In the beginning, light was literally separated from darkness. Photons broke free as electrons were liberated. But even today light remains supreme; there are a billion photons in the universe for every particle of matter. God’s testimony, “Let there be light and there was light” is consistent with our observable reality.

According to scientists, the universe began fifteen billion years ago (plus or minus two billion years) from our perspective on earth looking back, and it was spawned just six days ago from the perspective of the Creator at the time and place of creation according to His Genesis testimony. Both suggest that the first universal epoch, that of initial galactic formation, lasted seven to eight billion years from our vantage point, which is one twenty-four-hour day measured from the relative position of creation, looking forward. So how is that possible, you may be wondering?

Light, the subject of the first day, is the eternal timekeeper. Its wave aspect allows man to measure time anywhere, even near the place where time began. But to appreciate this we must first understand what time is. And for that, the best place to turn is to Albert Einstein. He brought forth the Theory of General Relativity which establishes the relationship between light, mass, energy, space, and time. He was the first to discover that the rate at which time passes is not the same at all places. Differences in mass and velocity radically affect the rate at which time flows. This aspect of the General Theory of Relativity has been so thoroughly verified that it is considered to be an established physical law. The only aspects of relativity in dispute are those related to quantum mechanics—to the lack of cause and effect, even certainty, at the subatomic level, and whether gravity is a force or an effect (of the bending the fabric of space-time). But when it comes to the realization that time is a dimension, not a constant, and that its rate of flow is relative, there is no dispute.

The pace of time at a location with greater mass, energy, or velocity is slower than at a place with diminished mass, energy, or velocity. We can confirm this shift by measuring the two parts per million a light wave is stretched emanating in the presence of the greater mass of the sun relative to a light wave generated on earth. The sun’s clock runs 2.12/1,000,000 slower than earth’s, losing 67 seconds a year relative to a terrestrial timepiece. But the sun is only marginally more massive than the earth, especially compared to creation—to the concentration of energy and mass required to create 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 suns (100 billion galaxies each averaging 100 billion stars). And that’s just the known universe, representing a scant four percent of the total (96% of the energy and mass in the cosmos is considered “dark” because its nature is unknown to us).

Fortunately, we don’t have to guess the rate time flowed in these conditions. The measurement is screaming out to us in one form, it is observable in a second medium, it is calculable in a third, and the rate is deducible in a fourth venue. The pace time flowed at creation cries out from the entire universe in photon radiation in the form of cosmic microwave background (CMB)—an elongated part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The CMB is a measure of the residual heat left over from the time photons were first freed to travel—about 300,000 years after the Big Bang. Discovered at the Bell Labs by Robert Wilson and Arno Penzias in 1965, cosmic microwave background radiation is the residue of the aftermath of creation, and thus provides us with a cosmic clock calibrated to a time close to the first day of Genesis. The CMB wavelength is stretched approximately one million million fold, suggesting that genesis time flowed slower by a factor of 10¹². More on this in a moment...

A second glimpse of the Creator’s clock can be gleaned by observing the red shift, or lengthening of wavelengths emitted from the oldest and most distant sources of light and comparing this expansion to the rate the universe has and is growing. To understand this, we turn to professor Peebles who was named the Albert Einstein Professor of Science at Princeton University. In his textbook, The Principles of Physical Cosmology (Princeton University Press), Philip Peebles, who has established himself as the world’s foremost authority on cosmology, explains that when the universe was small, it was doubling very rapidly. But as the cosmos grew, the time required to double in size got exponentially longer. He, concurring with most all cosmological texts, quotes 10¹² as the average rate of expansion. This yields a general relationship between genesis time and time today, indicating that they are different by a factor of one million million.

This concept is fairly simple: when space was stretched, so were the wavelengths within it. The red shift, or stretching due to the expansion of space, is commonly observed in astronomical data, and it now confirms that time originally flowed a trillion times slower than it does today.

The calculable, and third, insight into creation’s clock, and how it differs from ours today, is found by dividing the temperature of quark confinement, when light energy could be successfully transformed into matter (10.9 x 10¹² Kelvin) following the Big Bang, by today’s universal temperature of 2.73 degrees Kelvin (the measure of the CMB). This ratio enables us to compare the amount of energy concentrated near the point of creation with that which currently exists. This is relevant because, the more energy which is present, the slower time moves. The resulting calculation serves to confirm that our clock runs 0.399 x 10¹² (399,000,000,000) faster than the Creator’s clock at the genesis.

To bring this all together, I am going to refer to, and on occasion paraphrase, a work called The Science of God by Gerald Schroeder, a man with doctoral degrees in nuclear physics and earth science from M.I.T. His book serves to present relativity, quantum mechanics, biology, and probability in simple, easy to understand terms. He not only deduced a similar exponential, he was the first to compare creation’s clock to the Genesis account. His reasoning can be summarized as follows: the wavelength of what we now observe as cosmic microwave background radiation was stretched during the inflationary period, at the outset of time, in the first seconds of the first day. At creation, energy transitioned into matter consistent with Einstein’s E = mc², with c being the speed of light multiplied by itself, requiring an enormous amount of energy to form a relatively tiny accumulation of matter. This initial transition from energy to substance occurred when the universe was a million-million times smaller and hotter than it is today. We know that this is the point when time began because time only takes hold when matter forms. From the relative perspective of photon/wave energy, time literally stands still.

The MIT-trained nuclear physicist went on to say that according to the measurements taken in the most advanced physics laboratories, the temperature, and thus frequency, of radiation at the instant of creation was 10¹² times hotter than the 2.73^o K we now observe in the black of space. Since the Big Bang temperatures were a trillion times hotter, or more energy-intense than today’s observed CMB, it means that the electromagnetic wavelength must have been a trillion times shorter than it is now at its present trillion-times-lower temperature.

The higher the temperature, the higher the frequency of the wave, and the higher the frequency, the shorter the wavelength must be. Girded with this knowledge, we can use recent nuclear laboratory calculations to deduce that the CBM is stretched by a factor of approximately 10¹², or 1,000,000,000,000 to one—slowing the cosmic clock at creation relative to earth by that amount.

Therefore on average, these four measurements serve to confirm that one day in the Creator’s life at creation would seem like 0.9 x 10¹² days to us. And none of this should be surprising since Yahweh consistently equates His nature to light, and since we now know that at the velocity of light, time stands still. Eternity only exists in the presence of the Light.

Before we examine the calculations calibrating genesis time to our own to ascertain how God and man can both be accurate and yet differ, let’s take a moment to explore some of the cosmological assumptions which have led us to our current state of awareness. To begin, cosmologists contend that a concentration of energy at the initiation of the universe produced electromagnetic waves, or photons, that were forged as the explosion cooled sufficiently to permit matter to form. Persisting to this day, the photons have traveled out in all directions. The thermal soup of quarks, electrons, and photons decreased in temperature rapidly, falling from 10¹³ degrees Kelvin to one billion degrees after the first few minutes (a temperature still 67 times hotter than the sun’s core). Three hundred thousand years later, as universal energy and density dispersed and dissipated, atoms began to coalesce into gas clouds which later evolved into stars. Moving forward to today we find that the black body temperature of space has fallen to 2.73 Kelvin—hovering ever so slightly above absolute zero. This temperature is the remnant of the primordial fireball which is discernable through the stretching of the electromagnetic wavelength.

Visible light lies in the center of the nearly infinite range of electromagnetic waves, also known as traveling packets of energy. This physical phenomenon occurs when an electric field couples with a perpendicular magnetic field. Lengths and frequencies of photon energy vary, but not speeds, at least in a vacuum. All forms of radiant energy, gamma rays, x-rays, ultraviolet, visible light, infrared, microwave and radio waves, are manifestations of the same thing and they all travel at the same speed—a pace so extreme that from their perspective, time slows to the point that it no longer moves.

The wavelength of the electromagnetic radiation determines whether it falls within our range of vision. We see wavelengths of approximately 0.00007 centimeters as red and 0.00004 cm as violet at the other extreme of the visible spectrum. By contrast, a microwave produces waves that are 10.0 cm long, while gamma rays from radioactive materials can be as short as 0.000000001 cm. The shorter the wavelength, the higher the wave frequency and energy. A gamma-ray photon, for example, packs billions of times more energy than an infra-red photon. This is important because the energy we measure as CMB was emitted as gamma rays (10^-11 cm), but are now elongated microwaves (10 cm), indicating that they have stretched a million million fold—confirming our 10¹² exponential once again.

As an interesting aside, while we can only feel infrared light and see visible light I believe that our senses will be more receptive in our eternal state. We may be able to see and feel things that currently lay well beyond our current limitations. To quote Scripture, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know fully just as I have been fully known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12) What I’m hinting at here is that I think the universe may be comprised of seven dimensions, not just the four we vaguely perceive today, and that dark matter and energy are essential components of these things.

Once we recognize that the CMB is little more than a uniform sea of photons left over from the hot early phase of the universe immediately after quark confinement, we are confronted with a singular plausible explanation for having this uniform CMB radiation exist throughout the universe with such a precise spectrum. It had to be generated at a time when the cosmos was much hotter and denser than it is now. Hence the CMB spectrum is essentially incontrovertible evidence that the universe experienced a hot Big Bang stage (that’s not to say that we understand the initial instant, just that we know the universe used to be vastly more energy intense and massively dense—expanding, becoming less dense, and cooling ever since).

It is therefore certain, that the early universe was very hot. The temperature was approximately 4 × 10⁷² ergs. An erg is a unit of energy equivalent to 10^-7 joules, the energy required to exert a force of one newton a distance of one meter. This means that creation was 10¹² times hotter than the universe is today on average.

There was so much energy around at the time, scientists speculate that pairs of particles and anti-particles were continually being created and annihilated. This annihilation was translated into packets of light, known as photons. But as the universe expanded and the temperature fell, particles and anti-particles (quarks and the like) annihilated each other for the last time, and the energies became low enough that they couldn’t be recreated again. For reasons still not understood today, the early cosmos had about one part in a billion more particles than anti-particles. So when all the anti-particles had annihilated their counterparts, that left about a billion photons for every particle of matter. And that’s the way the universe exists today, with light remaining dominant.

Now that we have some familiarity with the elements which comprise the coefficient of variance between our clock and the Creator’s, let’s examine how long this timepiece has been running. Here, Hubble’s law has great significance because it quantifies the expansion of the universe and thus can be used to calculate its age. The time elapsed since the Big Bang is a function of the present value of Hubble’s constant and its rate of change. Astronomers have determined the approximate rate of expansion, but no one has yet been able to measure the second value precisely. Still, one can estimate rate of change within the context of the universe’s average density. Since gravity exerts a force which opposes expansion, galaxies should be moving apart more slowly now than they did in the past. The rate of change in expansion is therefore related to the gravitational pull of the universe as a result of its average density. If the density is that of the visible material in and around galaxies, the age of the universe is between 12 and 18 billion years—a range which allows for the uncertainty in the rate of expansion.

The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe mentioned above, recently provided an estimate of 13.7 billion years. That is a bit suspicious for two reasons. First, the density of the universe isn’t remotely equivalent to “the visible material in and around galaxies.” Along these lines, this very same satellite confirmed that 96% of the energy/matter in the cosmos is unknown to us. This gravitationally repulsive dark energy has dramatic consequences for all aspects of fundamental physics, so it should have moved the age estimate to one outside of that anticipated by Hubble (12 to 18 billion years). Further, the universe is filled with a uniform sea of quantum zero-point energy, or a condensate of new particles that have a mass which is 10^-39 times smaller than that of an electron. They should not be ignored.

The second reason for skepticism is that the cosmos cannot be younger than the material from which it is comprised. There is considerable evidence that many stars, even relatively close ones, are considerably older than 13.7 billion years. Many are considered to be more than 15 billion years old.

Apart from the Hubble red shift expansion model, and the Wilkinson CMB estimates, there are several other ways to evaluate the universe’s age. For example, the rate of cooling of white dwarf stars indicates the oldest stars in the disk of the Milky Way galaxy are about 9 billion years old. The stars in the halo of the Milky Way are somewhat older, about 15 billion years—a value derived from the rate of nuclear fuel consumption in their cores.

Additionally, the ages of the oldest known chemical elements in the cosmos are also approximately 15 billion years old according to radioactive dating techniques. Workers in laboratories have derived these age estimates from atomic and nuclear physics. It is noteworthy that their results agree with the age astronomers have derived by measuring cosmic expansion.

Now that we have evaluated some of the pieces to our puzzle—God’s big bang testimony, man’s Big Bang Theory, the age of the universe, the relative nature of time, and the role of photon energy in our genesis—it’s time to put it all together. The first conclusion should now be obvious. This discussion on the initiation of time, concentration of energy, inflationary stretching of space, and the transformation of light into matter, serves to corroborate Yahweh’s testimony. The Big Bang theory requires, and our observations confirm, that all of these things actually occurred during the cosmos’ birth. It is why Genesis 1:2 says the ruwach/Spirit of ‘elohiym/the Mighty One was paney/present rachaph/hovering over the tohu, bohu, and chosek—the lifeless, formless, void of darkness prior to the existence of visible ‘owr/light. And especially notable in this context is that one of rachaph’s most prevalent connotations is “agitation and rapid movement,” making everything God has said thus far consistent with the evidence. The second conclusion should now be intuitive. Based upon our analysis of the cosmic clock, Yahweh’s claim that the first universal epoch lasted one day is not be in conflict with the scientific assertion that it required 7 to 8 billion years.

In support of this conclusion, consider the fact that while the various scientific methods for estimating of the age of our universe provide differing conclusions, they all fall within the same general magnitude. So while we cannot be dogmatic or assert that the scientific claims are precise, based upon our ability to measure it, looking back in time from the vantage point of earth, the universe can be reasonably assumed to be 15 billion years old plus or minus a billion years or so.

The creative days of Genesis, however, look forward, not back. Yahweh’s testimony was composed as an eyewitness, from the perspective of the Creator at creation, not from that of us on earth. The simple truth is that no matter how arrogant and self-reliant mankind chooses to be, our planet didn’t exist when the universe was formed, so our perspective and clock could not have been used.

With that in mind, let’s compare our clock to His. To do that we must multiply the 15,000,000,000 year estimated age of the cosmos by 365.25 days per year so that both clocks conform to the same unit of measure—that being “days.” 15,000,000,000 years x 365.25 days/year = 5,478,750,000,000 days (plus or minus 10%).

To coordinate this 5.5 trillion day period with creation’s clock, respecting the relativistic nature of time, we must divide this number of earth days since creation by the coefficient time was slowed at creation. Earlier, we deduced this number by averaging the results derived from the four methods from which it can be calculated. We discovered that Big Bang time ran 0.9 x 10¹² (900,000,000,000) times slower than earth time does today.

So here is the math: 5,478,750,000,000 days (plus or minus 10%) divided by 900,000,000,000 equals: 6 days. From the vantage point of a witness to creation, existing at the point of inception, the whole process from start to finish took a length of time that equates to six, twenty-four hour, earth days.

“And thus the heavens and earth were finished...and on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made...” (Genesis 2:1-2)

This is not a cosmic coincidence. Yahweh’s timeline, His accounting, God’s 3,000-year-old written testimony, corresponds precisely with the evidence at our disposal. If that doesn’t get your attention and cause you to think that His Scriptures might be inspired, nothing will.

But we have only scratched the surface. With every layer and detail He adds, God proves that He knew how the universe was created, when it was created, and how and when life came to exist—because He was responsible. This then compels a singular informed and rational verdict: “In the beginning God created the universe, the spiritual world and also the material realm.”

The energy Yahuweh put into His creation was perfectly calculated to produce a universe hospitable to man. By design, the resulting system required just six days to conceive from His perspective, and yet it established the environment necessary for human history to unfurl over the course of precisely 6,000 years. The reason for the common denominator is because the redemptive story imbedded in the future history of man, and in the creation account itself, are both based upon the same formula. Six is the number of man (who was created on the sixth day); one is the number of God (because He repeatedly tells us that He is one). Bring them together and you have perfection—also known as salvation. In six days God created and on the seventh, the Sabbath, He rested and reflected.

So it shall be with us. Mankind shall toil for six thousand years before resting and reflecting in the Sabbatical Millennium—a day that will commence on the seventh Miqra, that of Sukah (known as Tabernacles, but meaning “to campout” with God) in 2033. And that means we are still living in the sixth day of creation. God and man still have work to do. While time is fleeting, we will not rest until the seventh day dawns with the seventh advent of Yahushua.

If my willingness to date the inevitable seems presumptuous at this point, rest assured that God’s timeline will be firmly established long before you’ve completed the seven volumes of Yada Yahweh. Yah’s plan is so simple and clear, it has taken the onslaught of nearly six millennia of religious corruption to obscure the obvious. (As for the oft’ cited, “no one knows the hour” excuse for not comprehending God’s timeline, in future chapters we will obliterate this objection, turning a perceived criticism into an astounding confirmation.)

While what we have already discovered may represent one of the most amazing verifications of the veracity of Yahweh’s Scriptural witness, there is much more. You see, the flow of time did not remain constant during the six days of conception—at least from our perspective looking back. That is because the amount of matter and the rate of stretching at the center of creation diminished over time at a logarithmic rate approximating natural spirals. This infinite curve is best manifest in the graceful swirls evident in most spiral galaxies (representing 77% of the total) and in the turn of every nautilus shell. Moving from inside out, each successive spiral of the common galactic arms or shell rings telescope outward at a rate approximating twice the previous distance. Based upon the way living cells grow, you’ll find a similar ratio in everything from flower petals to pineapples and pine cones.

There are three widely accepted formulas used to quantify this natural geometric expansion. The first is known as the Golden Mean, Proportion, or Section. Calculated as the square root of 5 plus 1 divided by 2, it yields a ratio of 1:6180339887....  In his galactic observations, Johannes Kepler equated this proportion to what has been called the Fibonacci Number Series of 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233..., where each additional number is the sum of the two previous values. It serves as the best whole number approximation of the irrational Golden Ratio. A third logarithmic scale defines the exponential rates of decay of radioactive atoms known as a “half life.”

Therefore, based upon Yahuweh’s testimony and the empirical evidence, we can deduce that clock at the center of creation became more closely synchronized with an earth-based timepiece at a rate of approximately fifty percent per cosmic day. As confirmation, this diminishment is evident in the relative scale of subjects covered in the creation account itself, from its focus on the universe on the first day, to the solar system and earth, to plants, the atmosphere, then to animals, and eventually to man in successive periods.

This logarithmic spiral is pertinent because when we apply the celestial unit of measure to the creative timeline described in Genesis we discover that each of the six days of creation coincide perfectly with verifiable developments in the cosmos and here on earth. Yahweh’s insights regarding this telescoping unit of measure are manifest in the opening lines of the 19^th Psalm. Its words are as riveting as they are precise. “The heavens (shamayim — the realm of stars) quantify the unit of measure, exactly and accurately of (caphar — they recount and relate, number and reckon, record and proclaim) the manifestation of power (kabowd — glorious presence and abundance; from kabad, meaning energy and massiveness) of God (‘el). Its spreading out and expanse (raqiya) makes conspicuous (nagad — makes known, reporting the information for a purpose; declaring the message which informs and acknowledges) His handiwork (a compound of yad  — hand, power, strength and control; also used as a unit of measure; and ma’aseh — labor, pursuits, undertakings, enterprise, achievements, and creation). Day unto day (yowm la yowm) pours out (naba’ — gushes forth, proliferating) answers (‘emer — words of intent, thinking and purpose), and night unto night reveals (hawah — makes known and illuminates, displays and announces) knowledge (da’at — comprehension and understanding).” (Psalm 19:1-2)

This passage is particularly astute. We turned to it to help us properly evaluate the Genesis timeline, but I didn’t expect the precision of caphar—meaning: “to quantify the unit of measure, exactly and accurately.” Yahweh was as skilled at creation as He is at communication. In addition to telling us that the enormity of His power is evident in the universe, He told us to use the stars to compute creation’s timeline. Galactic formations are most often logarithmic spirals where each successive arm extends approximately twice the distance from the center as the previous one.

Since no accounting of our existence would be complete without a complement of insights into the mind of God, profound truth is woven into the Psalm’s narrative. So although we have already found the answer we were searching for—the unit of measure for our cosmological timeline—by considering the rest of the Psalm we will grow wiser still. Yahweh says: “Nothing exists without (‘ayin — we cease and are fatherless, incurable, powerless, and senseless without) the Word (‘emer — the answer, the promise, and the declaration). Nothing exists when and where (wa ‘ayin) the spoken or written message (dabarym — statements, accounts, and words of advice) of the voice which calls out (qowl) is corrupted and fails (beliy — is negated, becoming unimportant and nameless, is diminished in relevance so as not) to be proclaimed, heard, or regarded (shama — attentively listened to and understood, heeded in the context of language and judgment).” (Psalm 19:3)

When you think about it, it becomes immediately obvious that Yahweh is right. Words are essential. Nothing exists without them. Emphasizing this, the Genesis account repeats: “And God said” before each creative event, each day all the way to “and God said let us make man in our image.” Without His words we would not exist. And without the written report Yahweh gave us, these very words we are currently considering, there would be no hope of redemption or life beyond the grave.

While that’s all true, ‘emer, meaning “word,” is singular in this passage, something which is fairly uncommon. Therefore, in this context, we are compelled to consider the Psalm’s connection with the opening paragraph of Yahuchanon’s (John’s) witness: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.... All things came into being through Him. In Him is life, and the life is the light...enlightening every man.... To all those who receive Him, He gives them the right to become children of God.... So the Word became flesh and camped out with us and we beheld His glory.” Simply stated, without the Word, the Mesiyah Yahushua, we live in darkness and our brief lives would all terminate in death. Without the Word we are blind, incurable, orphans. And in this regard, appreciate the fact that ‘emer also mans “branch.” As a Messianic symbol, “branch” is almost as universal and renowned as “the Word.”

There are additional insights here because later in the passage we find that dabarym is plural, meaning “words.” Without language, we are rendered senseless and powerless as it is the source of enlightenment and of causality. We think with words and act upon them. Language is God’s gift to humankind. In written form it emerged 6,000 years ago, contemporaneously with the first man created in Yah’s image. Words are the source of life and the means to relationship. Therefore, in this verse Yahweh is saying that if we fail to regard His message, if we diminish the importance of His Word, we will cease to exist, returning to the dust upon which we came.

Before we consider the next sentence in the Psalm, I’d be remiss for not pointing something out which is foundational. God’s equation for life is sensible and fair. If you prioritize Yahweh and His Word, highly regarding them and see them as worthy, Yahweh will reciprocate. He will value your soul sufficiently to save it and then adopt it. But if you don’t care sufficiently about Him, if you elect to accept a corruption of His message, if you ignore His voice, He will ignore you. Having chosen to live your life apart from Him, death will be the end of your existence. There will be nothing more, because your soul will be seen as having the same value you placed on the source of life. Such souls are diminished to nothingness, which means they simply cease to exist. And while that may strike you as harsh, it’s not only completely fair; it’s a far better fate than eternal anguish in hell.

Moving on, there are three ways to consider what follows—all of which are meritorious. Yahweh’s Torah, His Prescriptions and Instructions, are the universal standard; they under gird the laws of nature and the covenant of life. The Word of Yahweh is the source of mankind’s mortal existence as well as immortality. And the heavens accurately calibrate Yah’s power. “This measuring standard (qaw) has gone forth (yasa’) concerning (ba — in association with) all the land (kol ha ‘erets — the whole earthly realm and material world)—as reasoned arguments (millahym — as  communications or proverbs characterizing truth, and as rational propositions) to the uttermost outskirts (qatseh — to a point marking the completion of an epoch, and the end of time and space) of the people who live in the inhabited world (tebel).” (Psalm 19:4) More than any words ever spoken or written, Yahweh’s Word has been known longer and by more people than any other message.

To fully appreciate what follows, you need to know that Genesis one, using the sun as a sign, and the mow’ed/appointments as a guide, portends that on the fourth day, or fourth millennia of mankind, the Messiyah will arrive. Later, the Song of Songs explains that the Messiyah will be the Bridegroom for both Yisra’el and the Gowyim Ekklesia, or Gentile Out-Calling, of the Renewed Covenant. In it, Yahushua says: “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” And, as we just reviewed, the apostle John confirmed: “All things came into being through Him.... In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.... And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us so we beheld His radiance.” In this light, please consider: “In (la — concerning) them [His words], He has placed (suwm — appointed and established, constituted and fashioned, transformed and ordained) a tabernacle (‘ohel — household and home, a dwelling place) for the sun (semes — the brilliant light), who, Himself (huw’) is akin to (ka — similar to and like) the Bridegroom and Husband (hatan) going forth (yasa’ — extending Himself to serve) joyously in love (suws — pleased and delighted with the relationship, with fond feelings and with enjoyment, rejoicing), from (min) His protective canopy (huppah — tent pavilion erected for the wedding ceremony) to lead and deliver (yatsa’ chupah) like (ka) the mighty and victorious Upright One (gibbowr — the leader with the power to prevail and the authority to confirm), swiftly and intensely pursuing (ruts — as a messenger and prophet who enables; from rasu, meaning the one who helps and provides benefits along) the Way (‘orah — the path of life, the example of conduct).” (Psalm 19:4-5) Yahushua is the Word made flesh, who out of love, camped out with us to illuminate and enable the way to the marriage ceremony where we are betrothed to God.

Transitioning from salvation back to science, and then returning to redemption again, the psalmist, speaking of the Brilliant Light, the Bridegroom, the Upright One, and the Way, proclaims: “His (hu’) going forth and speaking is (mowtsa’ — His source, origin, and place of departure, His pronouncements are) from (min) the uttermost part of (qatseh — a point in time marking completion; the foundation of and whole of) heaven (samayim — the abode of God and Spiritual realm). His circuit of arrivals (taquwphah — completion of His course of action) is unto the distant end of time (qatsah).” (Psalm 19:6) This is the foundation upon which the opening salvo of John’s eyewitness account is predicated.

The Psalm is telling us that Messiyah’s “going forth,” His “mowtsa’/source and origin” is “qatseh/cut off and set apart from heaven, the abode of God,” and from the “completeness of time.” For this to be true, Yahushua must be a part of Yahweh in our space and time and yet exist throughout all time.

The basis of qatseh, translated “uttermost part” above, is qatsah, meaning “to be cut off and set apart from” something or someone. It reflects the single most misunderstood aspect of the Messiyah’s nature, providing us with the first hint that Yahushua isn’t a unique individual or a separate personality, as is touted by Trinitarians, but is instead, a diminished part of God, set-apart from Him. That is to say, Yahushua is Yahweh in three dimensions, God reduced to human form. While I don’t expect you to concur with this position now, at least based on so little information, rest assured, the evidence will continue to mount until this understanding becomes the only universally consistent and plausible explanation. Ultimately, there will be few concepts in Scripture as repetitive or essential as being “set apart.” Yet most people are unaware of this, because the most commonly used words for “set apart” in Hebrew and Greek are consistently mistranslated “holy” in most every English bible translation.

This concept is particularly relevant when applied to the Ruwach Qodesh, or Set-Apart Spirit, introduced in Genesis 1:2. Qodesh is the most commonly used Hebrew word to convey: “set-apart.” And being “set apart” implies that the ruwach, like Yahushua, was and is a part of, a representation or manifestation of, Yahweh set apart from Him to us.

The root of qodesh is qadash, spelled identically in the consonant and textual form, but vocalized differently by the Masoretes. It means: “to be pure and to make or pronounce clean.”  “To be” is to exist. “To make” is “to create.” And “to pronounce” is “to use words to communicate or accomplish something.”
Each and every connotation serves to reveal essential aspects of Yahweh’s nature. And specifically, to “cleanse and purify,” restoring us to acceptability in Yahweh’s presence, is the primary responsibility of the Set-Apart Spirit.

These concepts serve to confirm that there is only one God. His name is Yahuweh. He is our Creator and our Father. Further, the Set-Apart Spirit represents Yahweh’s maternal nature. She cleanses and purifies our mortal soul, becoming our Spiritual Mother, giving us life. The Spirit, unlike the Son, remains eternal in our realm, existing in the constant state of “to be.” Spirit, unlike matter, exists free of the constraints of time, signifying that it is the Set-Apart Spirit who gives us eternal life based upon the sacrifice Yahushua made in space-time.

The Son became flesh, entering our physical, material world, as Yahweh’s set-apart representative, coming in His Father’s name, and doing His Father’s business. God thus placed part of Himself within our flow of time—just as this Psalm reveals. Yahweh manifest Himself in this way to let us know that He exists, to make Himself more evident to us, to announce the way home, to pronounce the truth, and to provide life everlasting, justifying our redemption. However, the Son, unlike mortal humankind, is not stuck in the ordinary flow of time. At His resurrection, Yahushua reclaimed His eternal nature, “qatsah/unto the distant end of space and time.” It is the model we who know Him shall follow.

Scientifically, the Psalmist’s next sentence is profound, and it is precisely accurate: “No (‘ayin) radiant energy (hammah — heat or light­) will be concealed or cease to exist (satar — will be unknown, vanish, or perish).” The Second Law of Thermodynamics confirms this concept which is directly related to the conservation of energy. While energy can be transformed into mass, and mass can be transformed back into energy, neither can be destroyed, ceasing to exist.

Yah’s “instructions,” His “prescriptions for living,” and His “directions are sound and complete” when applied to both the physical world and to the spiritual realm. “The instructions (towrah — laws, directions, teachings, and prescriptions) of Yahuweh (YHWH) are sound and complete (tamiym — upright and unblemished without defect, perfect, entirely true, and completely right), restoring (shuwb — returning to spiritual relations and renewing) the soul (nepesh). The testimony (‘eduwth — witness and evidence, stipulations, rules, and authority) of Yahuweh (yhwh) is confirmed, verifiable, supportive, and nourishing (‘aman — faithful and sure, trustworthy), teaching wisdom to (hakam — making wise and instructing) the open-minded (pathiy — those who retain the capacity to change; from pathah, meaning to be open).” (Psalm 19:7) The reason that the material and spiritual world operate on the same set of rules is because the author is the same. In essence, since matter is nothing more than organized energy—or directed light, when we are directed by the Light, we become like light—brilliant and eternal.

But that’s not the essential lesson of the passage. Because there is but one Covenant, one Way to God, “The Torah (towrah — prescriptions, instructions, and directions) of Yahweh are entirely true and complete, restoring and renewing the soul.” And thanks to passages like this one, “Yahuweh’s testimony is verifiable and trustworthy, teaching and instructing those who are open-minded.” This is one of the more important messages in Scripture: there is one Covenant, not two. Nothing was changed by “Jesus Christ.” The Renewed Covenant isn’t a “New Testament,” but instead the restoration of the previously established association. One thing did not replace the other, rendering the original obsolete.

Bluntly stated: “Jesus, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, Paul, and James” didn’t establish the religion of “Christianity.” They confirmed “The Towrah prescriptions, instructions, and directions of Yahweh are entirely true and complete, restoring and renewing the soul.” Everything is based upon the relationship Yahweh established with Abraham, the relationship confirmed with Moshe, the relationship predicted through the prophets and psalms, and the relationship enabled by the Messiyah.

Most Christians view God’s Word backwards, from the end to the beginning, rather than from the beginning to end. Therefore, they miss this concept entirely. And in doing so, they become easy prey for religions, becoming part and parcel of justifying replacing Yahweh’s Sabbath with man and Satan’s Sunday, substituting love for worship, and exchanging relationship with religion. They have been deceived into replacing Yahweh’s Tabernacles with man and Satan’s Christmas, substituting Yahweh’s Passover, Unleavened Bread, and FirstFruits with man’s and Satan’s Lent and Easter. They have even accepted the copyedits of Yahweh’s name 7,000 times in His Word, calling Him instead “Lord”—which is actually Satan’s desire and title. Those deceived by religion have swallowed the substitution of Yahushua’s real name with the 17^th-century manmade-misnomer “Jesus,” and have accepted replacing the consistent and compelling concept of the Upright Pole with the sungod imagery of a cross. Similarly, they have acquiesced to eliminating Yah’s six plus one symbol, the menorah, in favor of man’s graven images, and thereby lost the secrete to unlocking Scripture’s timeline. They have substituted the essential teaching of “called out” with man’s absurd choice of “church” and have replaced God’s “set apart” with the religious term “holy,” squandering vital aspects of the message all along the way. The Miqra’ and the Yowbel remain foreign, unknown, and virtually meaningless to most.

So I ask, was God’s Word only relevant to Yahuwdym (Jews) thousands of years ago? Are religious men and their traditions more truthful and reliable than Yah’s revelation? When conflicts such as those listed above arise between God’s witness and religious teaching, which is right and which is wrong?

A second concept revealed in the Psalm 19:7 passage we are currently contemplating is equally profound and most always missed. Yahweh not only reveals the truth, He proves it. With regard to God’s Word, all of those who are appropriately informed and completely rational know and trust Him. So the fact that the world is lost and floundering in a milieu of religious and political nonsense, isn’t God’s fault, but instead our own for not investing the time to know what He said, and for not thinking judgmentally.

As I explore Yahweh’s testimony, I often progress through a host of reactions. My first response is usually awe, as I’m impressed with Yah’s profound insights, His creativity and consistency, as well as His literary skill. As a result, I have grown from a questioning faith and belief to absolute trust and reliance. That does not mean that my amplified translations are perfect, because they are not. I’m admittedly unqualified to provide them, but there is more than enough here to demonstrate that the thoughts being shared in bold are Divine, and thus completely trustworthy.

My next reaction is usually thankfulness, especially as I contemplate the enormous generosity of His plan for us as well as the fact that He personally enabled it. His Way is so well communicated, so completely fair, so beautifully laid out and timed, so overwhelmingly compassionate and charitable, I’m overwhelmingly grateful.

I am also enveloped with a great sense of companionship and familial love as I consider what it really means to be adopted into the eternal family of our Heavenly Father. I often ponder what it will be like to camp out with Him, exploring and discussing those things which are currently beyond my physical reach and mental grasp. In this relaxed relationship, I’m sure that we will laugh at my crude attempts to translate and communicate His Word, and yet smile, knowing that empowered by the Spirit, our work together changed many lives.

Unfortunately, I sometimes experience some frustration, even anger, as I ponder the Word. It is a crying shame that God so clearly laid out the way to Him, and so eloquently and brilliantly verified the veracity of His revelation, only to have it corrupted and demeaned by religious, political, and academic institutions. The truth is evident, and yet so very few find it.

The last word of the 7^th verse of the 9^th Psalm is especially relevant. “The testimony, witness and evidence of Yahuweh is confirmed, verifiable, supportive, nourishing, and trustworthy, instructing those who are open-minded.” It is a prerequisite for knowing Him.

Yes, God wants us all to know that He exists and He wants us all to trust and rely upon Him. But these rather simple desires continue to be frustrated by men because so many have closed their mind to God and instead have opened themselves up to the schemes of men. Consider this summation of Romans 1:18-25, one of the most revealing and timely passages in the Renewed Covenant. “Ungodly men suppress the truth.... That which is known about God is evident within them, for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the cosmos His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew of God, they did not revere Him as God. They became futile in their speculations, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, exchanging the radiance of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man, in the image of nature and animals.... They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator.”

In another book for another day, God Damn Religion—The History of Evil from Babylon to Bush, I will focus on the wisdom inherent in these words. Satan is a one trick pony. Every one of his religious and political deceptions is built upon the same faulty foundation—one revealed in Paul’s epistle to the citizens of Rome, and again in Peter’s open letter to us all. It is in their words that we learn why so many scientists and teachers, so many religious clerics and politicians, are knowingly deceiving the masses—and thereby closing the open door which leads to Yahweh on their unsuspecting victims. Yes, I said “knowingly”—many pastors, priests, and rabbis know the truth, and yet they consciously disregard it because it isn’t good for business.

The Psalmist, who we have every reason to believe is David, goes on to say what I have long thought and felt: “The precepts (piqquwdym — principles and directions) of Yahuweh (yhwh) are moral and right (yasar — establishing, making upright), bringing joy (samah — gladness, elation, happiness, and merriment) to the heart (leb — to the inner being). The prescriptions (mitswah — instructions) of Yahuweh (yhwh) are brilliant and nurturing (bar — illuminating, bright and radiant, fruitful and purifying), enlightening (‘uwr) the eyes (‘ayin — perspectives and perceptions).” (Psalm 19:8) Yah’s way is the best way. It is an enjoyable and enlightening, uplifting and liberating experience to yada’/know Yahweh. There is nothing boring, depressing, or dumbfounding about God. He not only provides the only way to life everlasting, but, equally important, He has made the journey fun.

It’s interesting to note that bar, translated “brilliant and nurturing” above, also means “son,” and thus is evocative of the Messiyah. It even conveys “heir,” delineating one of the most exhilarating benefits of being adopted into Yah’s family.

Even though the primary meaning of yir’ah is “to revere,” most English bibles translate the endearing term “fear,” in the next verse. They thereby render the profound truth contained in this passage, senseless. “Revering (yir’ah — showing profound and endearing respect for) Yahuweh (yhwh) cleanses and restores (taher — purifies and renews), enabling one to stand and endure in His presence (‘amad — be present and upright, unbowed, arising and standing firm, sustained, propped up and ready to be evaluated, appearing on the scene and remaining) into eternity (la ‘ad — forever, for an unlimited duration of time without end). The judgments (misphat — decisions) of Yahuweh (yhwh) are completely (yahdaw — altogether, wholly, and consistently) reliable (‘emeth — firmly established, trustworthy) and vindicating (tsadaq — acquitting and liberating, clearing a person of all charges, demonstrating them to be innocent).” (Psalm 19:9) The path to vindication, to standing in God’s presence, is through reverence and relationship—through respecting Yah, His Way, and His Word.

Designating the nature of this “reverent relationship” Yahweh uses ‘amad to convey that He wants us “to be upright and unbowed, standing in His presence.” While it is customary to bow down before those who oppress and in front of those whom we have reason to fear, it is inappropriate to cower before someone you love. Loving fathers want their sons and daughters to stand by their side, to walk with them, not grovel at their feet. After telling Abraham to leave the religious and political schemes of Babylon, Yahweh asked the father of the Covenant to stand and walk with Him.

Speaking again of the human embodiment of the Way, the Truth, and the Life, the Messiyah Yahushua, David reveals: “Surely (gam — indeed), your (‘atah) Servant (‘ebed) holds the highest status (zahar — is the most prominent and respected of spiritual beings and He shines brilliantly). In (ba) Him and them [the Messiyah and the Word] (hem) there is a great (rab) and secure (samar — greatly desired) reward (‘eqeb — recompense and benefit).” (Psalm 19:11) We can rely on Yahweh’s promises, four of which are the forgiveness of sin, adoption into His family, becoming heirs to all that is His to give, and eternal life.

Next, the Psalmist asks an important rhetorical question...“Who has the skill to understand (byn — the ability to discern, realize, and recognize) error (sagi’ah — lapses in judgment and mistakes, the consequence of wandering astray, especially while ignorant or intoxicated) or acquit and pardon (naqah — vindicate and release) me (‘any) from (min) that which is concealed and unknown (satar)?” (Psalm 19:12) God fully understands the consequence of wandering away from Him. It is the death and the destruction of one’s soul.

Inherent in this passage is the realization that understanding is based upon being judgmental. To know the truth, to be free from error, to be acquitted and pardoned, we must first familiarize ourselves with the evidence contained in Yahweh’s Word, and then we must process it judgmentally, rendering the most rational conclusion. This in turn leads to making the right choice.

For those who may currently be misled by an out of context and errant rendering of “judge not lest you be judged,” recognize that Yahweh actually revealed: “Don’t separate, or you’ll be separated.” God doesn’t want us to lead souls away from Him, but since being judgmental is the essence of justice, of morality, of logic and reason, of understanding, and thus of making wise choices, He values judgment. It is the very reason, the moral code of man, Political Correctness, makes being judgmental an unforgivable sin.

God wants us to test teachings and dogmas to determine that which is true and that which is not. It is literally a matter of life and death. We are consistently called in Scripture to witness to the truth as Yahweh revealed it, while at the same time exposing and condemning the lies which man (often in league with Satan) has conceived.

Using satar’s primary definition, the end of the previous passage suggests that ignorance isn’t an alibi. But when we consider satar’s alternate connotation, the question then becomes: “Who has the ability to discern lapses in judgment, or to vindicate and release me from vanishing, from perishing and ceasing to exist (satar)?”

However, keep in mind, that when the same three Hebrew consonants are rendered seter, and when min is translated “by means of” instead of “from,” we obtain a deeper meaning. “Who understands the consequence of wandering away, or can vindicate and pardon by means of the shelter which covers and conceals (seter)?” As we journey through the Word we will discover that the Set-Apart Spirit adorns those who revere Yah, and who trust and rely upon Him, with a Garment of Light which not only covers and shelters us, but also conceals our “lapses in judgment and the consequence of us wandering away” from Him. This Garment of Light causes the guilty to be seen as innocent. It is what enables the imperfect to associate in the presence of perfection.

 With these thoughts in mind, we hear the Psalmist plead on his own behalf: “Indeed (gam), withhold and keep (hasak — restrain and spare) your servant (‘ebed) from (min) arrogance and insolence (zed — from presumptuous pride and insulting opposition, from over-confidence and overstepping my authority and becoming self-reliant in haughty rebellion), never (‘al) associating (masal — likening or comparing) me (‘any) with (ba) these things. Therefore then (‘az — with regard to my temporal expressions) I will be blameless and complete in the end (tamam — guiltless and wholly clean, perfect, and sound) and pardoned (naqah — considered innocent and released from punishment) from (min) great (rab) rebellion (pesa’ — the crime, sin, and offence of revolting against God).” (Psalm 19:13) In this life we are given the choice between relying on ourselves, arrogantly thinking that we are worthy, or relying on God, who is worthy. It is a measure of whom we value and whom we trust.

Arrogance is the basis of most rebellion, and thus separation from God. In that light, I want you to know that I am not worthy to represent Yahweh and His Word, and that by man’s standards, I am not qualified to write Yada Yahweh. I readily and openly admit these things because it is important that you understand that you should not rely on me. Instead, check to verify that I am rendering Yahweh’s revelations as accurately and completely as the oldest manuscripts and best lexicons allow. Then, trust in what Yahweh revealed and rely upon Him. The best that can be said for what I am sharing with you is that I’m willing to invest the time to learn what Yahweh actually inspired, and I’m passionate about sharing the insights which He provides.

Since most everything I’ve discovered in this process is contrary to prevailing wisdom and inconsistent with what I was brought up to believe, while at the same time breathtakingly brilliant, it should be obvious that a flawed individual like me isn’t the source. So, I invite you to keep reading with an open mind, research and question what you find, and then decide for yourself if God is speaking to you.

The 19^th Psalm ends powerfully and thoughtfully: “Let the words (‘emere) of my mouth (peh), and the melody and meditation (higgaywon — musings and mutterings) of my heart (leb — inner nature), exist (hayah) so that (la) I am (‘any) found acceptable (ratown — find favor based upon a choice which leads to being approved, being pleasing and accepted) with regard to (la) Your presence (paneh) Yahuweh (yhwh), my Rock, Enclosure, and Creator (suwr — the Mighty One), my Redeemer (ga’al — relative who is my Savior, the One whose blood releases, sets free, ransoms, and restores).” (Psalm 19:14) Yahweh is the Rock of our salvation, our Shelter, the Creator, and our Redeemer because Yahushua is Yahweh in our physical, mortal, and material world. Suwr and ga’al convey each of these essential attributes of Yahweh and provide a fitting conclusion to the Psalm.

We turned to the 19^th Psalm to verify that Yahuweh’s unit of measure was evident in His creation, and in the process we received marvelous lessons in science and salvation. As we return to the Genesis account, we can now be assured that Yahweh made His creative timeline manifest in the stars and that He wants us to use them as a guide—and so we shall.

The creative act of the first day winds down with these words: “God (‘elohym) called (qara’) the light (’owr) day (yowm — warm). And the darkness (hosek — obscurity, that which shrouds in blackness, veils by withholding knowledge, and clouds revelation with sinister suggestions, concealing and mystifying by way of ignorance and confusion) He called night (layil — time of darkness and gloom, the absence of light).” (Genesis 1:5) Light is associated with time because Yahuweh’s light is the source of life and of eternity. The absence of light renders us ignorant, confused, and imperfect—separated from God—and thus dead, even nonexistent.

God’s next statement is helpful in that it causes us to question the way we normally consider time, telling us that we need to look at the creation account in reverse, from the Creator’s perspective rather than our own. God has “the end of the day” preceding the “beginning of the day.”

But there is more to it than that. “Evening, or end of the day,” is represented by ‘ereb—and that’s where the fun begins. The three Hebrew letters which comprise ‘ereb can be rendered five ways, several of which seem appropriate. Boqer, the word rendered “morning” or “beginning of the day,” has several potential meanings as well—all of which seem to fit.

“The end of the day (‘ereb — evening, night, darkness, and sunset; the mixed together and interwoven fabric or material; the mingling and joining together of things; that which is pleasing, agreeable, and pleasant; the pledge, exchange, undertaking, and fellowship) and the beginning of the day (boqer — morning or sunrise; from baqar, meaning to seek, search, enquire, and consider; to reflect) existing as (hayah) one (‘echad — unified) day (yowm).” (Genesis 1:5)

During this time of universal genesis there would have been no shortage of darkness or light, as energy was being transformed into matter, space and time. Everything was mixing together and joining to form the interwoven fabric we call the cosmos. It was as pleasing to God as it is to us, both agreeable and pleasant. But let us not forget, the Genesis account is also God’s message to us, His pledge of fellowship, and His plan of salvation—one in which He explains His undertaking and exchange: our redemption.

Yahuweh distinguished this day, and only this day, with a cardinal number—in this case one. It represents a quantitative measure of a singular solitary, and yet unified day—the period when space and time began. All other days are presented relative to each other, being called the second, third, and fourth, respectively. ‘Echad means “one,” not first.

Spiritually, day one is focused on introductions. Yahuweh, who is One, tells us that He exists, and that He is the reason we exist. God declares that He is creative, and that words are causal and important. The Almighty further conveys that His nature can be equated to light.

By reading God’s presentation, we have discovered that the absence of Light is the abyss—a place of darkness, confusion, and lifelessness. We learned that Yahweh’s Spirit removes these evil things from us, washing and purifying us, protecting us. Collectively, these concepts comprise the foundation of Yah’s redemptive plan.

Historically, moving forward from creation and out of Eden, day one is evocative the first man created in Yahweh’s image, and of his personal one-on-one relationship with the One who is Light and Spirit. It should not be surprising therefore, that including Adam’s time in Eden, the first man lived one thousand years—the length of the first millennia of human history.

Therefore, an earth-based clock can be used to measure time back to the sixth day of creation. And from that time on, the biblical timeline is chronology synced with recorded history—both of which began approximately three decades shy of 6,000 years ago.

Scientifically, every nuance of Yahweh’s testimony appears accurate. The universe was created—it didn’t always exist. It began with a big bang. God said, “Let there be light and light existed.” And even to this day, photons outnumber particulates of matter by a billion to one.

Consistent with God’s accounting, light energy was transformed into matter in the formless void of space, one that was originally lifeless and very chaotic—during a time when physical laws were suspended. There was an inflationary period or rapid expansion, just as Yah affirms. It was in fact when time began.

Galactic formation commenced during the first relative day of this epoch with stars filling the darkness of space with the first rays of visible light. This occurred 300,000 years into an epoch which lasted 7,500,000,000 years (plus or minus 20%).

And yet, the initial phase of creation, at least from the perspective of the only eyewitness at the scene, lasted exactly one solitary day. And that is what this is all about: the Scriptures are Yahuweh’s eyewitness account of how and why He created us. And they represent the timeline of how and when He will redeem us.

Earlier, I said that I realized why so many scientists and teachers were perpetrating academic deceptions. And while I shared portions of my source of revelation with you, which was Paul’s letter to the Romans, if you are like me, you probably just made a mental note, skimmed over it, and kept on reading. So while most of what follows is covered in the “Yada” chapter, as it is pertinent to Hosea’s prophetic message of man’s nature in the last days, I’ve taken the liberty of reviewing it here as well. Romans 1 explains why mankind is in a fog, and why we are aiding and abetting our own demise. It helps explain why what you are reading here is so out of sync with mainstream religious practices.

Ignorant of Yahweh and His Word, ignorant of the meaning of words themselves, the religious under the banner of moral values, and the politically correct under the guise of secular humanism, have escorted humankind to the edge of the abyss. In Romans, Paul speaks profoundly and eloquently of such a people, place, and time. “For even though they once knew of (ginosko - learned about, came to have a knowledge of, and perceived the existence of) God, they did not recognize or dignify Him as Yahuweh, or give thanks. Instead, they became worthless and destitute in their imaginative speculations, contradictory perceptions and unsubstantiated opinions (dialogismos — the thinking of men who are deliberating with themselves). Devoid of insight and understanding, unable to reason, their foolish (asunetos — unintelligent and unenlightened) heart (kardia — the seat of passions, desires, impulses, and character) was darkened (skotizo — deprived of light). Professing themselves to be wise (sophos — skilled in letters and learned), they became fools (moraino — morons, dimwitted; out of touch with the purpose of existence; not having a sound mind). They exchanged (allasso - changed one thing for another, transformed and corrupted, even attempted to diminish) the glory (doxa — reputation and splendor; status and honor; magnificence, preeminence and majesty) of the incorruptible and immortal God, for an image (eikon — likeness and resemblance) in the form of corruptible and perishing man, and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.” (Romans 1:21-23)

This defines the foundation of the academic, political, societal, and religious institutions of our day just as surely as it describes the mindset of Hosea’s Israel and Paul’s Rome. Evidential truth has been exchanged for unsubstantiated opinions, reason has been abrogated by irrational speculations, and man has replaced God with himself. It is the essence of our demise.

The alternative is to prioritize God. And if we want to understand who He is and what He wants, we must immerse ourselves in His revelation. By doing so, we will come to understand the universe and our place and role in it.

But if we don’t prioritize our desire to know Yahweh, if we don’t reject man’s misleading version of Him, if we don’t replace ignorance with knowledge, and errant opinions with the truth, we will be left destitute—separated from God and thus from life eternal. And that is not my opinion; it is the Creator’s conclusion...“Therefore, God surrendered them to their own filth and immorality, to the desires, carnal appetites, and lusts of their hearts and minds, so that their bodies might be rejected and set aside, dishonored and suffer shame. For they exchanged (metallasso — replaced, changed, and transformed) the truth (aletheia — verifiable essence of reality as evidenced by the facts, that which is manifest and forms the basis of reason and acceptance) of God for a lie (pseudos — for myths, deceit, guile, error, and false objects of worship). They religiously venerated (sebazomai) and served (latreuo) the creation, diverse civilizations, and the creature rather than the Creator.” (Romans 1:24-25)

The Greek word for “served” at the end of the passage is latreuo, which means “to work on behalf of someone or something so as to receive a reward.” It carries a religious connotation on its own, but here it follows sebazomai, meaning “religious worship and veneration,” which makes it particularly devastating in this context. Yahweh is telling us that religions have replaced verifiable truth with beguiling deceptions and that religious leaders have advanced environmental, communal, and Satanic agendas for their own personal gain. What’s more, by using metallasso, God is saying that their modus-operandi is replacement theology, revisionist history, whitewashing, and counterfeiting.

The Devil’s words, rites, deceptions and ambitions have replaced Yahweh’s in what has become a substitute reality. Halal’s Easter has replaced Yahweh’s Passover; the sungod’s Christmas is celebrated in place of the Miqra’ of Tabernacles, Satan’s Sunday has been exchanged for the Sabbath, and Ba’al’s name, LORD, has been substituted in place of Yahuweh. On and on it goes until man has replaced God with his own creation.

Paul’s open letter to the arrogant Romans may be the most erudite dissertation on the academic positions, political dogmas, religious doctrines, and societal morays of man ever written. His words define America at the dawn of the 21^st century. His treatise describes where our secular humanist schools, politically correct media, beguiling politicians, and wayward clergy have taken us.

What I find particularly interesting, is that according to God, moral depravity is a symptom of, a consequence of, errant thinking and misguided religion. As such, we can use moral depravity as a barometer to measure spiritual ignorance. For example, the greater the incidence of pornography, fornication, homosexuality, adultery, incest, pedophilia, and rape, the more ignorant and deceived the society has become, and the further away from Yahweh it has moved.

These acts are self destructive, which is to say they come with their own penalty. Furthermore, the destructive byproduct is the same for socialist societies that through Darwinistic natural selection and secular humanism have replaced God with man, as it is for religious societies which have exchanged an enlightened and personal relationship with Yah for doctrines whose god is remade in an image which serves clerics.

What follows reads like the nightly news. It is an indictment of our culture and time. This prophetic depiction is a direct result of man’s speculations, his contradictory perceptions, and unsubstantiated opinions which in turn have caused us to be devoid of understanding, unable to reason. Foolish, we have exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God with the reflections of corruptible man.

This is the result: “And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge and associate (dokimazo echo — to test and to examine, to scrutinize to ascertain genuineness and worthiness, to discern and distinguish, forming a relationship and connection) with God any longer, God surrendered them to (paradidomi — gave them over into the hands of another; delivered them for another to keep, use, and manage in) their depraved (adokimos — unworthy, worthless, spurious, irrational and ignorant, abominable and abhorred, disapproved and reprobate, rejected and cast aside) minds (nous — intellect, thoughts, conscience, mental perceptions, emotions, moral inclinations and opinions).” (Romans 1:28) Because most men and women have chosen not to associate with Yahweh, God has released many souls to the Adversary’s care.

“So they do those things which are not becoming, right, or proper, causing them to be ill-prepared, ill-equipped, broken, and separated. They are filled with much injustice, pornography, fornication, depravity, hatred, spite, wickedness, fraud, extortion, covetousness, greed, materialism, moral depravity, poisonous notions, malice, envy, ill-will, jealousy, mass murder, contentiousness, quarrels, strife, wrangling, deceit, deception, trickery, guile, craftiness, and mischievousness in association with depraved characters. They secretly, clandestinely, and conspiratorially make false and malicious statements designed to injure and defame reputations. They are gossips, slanderers, and backbiters. They are haters of God who see themselves as superior and thus are arrogant and authoritative, haughty and overbearing, commanding and domineering. Acting and appearing like they are above the masses, they despise, insult and injure others. They are audacious, rude and disrespectful braggarts, arrogant and boastful contrivers of depraved, worthless, harmful, and evil ideas. They are stubbornly perverse, rebellious, insulting, contemptuous and disobedient to parents. They are unintelligent, unenlightened, and foolish. Untrustworthy, they are treacherous when it comes to the Covenant relationship. They are cold-hearted, unloving and merciless, lacking real compassion.” (Romans 1:28-31) This is a perfect description of the character of those who covet power and money—those who influence academia, politics, the media, and most religious institutions.

According to God, the byproduct of errant thinking is abhorrent behavior. Ignorance isn’t bliss; it is self destructive. “And although they are acquainted with the statutes and decisions of God, those who repeatedly practice and habitually promote such infectious things and denote this kind of character deserve the sentence of misery, destruction, death, and perdition; they deserve to be excluded from the presence and favor of God.” (Romans 1:32) To be damned is to be forsaken, which in this context is to be excluded from the company of Yahweh. And that’s because “damned” means “separated.” To be isolated from the source of life is to be lifeless—to no longer exist. Therefore, according to Yahweh, those who repeatedly promote contradictory perceptions and unsubstantiated opinions which are inconsistent with Scripture are leading a parade to annihilation.

Continuing to speak of those who are self-reliant and thus deceived, self-righteous and thus damned, and self-assured thus foolish, Yahuweh inspired Paul to write...“They not only band together, acting collectively as a baffling and backwards wind, they do the same individually (poieo autos — abiding and agreeing with one another, appointing and ordaining their doctrines, casting people out and executing them, transgressing the law). Moreover, they congregate with like minded individuals, approving and supporting those who repeatedly practice and habitually promote the same infectious things. Therefore, you are all without excuse, because your position is indefensible. For each man among you who makes a personal evaluation which separates and pushes others away (krino — who prefers division, punishment, and damnation), in the way you use your influence to divide and push apart (krino — choosing to separate and condemn) others, accordingly, you will be evaluated, separated, condemned, and punished (katakrino — be associated with the opposition and be cast down, pushed away, and set apart in judgment—determined guilty and sentenced to doom), for you repeatedly practice and habitually promote separation and division (krino — prefer  punishment and damnation).” (Romans 1:32-2:2) The hypocrites who act like as if they were God, will ultimately find themselves before God.

The primary and basic meaning of krino is “to separate, to push apart, to divide, and to put asunder.” It is often translated “judge,” because distinguishing and discriminating between right and wrong requires us to separate fact from fiction—right from wrong. It is a word which lies at the heart of choice, of relationship, and of rational and moral thought. And since separation leads to judgment, and to condemnation and damnation with regard to one’s relationship with God, krino is often rendered “to be sentenced, condemned and punished.”

In this case, in this context, however, it is senseless to translate krino “judge” at least in the sense of judgment meaning “evaluating and condemning false teaching and bad behavior.” And yet all too often, those who embody the traits Paul has just enumerated, cry foul when they are criticized by quoting the errantly translated “Judge not lest you be judged” verse out of context. By so doing, they are implying that those who are critically evaluating their pontifications are wrong for doing so. But that cannot possibly be what this passage means because the entire presentation is a critical and judgmental evaluation of false teaching and bad behavior.

God is making a very astute point. Life is about choice, about being set-apart unto Him as opposed to being separated from Him. And choice requires discernment, discrimination, and judgment. Implied and implicit in these words is that the choice to associate with Yahweh, to trust and rely on Him, renders us free of judgment, while the choice to lead people away from God, to separate mankind from Yahweh, leads to being judged, to being evaluated, to being associated with the Adversary, to being separated, condemned, cast down, and punished. “Separate, and you will be separated.”

Incidentally, the deceivers and the deceived will not receive the same fate. That is why Yahweh included different penalties in His list. The deceived, those who “denote the kind of character” delineated in Paul’s soliloquy, will “deserve the sentence of death and destruction,” that is the dissipation of their souls. But “those who repeatedly practice and habitually promote separation from God,” leading others astray, will “deserve the sentence of perdition and misery,” that is perpetual anguish in the abyss. Both victim and perpetrator, however, “deserve to be excluded from the presence and favor of God.”

This passage is also an essay on hypocrisy. God knows that those who preach tolerance are only tolerant of those who agree with them. He recognizes that those who promote deceptions in religious institutions, from political rostrums, and inside classrooms are the most dangerous people on earth. They damn not only themselves but all who listen to them.

What Yahweh is revealing through Paul is human nature; it is the means, symptoms, and consequence of men contriving godless scientific theories, manmade religious doctrines, and secular political dogmas. While politicians, professors, preachers, journalists should be free to say whatever they want, when their ideas counterfeit and contradict Scripture, their teachings should be exposed and condemned by those who know better. As for the individuals themselves, those who exchange the corruptions of man for the truth as revealed by God, will be hung by a rope they themselves wove. “The sentencing and separation (krino) of man (anthropos) is in reasoned accordance with the truth (logizomai — logical and fair based upon the evidence, an accounting of debits and credits) and thus is consistent and fair with regard to those who practice (prassontas) such things (toioutos). Do you suppose that when you separate, condemn, punish, and damn others that you, yourself, will escape the sentence of separation from (krino — the judgment, condemnation, and damnation of) God?” (Romans 2:3)

The religious clerics preaching in today’s churches, synagogues and mosques are, in many ways, indistinguishable from those Paul spoke against in Rome. Their whitewashed deceptions were similarly beguiling. As such, the religion of Lord/Ba’al, so abhorrent in Yahweh’s eyes, has been reborn wholesale in Roman Catholicism and Islam and then to diminishing degrees in Communism, Secular Humanism, Mormonism, and Protestantism. This makes every word Yahweh inspired Paul to write as pertinent to our time as they were relevant to the prophet’s and preacher’s original audiences.

The politicians who pontificate in the media and statehouses, are remarkably similar to those Paul judged. Their caustic mix of half truths and lies has led to the place we are about to find ourselves. So by understanding Yahweh’s frustration with the political landscape of Paul’s Rome circa 50 CE, we can judge our political parties using the Creator’s criterion. We can set the symptoms we are witnessing today along side the list this open letter has provided to determine how we are fairing as a society in God’s eyes. If the match is good, we’re in trouble.

Yahweh has revealed as clearly as words allow: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowing and knowledge.” Therefore, it is time we pause, listen, and thoughtfully consider what He has to say. And there is no better place to start than: “In the beginning God created....”