From Koinonia House

Technical > Creation > The Most Insulting Idol Of All

The Mathematics of Beauty: The Most Insulting Idol of All This article was originally published in the January 2004 Personal Update NewsJournal. by Chuck Missler

The ancient pagans worshiped idols of wood, brass, or stone. Modern society has invented an even weaker idol - clearly the most insulting of all. It is ironic that it has become fashionable to attribute the creation of this universe - and of ourselves - to randomness . “First there was nothing; then, it exploded.” That’s the dictum of the day.

This, of course, flies in the face of all observed phenomena as well as common sense. Whether we look through a telescope or a microscope, we are confronted with the irrefutable evidence of design : clear demonstrations of a level of skill and craftsmanship that renders any comparison with man’s best efforts as clumsy and inept. Yet it has become the “politically correct” view of our society that it all just “happened” by unaided chance alone! This is what Peter refers to as “willful ignorance” ( 2 Peter 3:5 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
).

Let’s examine a “simple” leaf:

The leaf provides food for the rest of the plant through the process of photosynthesis.

The outermost layer of the leaf is the epidermis, which is protected by the waxy coating of the cuticle .

Guard cells implanted in the epidermis form pores, known as stomata , through which water, oxygen, and carbon dioxide pass.

Embedded in the inner tissues of the leaf are chloroplasts, where photosynthesis occurs. The plant veins consist of two specialized tissues: xylem conducts water from the plant to the leaf, while phloem carries food from the leaf to the plant.

The Sympathetic Miracles of Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis is a process involving two interdependent stages: the Light-Dependent Reaction (in two phases: [see chart]) and the Light-Independent Reaction.

Light contains many wavelengths. Certain red and blue wavelengths of light are the most effective in photosynthesis because they have exactly the right amount of energy to energize chlorophyll electrons and boost them out of their orbits to a higher energy level.

Other accessory pigments enhance the light-absorption capacity of the leaf by capturing a broader spectrum of blue and red wavelengths, along with yellow and orange wavelengths.

None of the photosynthetic pigments absorb green light; as a result, green wavelengths are reflected, which is why plants appear green.

A chloroplast traps light energy and converts it into chemical energy contained in two types of molecules:

1) Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH)
2) Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)

These will both be used in the subsequent Light-Independent Reaction [see chart]. The Light-Independent Reaction takes the two chemicals produced in the Light-Dependent Reaction, along with CO₂ , to form glucose (sugar): the NADPH provides the hydrogen atoms that help form glucose, and the ATP provides the energy for this and other reactions used to synthesize glucose in the stroma.

There is a broader system design that is evident in the elegance of the total picture. Plants produce both the free oxygen as well as a surplus of sugar to provide food for the animals. Animals burn this energy, producing the CO₂ needed by the plants [see chart].

This highly complex interdependency all happened, of course, “simply by blind, unaided chance”! Hardly. But there is an even more astonishing insight as we stand back and behold the overall composite designs.

Randomness, by its very nature, lacks symmetry, or order of any kind. When scientists search the heavens with their radio telescopes searching for extraterrestrial life, they sift through the random “noise” hoping to find non-random signals indicating the presence of intelligent life.

The very existence of non-random signals are the very evidence of intelligent life!

This is an inadvertent admission that ascribing the creation itself to randomness is a contradiction of logic. But the mathematics of nature contains many further surprises…

The Mathematics of Beauty

In 1180, an Italian mathematician named Leonardo Fibonacci discovered a strange sequence of numbers that have since attracted the attention of many perceptive observers:

1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233…etc.

Each number is the sum of the previous two. It turns out that the ratio of any adjacent numbers approximates (1 + 5^(½))/2 = 1.618. It would be several hundred years before these sequences would be broadly recognized in nature. In floral arrangements, the lily has 3 petals; the yellow violet, 5; delphinium, 8; mayweed, 13; aster, 21; pyrethrum, 34; helenium, 55; and the Michaelmas daisy, 89 - all Fibonacci numbers!

In the study of phyllotaxis, the spiral arrangement of leaves around a plant’s stem, the leaves of the elm are arranged at 1/2 circumference; the beech and hazel, 1/3; the apricot and oak, 2/5; the pear and poplar, 3/8; the almond and pussy willow, 5/13; pines, 5/21 or 13/34; etc. In a review of 434 Angiospermae and 44 Gymnospermae, they all involve Fibonacci numbers! It turns out that this maximizes their exposure to sunlight and air without shading or crowding from other leaves.

In the study of seeds, the rows of bracts on pinecones are 8 and 13; pineapples, 8, 13, and 21; etc. The optimum divergence angle of 137.5^o produces the best packing. That’s why you see Fibonacci spirals in the seed heads (sunflowers, etc.) But what’s really astonishing is that this peculiar sequence is far more pervasive than in just botany alone.

In art, it has long been recognized that there is a relationship known as “the Golden Rectangle”. This has the peculiar property in that if you remove a square, you still retain the same “ideal” rectangle in the remainder. You find this relationship exploited in the Parthenon in Greece, the Great Pyramid in Egypt, the United Nations Building, credit cards, playing cards, postcards, light switch plates, writing pads, 3×5, 5×8 index cards, etc. In classic art, Leonardo da Vinci, Van Gogh, Vermeer, John Singer Sargent, Monet, Whistler, Renoir, Mary Cassatt, Giotto, Durer and others relied on this “golden rectangle” in their designs.

In music, the various scales are all Fibonacci numbers: most beautiful chords found in music are the major and minor sixths.

Musicians like Bach, Beethoven, Bartok, et al., would divide musical time into periods based on the same “golden” proportions to determine the beginnings and endings of themes, moods, texture, etc.

This same “Golden Rectangle” is the basis for the “Golden Spiral,” which is the only spiral that does not alter its shape as it grows. This is often noticed in the chambered nautilus, but this “Golden Spiral” also appears in hurricanes, spiral seeds, ram’s horns, sea-horse tails, growing fern leaves, the DNA molecule, waves breaking on the beach, tornados, galaxies, the tail of a comet around the sun, whirlpools, seed patterns of sunflowers, daisies, and dandelions; the ears of all mammals; and, the cochlea of the human ear.

What is also surprising is that even the orbits of the planets reveal a relationship suggesting the Fibonacci numbers. Penetrate into nature wherever he [the scientist] may, thought has been there before him. Clearly, the same architect that designed the plants, designed the animals, and the universe itself! His fingerprints seem to define beauty itself. God is, indeed, a mathematician.

* * *

[This summary was excerpted from our forthcoming Expositional Commentary of Genesis.]

From Koinonia House

Technical > Bio-Tech > Bacterial Communication

Microbe Warfare: Bacterial Communication For a deeper discussion of the possibilities, see our briefing pack, Behold A Pale Horse , which includes a discussion of contemporary bacterial and other forms of warfare, and their Biblical implications. by Chuck Missler

There have been some fascinating developments in the fight against disease that also portend some astonishing prophetic perspectives.

Researchers have discovered in recent years that some infectious and potentially lethal bacteria such as E. coli, salmonella and Vibrio cholerae (the bug that causes cholera) exchange messages with one another in order to be dangerous. They are harmless if they can’t communicate.

These organisms have developed what researchers call a “bacterial language” - a set of chemical signals that enables them to take a head count, rather like a sergeant calling a platoon’s roll.  The bacteria don’t attack until they sense that their numbers are sufficient.

The messages are hormonelike molecules that certain microbes can send and receive-saying, in effect, “I’m here,” and responding, “So am I.”

In a recent report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Bonnie Bassler, a molecular biologist at Princeton University, in Princeton, NJ, said E. coli and salmonella bacteria wait until their numbers reach a critical mass before they start to release the poisonous toxins that have sickened or killed people who ate contaminated food.

Scientists call this bacterial communication system “quorum sensing.”  That’s because it works a bit like a quorum in human society, where it takes a certain minimum number of people to qualify as a meeting in certain kinds of proceedings.

“Quorum sensing enables bacteria to coordinate their behavior, to act like multicellular organisms and to acquire the benefits of cooperative activity,” Bassler said.  “If bacteria started producing toxins as soon as the infection began, it would be like waving a flag to alert the host’s immune system.”

Bassler continued,  “If the bacteria are in small numbers, they don’t stand a chance, but if they wait until they reach high cell densities, then they have a much better chance of establishing an infection.”

The phenomenon of signaling molecules was discovered in the 1970s in two sea-dwelling bacteria, Vibrio fischeri and Vibrio harveyi, which emit a blue glow when their population reaches a certain density.

Since then, more than 30 species of bacteria have been found to exchange messages this way.  Some talk only to their own kind; others communicate with alien species.

The Battle Against Disease

Battles in the information age involve controlling the enemies’ communication systems, as well as gaining adequate assessments of relative strengths.

What king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?  Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.  -Luke 14:31, 32 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)

“Some bacteria both speak and understand a common chemical language,” said Jeffrey Stein, chief scientist at Quorex Pharmaceuticals, an experimental drug company in Carlsbad, Calif.  Stein likened it to a system of “wireless communication.”

Researchers figure they may be able to prevent or cure disease if they can jam the bacterial communication network - say, by blocking the apparatus that receives messages, known as a “receptor” - on the surface of the microbes.

New weapons and tactics to counter infectious microorganisms are becoming crucial, since these little creatures keep developing resistance to existing drugs.

For example, one such microbe, Staphylococcus aureus, resists all but one potent antibiotic, vancomycin, and even that line of defense is crumbling.

“There is a lot of interest in new drugs that turn off that (Staphylococcus) system,” said Stein, whose company is working to develop and patent such remedies.

“We’re developing compounds that interfere with molecular signaling [by] turning off receptors.  This is a new concept, a fundamentally new class of antimicrobial tools.”¹

This progress in the fight against disease is both encouraging and yet at the same time is also disturbing as we attempt to gain a broader perspective on our prophetic horizon.

The Latest Pandora’s Box?

There is a dark side to the emergent technologies that are ushering in the 21st century. These technologies include genetics, nano-technology, and robotics.

The field of genetics has been making grand strides as DNA is becoming better understood, and the human genome is beginning to yield to several mapping efforts.

Nanotechnology is the science of building tiny devices out of individual atoms or molecules; it was first theorized by Nobel Prize winner Richard Feynman in 1959.

Here, too, technologists are beginning to make some impressive progress.

The field of robotics is also the beneficiary of strides in making sentient, programmable devices that can, in some contexts, outperform humans.

By combining robotics with the advances in nanotechnology, one of the goals is to develop molecule-sized machines that are injectable, programmable, and can navigate the human bloodstream.

As these advances combine further with developments in genetics, some are predicting the development of self-replicating machines that can lead to new, unexpected diseases.

It is expected that they may have the ability to be custom-built to attack genetically distinct groups of people, or even specific individuals!

The potential military and social engineering implications are extremely disturbing.  As these three areas of pursuit begin to converge, we can begin to see some terrifying possibilities that may prove far more dangerous than the weapons of mass destruction that cast their shadow over the 20th century.

The intense pursuit of these technologies, accelerated by unbridled corporate competition, is proceeding at an alarming pace.

The potential for accidents or abuse is of increasing concern to those who are concerned with the stewardship of our future and that of our grandchildren.

And the bizarre prospects being ushered in by these new technologies may also suggest some radically different perspectives for our Biblical eschatalogical conjectures.

The Prophetic Implications

Among the famed “four horsemen” of the Apocalypse, we find the pale [chloros, green] horse:

And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.    -Revelation 6:8 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)

We usually infer that the “beasts of the earth” are of the four-footed kind; we rarely include in our perspective the possibility that they might be microbial.²

Among the end-time prophecies are a number of passages which warn of some really strange maladies:

And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.

And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.

And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. -Revelation 9:3-6 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)

There are many passages that may take on a different complexion when viewed from the vantage point of the current technological revolution in genetics, nano-technologies, and robotics.

The potential Bibilical implications are so provocative that they will be the subject of further articles in the forthcoming issues of our news journal.

Stay tuned. Film at eleven.

*   *   *

1. Much of this article was excerpted from “Scientists Attack Germ Enigma,” Robert S. Boyd, Knight Ridder, q.v., Spokane Spokesman-Review , Sept. 19, 2000.

From Koinonia House

Technical > Bio-Tech > The Sorcerer’s New Apprentice?

Biotech Update: The Sorcerer’s New Apprentice? by Chuck Missler **FOR A MORE IN-DEPTH STUDY**

Who does not remember the old castle, Mickey clad in the sorcerer’s robe and hat, the psychedelic armies of brooms, and the relentless march of the Dukas symphony? Only when the castle was flooded did the sorcerer wake up and dry it with a spell. Mickey got off lightly with a swat of the broom. We may not be so fortunate.

Science often appears as a close cousin of sorcery. Science brings to life the tales of old: flying through the air at the speed of sound; communicating with images at the speed of light; traveling even to the moon; and, even the power of healing.

The explosive advances in science and technology have already gone far beyond what even science fiction writers once thought possible. Biotechnologists may well prove to be the ”Sorcerer’s Apprentices” of the 21^st century. And these advances raise challenging issues of ethics, morals, and even our theological perspectives.

Genetic Engineering

Of all the many scientific discoveries, the field which clearly has become the most controversial is the study of genetics. Farmers have been genetically manipulating plants long before they knew about genes. Selective breeding, however, can enhance or suppress only those traits already present in a population. Modern genetic engineering (including such techniques as gene deletion, gene doubling, introducing a foreign gene, and changing the positions of genes) has freed the process of genetic modification from limitations imposed by the existing characteristics of a species, creating something that could not exist in nature.

Commercial applications of this technology thus far have concentrated on bioengineering pest resistance and herbicide tolerance into widely planted crops like corn, soy, cotton, and potatoes. Growers adopting these ”first generation” genetically modified crops have been able to increase yields while significantly reducing costly inputs like chemical pesticides and fertilizers.

The StarLink Debacle

StarLink corn was a corn hybrid genetically modified to make it more profitable to grow. It contained two added genes - one for herbicide tolerance and one for insect resistance. The herbicide tolerance gene was the product of an earlier approval process. It was the addition of a gene derived from the bacterial species Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), coding for an insecticidal protein called Cry9C, that triggered the StarLink crisis. This controversial Cry9C variety, 50 to 100 times more potent than other Bt-spliced insecticides, caused critics to warn of dangerous food allergies in humans, with symptoms ranging from fever, rashes, and diarrhea to anaphylactic shock and sudden death. The FDA approved it only for animal feed.

On September 18, 2000, a coalition of consumer and environmental groups detected DNA fragments from StarLink corn in Taco Bell taco shells sold in grocery stores. Days later, Kraft Foods recalled all Taco Bell taco shells. Kraft’s action started a frenzy of recalls as other manufacturers discovered StarLink corn in their products, too.

By November 2000, the FDA recalled nearly three hundred types of adulterated snack chips, corn flour, and other corn foods. The cost of these recalls ran into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Complaints began pouring into the FDA and the CDC about allergic reactions to corn products attributable to StarLink contamination. Overnight, StarLink became a ”Frankenfood” poster child - the incarnation of critics’ worst nightmares. International corn exports plummeted. The ensuing crisis paralyzed an entire sector of American agriculture and food production and badly shook consumer confidence. Even two years later, StarLink corn was still popping up in corn shipments.

Implications

It is certainly a ”brave new world” in which science will obviously continue to outrun the lawmakers. The last time man pursued knowledge to such an extent, God intervened and scattered the people and confounded their languages. As the Bible says in Genesis 11:6, ”…now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.” How long will it be before His patience is once again exhausted?

BioTech: The Sorcerer’s New Apprentice - Audio CD - Chuck MisslerUpdated April 2006! Chuck Missler surveys some of the most promising prospects and reviews the types of ventures emerging. He also reveals some of the concerns emerging among the informed, and includes some of the provocative Biblical implications. Click for more information - Audio CD with MP3

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From Koinonia House

Technical > Bio-Tech > Tampering With The Engines Of Creation

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice? Tampering with the Engines of Creation by Chuck Missler

The search to decipher DNA and the development of drugs which could address the causes of diseases such as cancer, rheuma toid arthritis, and heart disease is accelerating.

Designer Genes

Each of the human body’s 75 trillion cells, except for the red blood cells, has a full complement of chromosomes in its nucleus. Each nucleus has 46 chromosomes in 23 pairs. In each chromosome is a wadded-up strand of DNA, which includes hundreds of millions of base pairs. Stretched out straight, it would measure anywhere from three to nine feet long and about 20 atoms across.

The DNA code is universal, whether it be human, rat, bat, mouse, worm, fruit fly, or microbe. (All codes of life came from the same “software house.”)

The Human Genome Project, a $3 billion international effort to map the entire genome, was launched in 1990 and involves 350 labs. It isn’t expected to complete its task until 2005. One of the leading organizations, Human Genome Sciences, has 135 scientists using the most advanced computer, laser, and scientific technologies deciphering and decoding the molecular sequences making up the human genome.

Human Genome Sciences, along with its associated research foundation, the Institute of Genomic Research, is expected to have isolated and deciphered most of the important human genes within two years. (It is a public company with the backing of drug giant SmithKline Beecham.)

Designer Animals

Lambs are now being born on a farm in Scotland which have had their genetic construction so altered that they will produce a drug called Alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT) in their milk. Clinical tests of this drug will begin in late 1995 on humans suffering from lung disorders.

Genzyme Transgenics hopes that its anti-thrombosis drug, anti- thrombin-III (AT-III), produced in the milk of genetically engineered goats, will be ready for clinical trials in early 1995.

GenPharm International (Mountain View, California) has just produced the first progeny from a Dutch biotech bull in the hopes of producing drug-manufacturing cows with a milk yield ten times that of goats or sheep.

In Britain, researchers at the government-backed Roslin Institute are reporting progress in breeding genetically engineered chickens which will be capable of producing drugs and vaccines in their eggs.

Giant Business Opportunities

The potential economic stake is enormous. Genzyme Transgenics (Cambridge, Massachusetts) anticipates that the market for milk- produced drugs alone will be worth over $1 billion per year within the next decade. New start-up companies as well as the big drug “giants” are rushing to build in-house gene-hunting capabilities.

Organ Factories

There are also organs being produced for eventual transplant into humans. Researchers at the British company Imutran estimate that hearts and other organs produced from genetically altered pigs could be transplanted into humans within three years. The first litter of suitably adapted pigs was born last month (June 1994). Estimates suggest that more than 100,000 patients a year could receive such pig organs.

Are Concerns Justified?

The proponents of genetic engineering claim that they have learned from the development of nuclear power, and environmental legislation is now being introduced to control potential damage. However, no laboratory security, no matter how effective, can deal with unforeseen post-release effects.

Controls designed to protect high-security farming of genetically manipulated farm animals can’t deal with the damage that would follow the release of genetically manipulated plants, fish, or animals. The areas of risk include: the escape of an introduced gene by crossing it with wild relatives; unexpected alterations of normal characteristics in different environments; and, unexpected advantages conferred by genetic manipulation which could lead to the establishment and persistence of an organism.

There are already many examples where the introduction of exotic species to a new environment has caused the displacement of indigenous fauna and flora without the added ingredient of genetic manipulation. Rabbits in Australia, zebra mussels in North America, and rhododendron in parts of north Wales are but a few examples.

There are some scientists and doctors who believe that the AIDS virus was the result of a government genetic experiment that went out of control. They point to some combinative aspects of the HIV virus which suggest that it was engineered in a laboratory. (See the Strecker Memorandum reference at the end of this article.)

Supporters of genetic engineering say that it is no different in concept from traditional breeding methods. This is misleading, since no traditional breeding method could result in the introduction of a human or pig growth hormone, for instance, into fish; or of insect genes into plants.

The instinctive shudder that passes down one’s spine is not limited to uninformed laymen; some scientists share these same misgivings. There is little doubt that these efforts could lead to adverse, possibly catastrophic, consequences.

“These are the risks of disturbing the integrity of nature.” As the experimentation continues and expands, and as increasing investments are made in this dynamic new field, the risks multiply. As the new “Sorcerer’s Apprentices” continue to tamper with the “engines of Creation,” no one can predict the results. There could be big trouble ahead.

It seems ironic that the vigorous and talented pursuit of solutions to relieve human suffering and misery might also be leading to some major, perhaps global, tragedies for mankind.

Apocalyptic Implications?

Revelation Chapter 9 is just one Biblical example which presents some pretty weird creatures of the future, described as “locusts.” However, they can’t be normal locusts since they have a king (and Proverbs 30:27 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
reveals that natural locusts have no king). Most commentators view them as a demonichorde. Could they be genetic mutants, brought on to fulfill an apocalyptic destiny? Rather wild. Who knows?

In this rapidly changing world, as we see the deterioration of morality, the increasing corruption at the highest levels of government, and the increasing risks in the unbridled application of only partially understood technologies, isn’t it reassuring that God is in control of your life? Or is He? Have you put Him in control, or are you “winging it” yourself?

If you are gambling your eternity that the Bible is wrong, you’ve got more guts than I have. Think about it.

Bibliography

1. Bylinsky, Gene, “Genetics: the money rush is on,” Fortune Magazine, May 30, 1994.
2. Various Briefs, Intelligence International Ltd., 17 Rodney Road, Cheltenham, Glos, GL50 1HX, UK.
3. The Strecker Memorandum (video), c/o Dr. Strecker, 1501 Colorado Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90041; (213) 254-7127.

Genesis - MP3 Commentary - Chuck MisslerRecent breakthroughs in the fields of physics, technology and biology led Chuck Missler to update and re-record this wonderful study in Genesis. Click for more information - MP3 on CD-ROM

From Koinonia House

Technical > Space-Time > Astrology

Dangerous Myths: Astrology An Urgent Resource for Today: The Danger of False Ideas - Colossians - Chuck Missler by Chuck Missler

It seems astonishing that in our “enlightened” culture, despite our space-age sophistication, many people still believe in astrology!  A Gallup poll concluded that 55% of teenagers believe in astrology; 1220 of the 1750 newspapers include a horoscope column of some kind to serve their readers.  Many simply dismiss this as a harmless form of entertainment, feeding their curiosity. However, in the Old Testament it was a form of divination and a capital crime: practicing astrology was punishable by death!¹

Empirical Results: It Doesn’t Work

• Marital compatibility: Psychologist Bernard Silverman of Michigan State University analyzed birth dates of 2978 couples who were getting married and 478 who were getting divorced. There were no correlations with predicted compatibility.
• Shawn Carlson of Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory provided horoscope information and a standard California Personality Inventory for groups of volunteers to 28 professional astrologers (procedure approved in advance) to match each horoscope to one of three profiles submitted.  The random expectation of 34% was achieved.²
• French statistician Michel Gauquelin sent the horoscope for one of the worst mass murderers in French history to 150 people and asked how well it fit them. 94% said they recognized themselves in the description.
• Geoffrey Dean, an Australian researcher, reversed the astrological readings of 22 subjects: 95% identified themselves with the reversed readings.
• Astronomers Culver and Ianna tracked the published predictions of well-known astrologers and astrological organizations for five years. Out of 3000 predictions, only 10% came to pass.

Ten Questions for the Astrologers ³

1)  What is the likelihood that 1/12th of the world’s population is having the same kind of day today?
2)  Why is the moment of birth, not conception, crucial for astrology? [Is that why identical twins always have the same personality?!]
3)  If the mother’s womb can keep out astrological influences until birth, can we do the same with a cubicle of steak?
4)  If astrologers are as good as they claim, why aren’t they richer?  (Ex: stock market, etc. How many foresaw Black Monday, October 1987? None.)
5)  Are all horoscopes done before the discovery of the three outermost planets incorrect (Uranus, 1781; Neptune, 1846; Pluto, 1930)?
6)  Shouldn’t we condemn astrology as a form of bigotry? (i.e., refusing to hire a Leo or date a Virgo, etc.)
7)  Why do different schools of astrology disagree so strongly with each other?  (…precession of the Earth’s axis, how many planets and celestial objects to be included, allocation of personality traits, etc.  No convergence of consensus.)
 If the astrological influence is carried by any known force, why do the planets dominate?  [The obstetrician who delivers the child turns out to have about six times the gravitational pull of Mars and about 2,000 billion times its tidal force (less mass, but a lot closer!)]
9)  If astrological influence is carried by an unknown force, why is it independent of distance? [The importance of Mars in a horoscope is identical whether the planet is on the same side of the sun as the Earth or seven times farther away on the other side, etc.]
10)  If astrological influences don’t depend on distance, why is there no astrology of stars, galaxies, and quasars? [Doesn't the omission of Rigel, the Crab pulsar, and M31 render a horoscope incomplete?]

A Warning

Danger: don’t play around with things that are expressly prohibited in the Word of God. They are not just manifestations of ignorance, or harmless “entertainments.”  They are occultic and very dangerous. They are “entries” for malevolent influences that are out to destroy the very future you’re inquiring into! God means what He says and says what He means. You have access to far more powerful - and reliable - supernatural resources in the Holy Spirit, which has expressly been given to you if you are, indeed, in Christ. Do your homework.  Your eternity depends on it.

*  *  *

Additional Resources:

• Astronomy versus Astrology , 20-page pamphlet, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 390 Ashton Ave., San Francisco, CA, 94112.
• Astrology: True or False, by Roger Culver and Philip Ianna, 1988, Prometheus Books, 700 E. Amherst St., Buffalo, NY 14215. One of the best skeptical book on the subject.

1. Deuteronomy 18:9-15 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
   .
2. Nature, December 5, 1985.
3. Excerpted from Sky & Telescope, August 1989.

A Halloween Tale: Consulting the Witch at Endor - Chuck Missler

From Koinonia House

Technical > Space-Time > Our Holographic Universe

Quantum Teleporting, Part 2: Our Holographic Universe Exploring the Mind of Man: The Human Brain - Chuck Missler by Chuck Missler

Last month we explored the recent experiments which appear to have succeeded in the “teleportation” of subatomic particles, suggestive of the “Beam-me-up-Scotty” episodes from the popular Star Trek TV series.  These phenomena shatter our traditional conceptions of the material universe and what we perceive as reality.

Dual Nature of Particles

In 1906, J. J. Thomson received the Nobel Prize for proving that electrons are particles. In 1937 he saw his son awarded the Nobel Prize for proving that electrons were waves.  Both father and son were correct. From then on, the evidence for the wave/particle duality has become overwhelming. This chameleon-like ability is common to all subatomic particles - called quanta, they can manifest themselves either as particles or waves. What makes them even more astonishing is that there is compelling evidence that the only time quanta ever manifest as particles are when we are looking at them .

The Danish physicist Niels Bohr pointed out that if subatomic particles only come into existence in the presence of an observer, then it is meaningless to speak of a particle’s properties and characteristics as existing before they are observed.  But if the act of observation actually helped create such properties, what did that imply about the future of science?

Anyone who isn’t shocked by quantum physics has not understood it.

-Niels Bohr

It gets worse.  Some subatomic processes result in the creation of a pair of particles with identical or closely related properties.  Quantum physics predicts that attempts to measure complementary characteristics of the pair - even when traveling in opposite directions - would always be frustrated.  Such strange behavior would imply that they would have to be interconnected in some way so as to be instantaneously in communication with each other.

One physicist who was deeply troubled by Bohr’s assertions was Albert Einstein.  Despite the role Einstein had played in the founding of quantum theory, he was not pleased with the course the fledgling science had taken. In 1935 Einstein and his colleagues Boris Podolsky and Nathan Rosen published their now-famous paper, “Can Quantum-Mechanical Description of Physical Reality Be Considered Complete?”¹

The problem, according to Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity, is that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light.  The instantaneous communication implied by the view of quantum physics would be tantamount to breaking the time barrier and would open the door to all kinds of unacceptable paradoxes.  Einstein and his colleagues were convinced that no “reasonable definition” of reality would permit such faster-than-light interconnections to exist and therefore Bohr had to be wrong.  Their argument is now known as the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox, or EPR paradox for short.

Bohr remained unperturbed by Einstein’s argument.  Rather than believing that some kind of faster-than-light communication was taking place, he offered another explanation.  If subatomic particles do not exist until they are observed, then one could no longer think of them as independent “things.” Thus Einstein was basing his argument on an error when he viewed twin particles as separate.  They were part of an indivisible system, and it was meaningless to think of them otherwise.  In time, most physicists sided with Bohr and became content that his interpretation was correct.

One factor that contributed to Bohr’s following was that quantum physics had proved so spectacularly successful in predicting phenomena, few physicists were willing to even consider the possibility that it might be faulty in some way.  The entire industries of lasers, microelectronics, and computers have emerged on the reliability of the predictions of quantum physics. The popular CalTech physicist Richard Feynman has summed it up well:

I think it is safe to say that no one understands quantum mechanics… In fact, it is often stated that of all the theories proposed in this century, the silliest is quantum theory.  Some say that the only thing that quantum theory has going for it, in fact, is that it is unquestionably correct.

The Cosmos as a Hyper-Hologram?

There seems to be evidence to suggest that our world and everything in it are only ghostly images, projections from a level of reality so beyond our own that the real reality is literally beyond both space and time. The main architect of this astonishing idea includes one of the world’s most eminent thinkers: University of London physicist David Bohm, a protégé of Einstein’s and one of the world’s most respected quantum physicists.

Bohm’s work in plasma physics in the 1950s is considered a landmark.  Earlier, at the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, he noticed that in plasmas (gases composed of high-density electrons and positive ions) the particles stopped behaving like individuals and started behaving as if they were part of a larger and interconnected whole.  Moving to Princeton University in 1947, there too he continued his work in the behavior of oceans of particles, noting their highly organized overall effects and their behavior, as if they knew what each of the untold trillions of individual particles was doing.

One of the implications of Bohm’s view has to do with the nature of location.  Bohm’s interpretation of quantum physics indicated that at the subquantum level location ceased to exist .  All points in space become equal to all other points in space, and it was meaningless to speak of anything as being separate from anything else.  Physicists call this property “nonlocality.”

The web of subatomic particles that compose our physical universe - the very fabric of “reality” itself - possesses what appears to be an undeniable “holographic” property.  Paul Davis of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, observed that since all particles are continually interacting and separating, “the nonlocal aspects of quantum systems is therefore a general property of nature.”²

The Nature of Reality

One of Bohm’s most startling suggestions is that the tangible reality of our everyday lives is really a kind of illusion, like a holographic image.  Underlying it is a deeper order of existence, a vast and more primary level of reality that gives birth to all the objects and appearances of our physical world in much the same way that a piece of holographic film gives birth to a hologram.  Bohm calls this deeper level of reality the implicate (”enfolded”) order and he refers to our level of existence the explicate (unfolded) order.³

This view is not inconsistent with the Biblical presentation of the physical (”explicate”) world as being subordinate to the spiritual (”implicate”) world as the superior reality. ⁴

The holographic paradigm is still a developing concept and riddled with controversies. For decades, science has chosen to ignore evidences that do not fit the standard theories. However, the volume of evidence has now reached the point that denial is no longer a viable option.

The Bible is, of course, unique in that it has always presented a universe of more than three dimensions,⁵ and revealed a Creator that is transcendent over His creation. ⁶ It is the only “holy book” that demonstrates these contemporary insights.

Paul Davis has summarized it provocatively: “It is as if the entire universe was nothing more than a thought in the mind of God.”

*   *   *

This article was excerpted from Chuck’s book, Cosmic Codes - Hidden Messages From the Edge of Eternity, Chapter 23.

Cosmic Codes - Now In Paperback - Chuck MisslerRead the implications of our finite universe and the shocking discoveries of quantum physics at the very boundaries of reality and learn their significance to our origin and personal destinies! Click for more information - Textbook

1. Albert Einstein, Boris Podolsky, and Nathan Rosen, “Can Quantum-Mechanical Description of Physical Reality Be Considered Complete?” Physical Review, 47 (1935), p.777.
2. Paul Davis, Superforce, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1948, p.48.
3. This is reminiscent of the Red King’s dream in Through the Looking Glass, in which Alice finds herself in deep metaphysical waters when the Tweedle brothers defend the view that all material objects, including ourselves, are only “sorts of things” in the mind of God.
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6. Eastman, Mark and Missler, Chuck, The Creator Beyond Time and Space, The Word for Today, Costa Mesa CA, 1996.

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System Design of the Scriptures?: Our Holographic Bible - Chuck Missler

Technical > Space-Time > Quantum Teleporting: Part 1

Our Digital Universe? Quantum Teleporting: Part 1 by Chuck Missler

The entire universe is a cryptogram set by the Almighty.
-  Sir Isaac Newton

Fans of the popular TV science fiction series, Star Trek, are familiar with the “Beam-me-up-Scotty” concept of “teleporting.” In an Austrian laboratory, it appears that scientists have now been able to destroy bits of light in one place and make perfect replicas appear about three feet away. They did this by transferring information about a crucial physical characteristic of the original light bits, or photons. The information was picked up by other photons, which took on that characteristic and thus became replicas of the originals.

While broader applications of these techniques still remain rather distant on the horizon of our new 21st century, the experiment raises some basic questions.  Is our universe itself digital?

Our Macro-Boundary

The startling discovery of 20th century science was that our universe is finite. Scientists now acknowledge that the universe had a beginning. They call the singularity from which it all began the “Big Bang.” While the details among the many variants of these theories remain quite controversial, the fact that there was a definite beginning has gained widespread agreement. ¹ This is, of course, what the Bible has maintained throughout its 66 books.

From thermodynamic considerations, it also appears that all processes in the universe inevitably contribute their losses from their inefficiencies to the ambient temperature, and thus the universe ultimately will attain a uniform temperature in which no work - all of which derives from temperature differences - will occur. Scientists call this final ultimate physical destiny the “heat death.”

Mankind, therefore, finds itself caught in a finite interval between the singularity that began it all and its inevitable termination. The mathematical concept of infinity - in any spatial direction or in terms of time - seems astonishingly absent in the macrocosm, the domain of the astronomers and cosmologists.

Our Micro-Boundary

In the microcosmic domain, there appears to be an even more astonishing boundary to smallness.  If we take a segment of length, we can divide it in half.  We can take one of the remaining halves, and we can divide it in half again.  We naturally assume that this can go on forever.  We assume that no matter how small a length we end up dealing with, we can always - at least conceptually - divide any remainder in half.  It turns out that this is not true.  There is a length, known as the Planck length, 10^-33 centimeters, that is indivisible.

The same thing is true of mass, energy, and even time.  There is a unit of time which cannot be further divided: 10^-43 seconds.  It is in this strange world of subatomic behavior that scientists have encountered the very boundaries of physical reality, as we experience it.  The study of these subatomic components is called quantum mechanics, or quantum physics.

The startling discovery made by the quantum physicists is that if you break matter into smaller and smaller pieces, you eventually reach a point where those pieces - electrons, protons, etc. - no longer possess the traits of objects.  Although they can sometimes behave as if they were a compact little particle, physicists have found that they literally possess no dimension.  They call this non-locality.

Is Our Reality Only Virtual?

Anyone who has seen the science fiction movie, The Thirteenth Floor , has pondered the question of the substance of our reality.   (The plot involves a computer project that created an entire virtual reality - a sort of super “computer game,” replicating Los Angeles in 1937 as a software program within a giant supercomputer.  Participants are able to enter that virtual reality for brief periods and return. A murder mystery ensues, the solution of which requires retrieving clues from within the project’s virtual reality.  A dramatic plot twist involves the discovery that the project participants themselves are only virtual simulations from an even larger reality: Los Angeles in the year 2025!  A stimulating piece of entertainment, but it cleverly raises some provocative questions about our own existence…)

The more we know about quantum physics, the less confidence we can have concerning the nature of our own physical reality.  It seems that it is but a subset of a larger hyperspace we call the spiritual reality.

The Dual Nature of Particles

Another discovery of the physicists is that a subatomic particle, such as an electron, can manifest itself as either a particle or a wave.  If you shoot an electron at a television screen that has been turned off,  a tiny point of light will appear when it strikes the phosphorescent chemicals that coat the glass.  The single point of impact which the electron leaves on the screen clearly reveals the particle-like side of its nature.

But that is not the only form the electron can assume.  It can also dissolve into a blurry cloud of energy and behave as if it were a wave spread out over space.  When an electron manifests itself as a wave, it can do things no particle can.  If it is fired at a barrier in which two slits have been cut, it can go through both slits simultaneously.  When wavelike electrons collide with each other they even create interference patterns.

It is interesting that in 1906, J. J. Thomson received the Nobel Prize for proving that electrons are particles.  In 1937 he saw his son awarded the Nobel Prize for proving that electrons were waves.  Both father and son were correct.  From then on, the evidence for the wave/particle duality has become overwhelming.

This chameleon-like ability is common to all subatomic particles.  Called quanta, they can manifest themselves either as particles or  waves.

Quantum Teleporting

The first actual teleporting experiment has now been reported in the scientific journal, Nature , by Anton Zeilinger and colleagues at the University of Innsbruck in Austria.² (Another research team, based in Rome, has done similar work and submitted its report to another journal.)  The work is the first to demonstrate “quantum teleportation,” a bizarre shifting of physical characteristics between nature’s tiniest particles, no matter how far apart they are.

“Scientists might be able to achieve teleportation between complete atoms within a few years and molecules within a decade or so,” Zeilinger has speculated.

The technique is still a long way away from the Star Trek process of beaming people around, but it raises the question, “Could teleportation be used on people?”  Could scientists extract information from every tiny particle in a person, transfer it to a bunch of particles elsewhere, and then assemble those particles into an exact replica of the person? There’s no theoretical problem with that, several experts have suggested.  But get real: “I think it’s quite clear that anything approximating teleportation of complex living beings, even bacteria, is so far away technologically that it’s not really worth thinking about it,” claimed IBM physicist Charles H. Bennett. He and other physicists had proposed quantum teleportation as early as 1993. “There would just be too much information to assemble and transmit,” he and others have said.

Well, we’ll see.  (Is it just a question of bandwidth?) But there are other applications.

Computer Applications

It is much more likely, experts suggest, that teleportation between tiny particles might facilitate quantum computers.  Such devices would use teleportation to transfer data around, and they could solve certain complex problems much faster than today’s machines. In the recent experiment, scientists transferred the trait of “polarization” between photons.  A light wave has peaks and troughs like an ocean wave, and polarization refers to the directions in which these peaks and troughs point. Photons retain this trait. To transfer the polarization between photons, the researchers used a phenomenon called entanglement. When two photons are entangled, “they have opposite luck,” said IBM’s Bennett.  Whatever happens to one is the opposite of what happens to the other.  In particular, their polarizations are the opposite of each other.  This binary phenomenon could be exploited in an advanced processor design.

A Glimpse of Hyperspace

Current cosmological conjectures assume a universe of more than three spatial dimensions-mathematically called a hyperspace.  Current views envision a universe of ten dimensions: four directly measurable (three spatial dimensions, plus time) and six that can only be determined indirectly. This is precisely what the ancient Hebrew sage, Nachmonides, writing in the 12th century, concluded from his study of Genesis!

The Bible is unique in that it presents a universe of more than three dimensions,³ and reveals a Creator that is transcendent over His creation.⁴ It is the only “holy book” that possesses such contemporary insights.

*  *  *

Much of this article was excerpted from the book, Cosmic Codes: Hidden Messages From the Edge of Eternity, and from our audio and video study, Learn the Bible in 24 Hours. We will continue this exploration of the nature of our “digital” universe in our next article, which will explore Einstein’s skepticism and Niehl Bohr’s provocative alternatives, the discovery of the non-locality of subatomic particles and their implications, as we are confronted by the very boundaries of our physical reality.

1. For a more complete discussion, see The Creator Beyond Time and Space, by Chuck Missler and Mark Eastman, The Word for Today, Costa Mesa CA, 1996.
2. Nature, Dec 10, 1997.
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4. Eastman & Missler, The Creator Beyond Time and Space, The Word for Today, Costa Mesa CA, 1996.

The Creator Beyond Time & Space Audio Series - Chuck Missler and Dr. Mark EastmanIncludes: The Creator Beyond Time and Space, The Bible: An Extraterrestrial Message, Immanuel: The Deity of Messiah and The Divine Watchmaker Click for more information - Audio Cassette

The Creator Beyond Time & Space - Chuck Missler and Dr. Mark EastmanWhat are the implications of the current upheavals in traditional cosmology, astronomy, and physics? Click for more information - Audio Cassette

Learn the Bible in 24 Hours - MP3 on CD-ROM - Special Edition - Chuck MisslerThis comprehensive series of 24 one-hour studies recorded in MP3 format will take you from the beginning of all things in Genesis to the final culmination in the Book of Revelation. Now available on one CD-ROM! Click for more information - MP3 on CD-ROM

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Beyond Perception - Particle Physics And The Boundaries of Reality

• Hebrew Cabalists theorized 800 years ago that God established the universe with 10 dimensions.
• Why do scientists now also believe we live in a 10-dimensional universe?
• Has physics finally reached the very boundaries of reality?

From Koinonia House

Technical > Space-Time > The End Of The Universe

Physics Breakthrough? The End of the Universe by Chuck Missler

Time magazine recently featured, as its cover article, “How the Universe Will End,” a review of some of the current conjectures of cosmology and astrophysics.

The disturbing thing about the Time feature was the misleading manner in which it implied a consensus among scientists and the impression that these concatenations of conjectures approach the dignity of facts.

In truth, there are currently major upheavals in the field of physics, and there are increasing evidences that are challenging the current presumptions of “20th century science.”

The Second Law of Thermodynamics indicates that the universe will, eventually, “wind down,” and cease to exist in what is commonly called the “Heat Death.”

The Time article simply summarizes some of the astrophysical conjectures on the details.

The Bible also presents what we call the Laws of Entropy, ¹ and the fact that the heavens will eventually come to an end is plainly detailed:²

Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
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, 13

The Scriptures have much to say about the nature of the universe and space itself: for an in-depth study, see our Briefing Package, Stretching the Heavens, or our audio and video resources, The Creator Series .

Indeed, the great discovery of “20th century science” is that the universe is finite, and it had a beginning. The various alternative views of the events which followed the “singularity” of the Creation are collectively called “The Big Bang.”

One of the most interesting disclosures in the Time feature was the review of what is often called “Dark Matter”: that visible matter (and the energy associated with it) constitutes less than 5% of the matter in the universe! (We have been reporting on this periodically in Personal UPDATE since February 1993.)

It is disturbing to realize that virtually all of our insights and conclusions about the nature of matter has been drawn from a small sample of the larger reality!

The Time article, while illuminating in many respects, fails to indicate the emerging controversies within the field of physics: the non-constancy of the speed of light, the quantization of the red shift, the non-locality of subatomic particles, etc.

But what is provocative is the universal admission that there was a moment of creation - all the speculations focus their attention on the details which followed moments after creation.

Matter vs. Antimatter

For every particle there is an antiparticle; the existence of “antimatter” made up of antiparticles has been the staple of science fiction buffs for decades. It may come as a surprise to many of our readers that antimatter is the focus of serious study on the research frontier of particle physics.

One of the mysteries of creation is why there is any matter around at all. Matter, and its opposite counterpart, antimatter, congealed out of energy during the first moments of creation, acting according to Einstein’s famous equation, E = mc2, which simply says that matter and energy are two different forms of the same stuff.

Matter and antimatter particles, during the early moments of creation, if in equal numbers, should have annihilated each other, melting back into energy. So why is there any matter in the universe at all? It exists because “nature” prefers matter to antimatter by a small margin. The margin is viewed as the reason why the story of creation does not end simply with, “Let there be light.”

In 1967, the Russian physicist Andrei Sakharov, who later became one of his country’s most famous dissidents, proposed a theory that explained the imbalance using a phenomenon called Charge-Parity Violation. ³ To say that CP symmetry is violated is to say that the physical properties of particles and antiparticles are not fully symmetrical. Contrary to previous assumptions, this actual phenomenon was first observed in 1964 when subatomic particles called K-mesons and their anti-Ks transformed into other particles in a slightly asymmetrical fashion.

If the physicist’s theories were correct, the same strange behavior would be found in another, heavier, subatomic particle called the B-meson. Testing that prediction was the main reason for building a $177 million accelerator at Stanford known as the “B factory,” which opened in June 1999.

Beams of electrons and their antimatter counterparts, positrons, are sent whirling around a 2.2 kilometer ring almost at the speed of light. When an electron and a positron collide, they occasionally form a B-meson and its opposite, an anti-B. These particles exist for only trillionths of a second before decaying further, so the experiment had to be “exquisitely sensitive.” By studying the decay patterns left by some 32 million pairs of B-mesons, the team (of over 600 scientists from nine countries) has found the critical asymmetries that physics theory called for. ⁴ The experiment seems to confirm some understandings but raises still more questions. Yet the more we learn, the more we discover that we are in digital simulation: that lengths, masses, energy, and even Time consist of “quanta” of indivisible units that have no “locality.”⁵ The broader reality - the spiritual reality - is what the Bible has been telling us about all along.

The contemporary discoveries of science can be exhilarating if accompanied with a humility and a respect for what we have yet to discover, always maintaining an awareness that the Word of God is supreme and inerrant.

We are the object of Design and that design has a purpose and a destiny that goes far beyond the limits of any laws of thermodynamics or whatever!

Praise His Name!

* * *

Sources:

• K. C. Cole, “Physicists Get A Big Bang Out of Findings,” LA Times, July 7, 2001, p.1.
• Michael D. Lemonick, “How the Universe Will End,” Time, June 25, 2001, cover article.
• Phillip F. Schewe, Ben Stein, and James Riordon, “CP Violation in the Decay of B Mesons,” The American Institute of Physics Bulletin of Physics News, No. 547, July 12, 2001.

1. Psalm 102:25, 25 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
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   ; et al.
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3. CP is the abstract abbreviation for a mathematical operation in which particles undergo a change in charge conjugation (C) and parity (P).  The combined CP operation essentially turns a particle into an antiparticle.
4. The B factories at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, and the Japanese KEK lab, submitted preliminary results in February of this year (Update 525; http://www.aip.org/physnews/update/525-1.html) with very limited data sets.  Now SLAC has reported a more robust measurement of the CP-violating parameter: SLAC press release, 6 July 2001, and paper submitted to Physical Review Letters.
5. The Bell Inequality, confirmed experimentally by Allain Aspect at CERN over a decade ago.  See Stretching the Heavens, or Beyond Perception for a discussion.

Stretching the Heavens and the Dilation of Time - Chuck MisslerThis includes an exclusive interview with Barry Setterfield whose controversial discoveries concerning the slowing down of the speed of light may yet disrupt the previous dictums of modern physics. Click for more information - Audio Cassette

The Creator Beyond Time and Space Series on CD-ROM - Chuck Missler and Dr. Mark EastmanIncludes: The Creator Beyond Time and Space, The Bible: An Extraterrestrial Message, Immanuel: The Deity of Messiah and The Divine Watchmaker Click for more information - MP3 on CD-ROM

The Creator Beyond Time & Space Audio Series - Chuck Missler and Dr. Mark EastmanIncludes: The Creator Beyond Time and Space, The Bible: An Extraterrestrial Message, Immanuel: The Deity of Messiah and The Divine Watchmaker Click for more information - Audio Cassette

Science and the Bible: Cosmos and Creator - Mark Eastman, M.D.

The Controversy Continues: Speed of Light Slowing Down? - Chuck Missler

Quantum Teleporting, Part 2: Our Holographic Universe - Chuck Missler

Upheaval in Physics: History of the Light-Speed Debate - Helen D. Setterfield

From Koinonia House

Technical > Bible Codes > Treasures In The Family Trees

Textual Surprises: Treasures in the Family Trees by Chuck Missler

So often in the Bible we encounter genealogies which, to most of us, aren’t particularly exciting reading. And yet they often contain hidden treasures to reward the diligent.

The Book of Ruth

In the Book of Ruth, the joyous climax occurs when Boaz, the Kinsman-Redeemer and the hero of the narrative, redeems the land to Naomi and takes Ruth as his Gentile Bride. In addition to providing us a charming romantic story, we quickly discover that this brief little book holds numerous insights and background essential to understanding God’s broader plan of redemption. (I feel that one cannot really understand Revelation Chapter 5 until they have studied this fascinating book.)

In the festivities during the wedding celebration of Ruth and Boaz, someone ostensibly toasts,

And let thy house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which the LORD shall give thee of this young woman.

…an apparent reference to the events of Genesis 38 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
. (However, if you are familiar with that sordid episode, you might have been tempted to exclaim, “Same to you, fella!”) But there’s more to the tale.

Judah and Tamar

In Genesis 38 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
, Tamar had married Judah’s firstborn son, Er, who died without having any children. Under Mosaic law, Judah was expected to provide Tamar a brother to raise up issue and failed to do so.¹ Tamar then resorted to posing as a prostitute and Judah unknowingly got her pregnant. When confronted with the evidence, he confesses that his sin was greater than hers.² Tamar gives birth to two sons, Zarah and Pharez. Both are, of course, illegitimate. The Torah provides that a bastard results in being cast out of the congregation for 10 generations.³ The strange remark in Ruth 4:12 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
was, in fact, a prophecy: the tenth generation from Pharez was none other than David. And to emphasize this, the book closes with David’s genealogy:

Now these are the generations of Pharez: Pharez begat Hezron, And Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminadab, And Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon, And Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed, And Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.

The inheritance of David is here prophesied before the days of Samuel.⁴ But there’s more.

The Hebrew Text of Genesis 38 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)

One of the reasons that the sordid tale of Judah and Tamar has been included in the Scriptures is because this incident is included in the family tree of the Messiah.⁵ It is interesting that hidden within the text of Genesis 38 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
, at 49-letter intervals, are the names of Boaz, Ruth, Obed, Jesse, and David-in chronological order ! [See figure] ; note that Hebrew goes from right to left, and the names are coded backwards.)

These names anticipate, five generations in advance, the next five generations climaxing in David, a total of ten generations. Here in the Torah we find the names of the principals of the Book of Ruth, and a delineation of their descendants leading up to the royal line. How did Moses know all this centuries before the fact? We know that Moses himself wrote the Torah: Jesus verified that very fact numerous times.⁶)

The presence of such features of the Biblical text is a profound demonstration of its supernatural origin. There is absolutely no way that these details could have been anticipated in advance except by Divine guidance and the control of the most subtle aspects of the recorded text-far outstripping any insights of the authors themselves. In addition to the astonishing specifics themselves, the discovery of these features underscores the confidence we may have in the precision of the text, and the overwhelming implications that it is a skillfully crafted integrated message-from Genesis 1 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
to Revelation 22 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
.

The unfortunate promotional sensationalism by some authors over the “Bible Codes” has caused many conservative scholars, as well as unbelieving skeptics, to disparage-and overlook-the many authentic treasures hidden underneath the Biblical text. Truly,

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, and the honor of kings to search them out.

This article has been excerpted from our Expositional Commentary on Genesis, currently featured on our Berean Online Fellowship.

This discovery was first highlighted in an article by Daniel Michelson, “Codes in the Torah,” B’Or Ha’Torah, Number 6, SHAMIR, Association of Religious Professionals from the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in Israel, Jerusalem, Israel, 1987. For additional examples of similar “Hidden Treasures,” see also Cosmic Codes on CD-ROM.

Cosmic Codes in MP3 on CD-ROM - Chuck MisslerRead the implications of our finite universe and the shocking discoveries of quantum physics at the very boundaries of reality and learn their significance to our origin and personal destinies! Click for more information - MP3 on CD-ROM

From Koinonia House

Technical > Bible Codes > Something Hidden

A Book of Mysteries: Something Hidden 2 Sam 16:5-13 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.) ; 19:16-23; 1 Kings 2:36-46 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.) . by Chuck Missler

Esther is an obscure book to many, even though it is a story of romance and palace intrigue set in the glory days of the Persian Empire.  A Jewish maiden, elevated to the throne of Persia as its queen, is used by God to preserve His people against a Hitler-like annihilation.

To this day, the Feast of Purim commemorates the memory of this deliverance.  Even the works of Shakespeare’s dramatic genius cannot compare with the drama and irony in this captivating epic.

However, the book deals with real historical events, not just a story to highlight a moral.  It deals with an escape from genocidal annihilation after their return from Babylonian captivity.  Chronologically, Esther makes possible Nehemiah.  It was Esther’s marriage to the king of Persia that ultimately leads to the rebuilding of Jerusalem and enables the chain of events that led to the appearance of the Messiah five centuries later.

The Mysteries of the Book

However, the Biblical mysteries abound: There is no mention of the name of God in the book.  There is no reference to worship or faith.  There is no mention or prediction of the Messiah; no mention of heaven or hell; there is nothing “religious” about it.  It is a gripping tale, but why is it here in the Bible?  Martin Luther believed it should not be part of the Canon!

The name Esther gives us a clue: it means “Something Hidden”!  And we discover that there are numerous surprises hidden behind, and underneath, the text itself.

Summary of the Drama

Orphaned as a child and brought up by her cousin Mordecai, Esther was selected by King Ahasuerus to replace the queen when Vashti was disgraced. Haman, the prime minister, persuaded the king to issue an edict of extermination of all the Jews in the Persian Empire.  Esther, on Mordecai’s advice, endangered her own life by appearing before the king-without being invited - in order to intercede for her people.¹

Seeing that the king was well disposed toward her, she invited him and Haman to a private banquet, during which she did not reveal her desire but invited them to yet another banquet, thus misleading Haman by making him think that he was in the queen’s good graces.  Her real intention was to take revenge on him. During a second banquet, Queen Esther revealed her Jewish origin to the king, begged for her life and the life of her people, and named her enemy.²

Angry with Haman, King Ahasuerus retreated into the palace garden.  Haman, in great fear, remained to plead for his life from the Queen. While imploring, Haman fell on Esther’s couch and was found in this ostensibly compromising situation upon the king’s return.  He was immediately condemned to be hung on the very gallows which he had previously prepared for Mordecai.

The king complied with Esther’s request, and the edict of destruction was then changed into permission for the Jews to avenge themselves on their enemies.

The Feast of Purim was instituted by Mordecai to celebrate the deliverance of the Jews from Haman’s plot to kill them.  Our Jewish friends continue to celebrate this feast to this day, which is based on the events in the Book of Esther. Purim (from Akkadian, puru, “lots”) is so called after the lots cast by Haman in order to determine the month in which the slaughter was to take place.³

Surprising Roots Behind the Tale

The two principal protagonists are, of course, Haman and Mordecai.  We are surprised to discover that this narrative has its roots several generations earlier.  Haman was an “Agagite,” a royal Amalekite, the last of his proud house to occupy a position of influence and power.⁴ “Agag” was the name given to the kings of Amalek, the people “against whom the Lord hath indignation forever.”  We first read of the land of the Amalekites, in the valleys of southern Palestine, involved in the great conflicts of the Elamite ascendancy from which ultimately the Persian Empire emerges.⁵

To fully understand the cosmic drama taking place, one must begin with the birth of Esau and Jacob.⁶ The twins - Jacob and Esau - struggling together picture the flesh and Spirit struggling against one another.⁷ Amalek descended from Esau.⁸

Amalek fought with Israel at Rephidim. “YHWH will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”⁹ Both Balaam¹⁰ and Moses¹¹ foretold the doom of this haughty foe.  Every time Israel rose up in their own power, they were clobbered; whenever they rose up in faith and the lowliness of self-judgment, Amalek’s power was broken.¹²

Saul’s Failure

Samuel commissioned Saul to “go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not.”¹³ But Saul failed to carry it out.  He spared Agag, and so God took the kingdom from Saul.¹⁴ Had Saul been obedient, Haman could never have appeared on the scene. Although Samuel subsequently showed Agag no mercy, some of his children escaped him.  Haman is witness that Samuel likewise failed to exterminate the rest of the royal family.  Sin unjudged, evil propensities unmortified, will result in grave trouble later. It is also important to realize that Mordecai was a descendant of Shimei, who was a recipient of David’s grace when he refused to take vengeance upon him.¹⁵

Now 600 years later, Mordecai, a descendant of the house of Kish, the father of King Saul, and a royal Amalekite by the name of Haman, a final descendant of Agag, confront each other!  With Haman’s death, and that of his ten sons, the name of Amalek will be blotted out from under heaven.

Microcodes

One of the many surprises hidden within the text itself are the presence of eight microcodes: five acrostics and three “equidistant letter sequences” that spell out the name of God and with some surprising designed-in relevances!

Macrocodes

Of even more personal impact than the microcodes are the macrocodes which seem to be hidden behind the narrative.   Paul reveals that the historic incidents that happened to Israel are intended as types (or models) for us:

Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples [as a warning]: and they are written for our admonition [instruction]…  - 1 Corinthians 10:11 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)

For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. - Romans 15:4 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)

The Book of Esther also seems to foreshadow the Book of Romans as the story-behind-the story: the classic struggle between the flesh and the spirit.  The Bible is given to us (1) to know God; and (2) to know ourselves!  And it is our very selves which also seem to be in view in some surprising - yet practical - ways.

It is not only a gripping and enjoyable drama, but a challenging puzzle to unravel, and it can be a deeply impacting influence on our Christian walk!  Good hunting!

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1. Esther 4:16-17 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
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2. Esther 7:3-6 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
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3. Esther 9:26 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
   ; 3:7.
4. Cf. Josephus, Antiquities, xi 6, § 5.
5. Gen 14:7 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
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6. Genesis 25:21-34 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
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7. 1 Cor 15:46 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
   ; Eph 2:3 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
   ; Gal 5:16, 17 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
   
8. Genesis 36:12 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
   Cf. 1 Chron 1:36 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
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9. Ex 17:8-18 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
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10. 10.Num 24:20 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
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11. Deut 25:17-19 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
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12. Judges 5, 6 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
    , and 10.
13. 1 Sam 15:1-3 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
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14. 1 Sam 15:7-28 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
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