Dear All,
Let me begin by thanking those who responded to my recent posting -
particularly to Christopher Sharp and Glenn Morton for filling in the
details of the claims re SN1987A. Before making further comment,
however, I would like to expand a little on my reasons for challenging
the far-reaching conclusions which have been drawn.
The Bible's last Book begins "This is a Revelation from Jesus Christ
...". Its contents, therefore, need to be taken very seriously by all
who take to themselves the title 'Christian'. Let us observe a number of
interesting things about this Book which make it rather special:
(1) Those who read, believe and keep its words are promised blessing
(1:3).
(2) Those who add to, or take away from, its contents are cursed
(22:18,19).
(3) The offer of wisdom is held out to those who follow a certain
procedure, viz that of reading strings of alphabetic characters as
numbers (13:18).
In this latter connection, the words "You can't be serious!" (as per
John McEnroe when disputing a close line call), must be trembling on
many lips. Presumably, with this in mind, the NIV translators
substituted the words "This requires wisdom." for "Here is wisdom." (the
true rendering of the original Greek, as found in both AV and NASB) -
thus, at a stroke, transforming an 'attractive offer' into a 'required
qualification'!
Within the Bible, the reading of words as numbers presents no problems
of invention - the original Hebrew and Greek Testaments being already
sets of numbers by virtue of the historical systems of numeration in
which letters were requisitioned for use as numerals. Thus, taking the
Lord at his word, we immediately uncover evidence of the basic
principles involved in acquiring the promised wisdom, thus:
(1) The reading as a number of the principal Greek form of the name
'Jesus' - the Christ - is 888; in base 10 numeration it thus has the
same general form as 666 - the given number of Antichrist (Rev.13:18).
(2) The Greek form of 'Christ' reads as 1480, so that 'Jesus Christ'
becomes 888 + 1480 = 2368, or 64 x 37; 64 is the square of 8 and also
the cube of 4; 37 is the most symmetrical of natural numbers in that,
represented as a collection of packed uniform circular counters, it can
exist as a hexagon, hexagram or octagon.
(3) This high-profile number, 37, is seen to be a factor of 888, 1480
and 666 also.
(4) 888 = 3x296 and 1480 = 5x296, so that the ratio 'Jesus':'Christ'
is 3:5 - ie precisely that of the sides of the 'mercy seat' (see
Ex.25:17), symbol of the Lord.
(5) 666 is 36th triangular number - unique in that each of its
attributes is triangular.
(6) The 7 Hebrew words of Gen.1:1 - in which the Lord appears as Creator
- total 2701, or 37x73; this is the 73rd triangular number - a rare
example of an equilateral triangle having a cubic perimeter, 216, or
6x6x6.
Now Glenn's response to such remarkable factual evidence is to ask
"Evidence for what?". According to the Scripture, it is evidence that
has the power to make one wise. You will ask, In what sense? Well, once
one sees that such coincidences (and there are a multitude more) can
have arisen neither by chance nor by human device, then it has to be
acknowledged that they have been engineered and brought to our attention
at this point in time by the Lord. I suggest that, were such evidences
available to SETI, the 'Extraterrestial Life Discovered!' bells would be
tolling loud and long in every corner of the globe. But the reality here
is rather different. As enemies of God (even after we become Christian,
or so it seems) we regard this as 'bad news' because it highlights the
extent to which many of us have wilfully manipulated God's Word in the
name of the god 'Science'. A case in point concerns the Flood. How
anyone, having read the narrative of Gen.6-8 and our Lord's
corroboration of the matter (Mt.24:36-39), can reasonably conclude -
and attempt to convince others - that this was a purely 'local' matter -
selectively destroying some men and some species of animals - is surely
breathtakingly arrogant.
Christians are, by definition, people who love truth (see Jn.18:37).
They believe that the events described as taking place in the 'courts of
heaven' (see Job 1,2 and 1Kings 22) are real; that there, Satan is a
frequent petitioner, and that, sometimes, his requests are granted. They
are also familiar with the words of Romans 1 where Paul informs us that
God may actually add fuel to the unbelief of those who deny him. Such
potential supernatural activity is, of course, beyond the ken of most
scientists. But, I suggest, those who are Christian have little excuse
for dismissing such possibilities. Clearly, a little tweak here or there
in what we deem to be 'inviolably constant' would be enough to set the
pulses of the unbelieving scientist racing. In the light of such
possibilities, I have serious concerns re the claims arising from
SN1987A.
It appears to me that rather than the Christian looking to score points
in this life - following the pretence that the supernatural (if it
exists) has no business poking its nose into the procedures of science -
by far the safer option is to believe the Scriptures and ensure the safe
delivery of one's soul to its Maker! (see Luke 16:19-31)
Sincerely,
Vernon
Vernon Jenkins MSc
[musician, mining engineer, and formerly Senior Lecturer in Maths and
Computing, the Polytechnic of Wales (now the University of Glamorgan)]
http://homepage.virgin.net/vernon.jenkins/index.htm
http://www.compulink.co.uk/~indexer/miracla1.htm
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