Vernon,
Thanks for your response.
VJ > But would you not concede that God, in His Wisdom, might have
decided that we all need to be reminded at this time of the fact of His
Being and Sovereignty? Are you able to point to any portion of the
Scriptures which would tie His hands in respect of this?
CV: Yes, but look at the parable about the rich man and the poor man
(Lazarus) in Luke 16:29-31: where "father Abraham" is quoted as replying to
a request to have Lazarus warn people on earth: " they do not listen to
Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises
from the dead."
So, even though I would not "tie [God's] hands," I suspect that the parable
is quite to the point: you cannot convince unbelievers by trotting out
evidence.
VJ > It goes without saying that the remarkable confluence of numerical
phenomena that coincide with the Bible's opening verse are an integral
part of God's Word; it is therefore difficult, I suggest, to assign
their existence to 'false Christs' and 'false prophets'. Rather, they
appear to confirm my earlier suggestion, viz that they have been
implanted by the Lord to accomplish some significant purpose.
I had always supposed that discussions arising from the discovery of a
body of 'hard data' of an unusual kind, and in unusual circumstances, to
be the 'bread and butter' of real science. However, somewhat naively, I
had failed to learn from the words of Jer.17:9; it appears inevitable
that we should assume the guise of an obscurant when confronted with
self-evident truths that, for us, have unacceptable implications!
CV: I am not qualified to comment on your numerical statements. I don't
understand your reference to Jer. 17:9 in the context of this discussion.
Chuck Vandergraaf
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