What is original sin?
Original sin deals with human beings. The main aspects of this doctrine deal with the first sin of Adam and its consequences. Adam rebelled and disobeyed God in the beginning and because of that ALL of Adams descendants would be cursed with the disposition or with the natural inclination towards sin. When Adam sinned, sin not only invaded his mind and heart, but also his body as well. That is why he physically died and now all of us physically die. So the curse of sin was dispensed not only to Adam but to ALL his physical descendants . Many would ask, "Are we sinful beginning at birth?". Every person born, beginning when their newborns, have a sin nature. I am learning this quite well being a dad. My daughter is only two, but she is evil through and through. She is very selfish, disobedient, and disrespectful. Who taught her that? Nobody. It comes naturally. That doesn't mean she isn't cute and funny, but her nature is automatically selfish. Ephesians 2:3 says "...by Nature we are children of wrath". Our natural inclination is toward evil. That is why all of us need to be born again. Eph 2:1 says that we are born spiritually dead. The spiritual part of our being that would love God and obey Him is dead, thus God needs to regenerate our spirit so we can commune and once again have relations with him. That is was being born again is all about. God "resurrects" our dead spirit and we then choose to obey God and receive Jesus as Savior.

Romans chapter 5 talks about ALL dying in Adam. Adam was perfect in the beginning and was the only one who truly had a free will. What I mean is that he was "free" to choose only righteousness or to choose evil. All unbelievers (us included before we became Christians) don't have a "free" will, meaning that they don't have the ABILITY to only choose righteousness. They do have the ABILITY to only choose evil. So the only way they are free is in the down direction towards evil. They are free to choose only evil, but not "only righteousness" which means that the will truly isn't free but in bondage to sin. Another way to illustrate this is to ask an unbeliever not to sin, ever. They cant. They don't have the ability. They have the ability to sin, because it is within their nature to do so. As Christians we were given an additional ability. One that enables us to "not sin". We still have the ability "to sin" which we choose to yield to more than we should, but the new one is given to us at the New Birth. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says "Behold all who are in Christ are a new creation...". Our Spirit has been created and resurrected anew. Eph. 4:18 says unbelievers have "their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart." So without God opening their understanding, no one would ever choose Jesus. They must be born again first, and given the new nature by God. These two verses in John represent mans natural inability to choose Jesus unless God intervenes on their behalf. John 6:44 says, "No person can come to the Son unless the Father draws him to Me" and in verse 65, "No person can come to me unless it has been granted to him by the Father". So the answer to the question would be No, we are not innocent at birth. We are born into sin and a sinful nature, "Behold I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me". Psalm 51:5

Why does God punish us for Adams first sin?
God allowed Adam to represent all human beings in the garden of Eden. We didn't ask Adam to represent us, but God knew that Adam would be represent you and us PERFECTLY. Not that he obeyed perfectly but that he would do an ACCURATE job of being our representative. Well, when Adam failed, God knew that even if you and I were in the same position we would of failed as well, so he only had one person actually fall, Adam. We can understand this more by this illustration. Our country is a representative republic. We elect or vote for someone to represent us in Congress. They are supposed to represent our choices and specific ideologies. So in many ways they vote "for us" or act on our behalf. That is what Adam did. He acted and "voted" to disobey God for himself and for us. Many cry foul and say they would of never sinned if in the garden of Eden, but God knowing all things made a perfect choice of allowing Adam to represent us. Before we cry foul too loud, we have to remember that also in Romans 5, the Bible teaches that God allowed Jesus to be our representative also. So because Jesus chose obedience, we who receive Jesus decision, get to take advantage of His "vote" or His action on our behalf. Thus the benefits of His vote get to be applied to us just as Adams bad "vote" was applied to us as well. It really is a good deal, but only if we receive it. So original sin simply is the "original" or "first" sin and its consequences to all humanity.

How could Satan have fallen while in the presence of Almighty God?
To answer this question we need to first acknowledge that God is completely sovereign, omnipotent, omniscient, and loving. To understand how all these fit together sometimes is very difficult. Isaiah 55:8 reads, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord". We need to realize that even though we might be able to understand the way or process God has done something, it doesn't mean we understand the "Why". The Bible teaches that God has always had a plan, but for reasons He knows, he allowed evil to enter into the world to fulfill his overall purpose.

Lucifer was created perfect in all his ways and was the most beautiful "creature" ever created, (Ezekiel 28:12,15). He was an anointed Cherub who covered or guarded Gods throne. At this point in time, there was nothing to guard from but instead was the one in charge of access to Gods throne, (Ezek 28:14). However, soon after this, his beauty proved to be too much for him. His beauty was second only to Gods. Because of his beauty, he became puff-up and sinned through pride, (Ezek 28:17). We read also in 1 Timothy 3:6 that the devil fell through pride. Because of his pride he desired to be worshiped, (Isaiah 14:15) and to have glory and honor brought to himself. He wanted to be like God. "Therefore I cast you as a profane thing out of the mountain of God." (Ezek 28:16). From this point on Lucifer was referred to as Satan, which is the Hebrew word meaning adversary or opponent. Why God allowed Satan to rebel against His authority is something He hasn't clearly revealed. We know that God knows all things and could of stopped it, but chose not to. Once again, we don't know "why". Even though God allowed him to rebel, God didn't cause him to rebel. Satan is responsible for his own actions. One thing to note is that Satan is not all-powerful as God is, and many times in scripture we see limits placed on him by God, (Job 1:12, 2:6; Luke 22:31) So even though he is at war with God he is destined to fail, (Revelation 20:10). However, we can see in hindsight, as in the case of Job, how God has used Satan as a tool to bring Glory to Himself. As wicked and evil as Satan is, he is still in many ways Gods servant. Even though he wouldn't want to admit that. One of the ways Satan has served Gods purpose was in the events of the crucifixion. Satan entered Judas and brought forth the betrayal of Jesus and rest of the events that led to His death, (Luke 22:3). Satan however didn't realize or understand that through Jesus death he would seal his own defeat and destruction, (1 Corinthians 2:7-8). So he unwittingly served Gods purpose.

When were Angels created, do they have free will and what is their role?
Angels are the first creatures God created. There are millions and millions, but are neither eternal nor omnipotent, (Hebrews 12:22, Rev 5:11-12). There are many classes of angels. Cherubim or Seraphim are the highest in the order who guard Gods throne, (Rev. 4:6-8, Isaiah 6:2-3) followed by archangels, angels, and many believe the references to principalities and powers (Romans 8:38, Eph 3:10, 6:12; Col 2:15, 1 Pet 3:22) are continued rankings of different angelic beings. Most scholars believe that they were created prior to the physical universe being created in Genesis one. In Job 38:7 there is a reference to the "morning stars" and/or "sons of God" rejoicing and singing for joy as the physical universe was brought into existence. Since the fall of Adam, Satan and his fallen angels have become the rulers of this world, (2 Cor 4:4). Jesus himself called Satan the ruler of this world, (John 12:30, 14:30, 16:11). The world lies under the power of Satan according to 1 John 5:19. We need to remember that God is the sovereign ruler over the entire universe including earth, and only allows Satan a limited amount of control. We do see in scripture that the fallen angels seem to work or have control over certain localities. For example, in Daniel 10 we see a fallen angel being described as the prince of Persia, and also one labeled the prince of Greece. This would agree with descriptions of principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this age. They do rule and they do have a worldwide kingdom that is against Gods, (Mat 12:25-26; Colos 1:13).

Angels were created with free will similar to Adam. They had the ability to sin and the ability not to sin. However, after Lucifer rebelled, he enticed other angels to follow in his rebellion. Those who joined Satan now have fallen natures and are depraved similar to human beings. Their wills are no longer free but also are enslaved in sin and rebellion. They no longer have the ability to "not sin". They will never be redeemed from their condition like Christians have been, so they are hopefully lost forever. However according to 1 Timothy 5:21 those Angels who chose to remain loyal to God were elected or chosen to do so by God himself. Just as God has chosen those humans who will come to salvation, (Rom 8:33, 11:7; Colos 3:12; 2 Timothy 2:10; Titus 1:1, 1 Pet 1:2; 2 John 1,13) he has done the same for the angelic realm.

The thought concerning the present condition of the holy angels is after their choice to remain loyal to God, God "confirmed" them in their holiness. This means they no longer have the ability to choose "to sin". They are forever holy without the ability to even desire to sin. Many would say that this would limit them, because they don't have free choice to sin, but remember that they have been made like God. God cant sin. He doesn't have the ability to choose or desire evil. Is God free? Of course He is. After humans receive their new bodies at the resurrection they will be "confirmed" in their holiness as well and will never be able to sin again. Some have wondered why there wouldn't be another rebellion "billions" of years from now. After the final judgment in Rev 20:15 and all the people not found in the book of life are cast into hell forever, God will forever reign without any chance of anyone challenging His authority again, whether angels or human, because all will be "confirmed" in holiness and be like God.

The role of angels in Gods plan is multi-faceted and in some areas a mystery. Angels are servants of God and do whatever they ask of Him. The word angel means messenger in the Greek. They are messengers of God. Their role consists of: delivered the Law to Moses, (Gal 3:19, Acts 7:52, Hebrews 2:2), execute Gods judgment, (2 Kings 19:35), give prophetic visions, (Daniel 8-11), execute the purposes of God, announced Jesus birth, resurrection, ascension, and second coming, minister to believers, minister to Jesus, and many more. They serve God in whatever capacity He asks them to.

Who are the nephilim in Genesis 6?
"Now it came to pass, when men began t multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful, and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose." Genesis 6:1-2

This passage has more controversy over it than most others. But if you let the text speak for itself without any preconceived biases or criticalness, it speaks quite clearly. The Sons of God took wives of the daughters of "men", (Hebrew word "adam"). Who are the sons of God? The only other references in the Old Testament are Job 1:6, 2:1, and 38:7. All these references clearly refer to angels. You cant have it any other way. So to be consistent, Genesis 6 says that angels took for themselves women to be their wives. How can this happen? Did they possess human males and then do it? Did they somehow appear physically as humans and take the women as wives? I don't know, but that is what it says. In Matthew 22:30 Jesus said that the angels "in heaven" don't marry, but that doesn't mean that it isn't possible or that the fallen angels haven't rebelled against God and chosen to do so.

The nephilim are the offspring of this strange and unnatural union. They were giants, mighty men, and men of renown. Notice that is says it happened afterward in verse 4. After what? The context in chapters 6-9 is the flood. So it happened again after the flood. We see the offspring of these unions appear again in Numbers 13:32-33 (giants is same word, nephilim), Deut 3:11, and were described as having six fingers and six toes, (2 Sam 21:20).

Many have tried to say that the sons of God refers to Seth's children and that married ungodly women who then gave birth to depraved children. I don't even think that is a good theory. It doesn't mention anything about Seth at all in the whole passage and are we to believe that all Seth's children were godly? We know this is not true, because Seth had many sons and daughters, (Genesis 5:7) and at the time of the flood the world was filled with wickedness. The only ones counted righteousness were Noah, his three sons, and their wives. All of Seth's descendants, besides Noah, were wiped out in the flood.

"For God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment, and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people..." 2 Peter 2:4-5

"...destroyed those who did not believe, and the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; just as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." Jude 6-7

You can see from these two passages, the angels, before the flood, who left their proper (original) domain (spiritual dwelling place) "went after strange flesh" SIMILAR to those who committed acts of homosexuality in Sodom and Gomorrah by going after strange flesh. The sins of Sodom and Gomorrah weren't simply homosexuality, but in these ancient times, beastiality was very common. The context of these two passages expresses that certain beings were engaged in improper sexual relations. But notice that it specifically mentions angels in both passages who are reserved in chains of darkness waiting the final judgment God didn't tolerate that kind of messing around. Very strange indeed, but let the text speak for itself.

What will our new glorified, resurrected bodies be like?
It is taught that at the time of our resurrection we will be "confirmed" holy. What I mean by being confirmed is the fact that after we receive our new bodies, they will be bodies that don't have the ability to commit a sin, ever. Similar to the Angels and Jesus body. Right now as we speak, Christians have a new nature (2 Cor 5:7) that is holy and righteous unto God. The only thing that prevents us from not sinning is that the new nature dwells in this old body of flesh. This body still has the presence of sin running through it, (Romans 3:10-18). That is why so many times this body, because it is weak and gets tired, is relentlessly challenging us to yield to its power and desires. The temptations of lust, anger, selfishness, etc. is bound up in this body. This fact creates a constant battle for Christians. Between the new nature and the flesh. When we receive Christ as Lord and Savior we are justified (declared righteous; Romans 5:1) before God and then begin the sanctification process, (Romans 6-7) which is the process by which we "...all with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord", (2 Corinthians 3:18). As we learn obedience and discipline we are slowly beginning to reflect holiness in our lives. However, we still struggle with sin. At the resurrection we will be given a new body that is righteous, holy, "...incorruptible...in glory...powerful...spiritual..." (1 Cor 15:42-44). It is a body that reflects the image and has the same characteristics as Jesus resurrection body, (1 Cor 15:49). Jesus resurrection body was physical and he even ate, (Luke 24:39, 43). The mystery of His new body is that even though it was all those things and more that are listed above, it still resembled His previous body with the wounds and scars, (John 20:25, 27). So somehow when God gives us our new bodies they will somewhat resemble our old ones. To what extent is unknown. We know that our new bodies will be like Jesus because Philippians 3:20-21 reads, "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body...". Also, we read in 1 John 3:2, "...it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is". Many commentators believe that this refers to the idea that without the limitations of these earthly bodies we will then be able to see Jesus in His fullness and with all His heavenly glory revealed to our heavenly eyes. So when we are justified, we are freed from the penalty of sin. While being sanctified we are being freed from the power of sin. When glorified we are freed form the presence of sin.

How do we know the whole Bible is inspired?
To answer this question, it will have to be answered in two ways. One is from the internal evidences (divine view of heaven). The other is from the external evidences (human, secular or worldly aspect). The word "inspired" simply is: the supernatural movement by God upon man to write His words. A good Biblical explanation of this is in 2 Pet 1:20-21, "...knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation (origin), for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit". There was no possibility, because of the Holy Spirits superintendence, for there to be any errors introduced in the original autographs. The first section will deal what the Bible says about itself.

1) The Bible is a collection of 66 books written by about 40 men over a period of about 2000 years. It is a book that declares itself to be Gods word all through the Old Testament beginning in Genesis 1:3 to Revelation 22:18-19 in the New Testament. It is filled with references as: "Thus saith the LORD" or being referenced as "the word of God". We read in 2 Timothy 3:16, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God...". We need to point out the writings themselves are inspired and not the writers, but at certain times when Gods purpose was to be accomplished, the Spirit moved upon men, and their writings, in the original, were inspired and thus words of God. Paul wrote some letters that never were included in the Bible, (1 Cor 5:9; 2 Cor 2:4) which shows that Paul himself was not inspired, but some of his writings were. From the testimony of the Bible itself, the entire scripture is inspired. Jesus preached the word of God, (Luke 5:1) and quoted the Old Testament many times attributing it to God, (Matthew 22:29-32; Mark 7:6-13; 10:6-9; Luke 24:27, 44-45; John 5:39, 46; 10:35). Paul testified that the Old and New Testaments were scripture, (1 Tim 5:18). Peter quoted OT passages as scripture 1 Pet 1:16 along with referencing Paul's letters as scriptures which were "hard to understand", (2 Pet 3:15-16). John believed Isaiah was speaking as a prophet for God and quoted OT passages in John 12:38-40. The early church as Thessalonica believed Paul's words as being from God, (1 Thes 2:13). So we have the testimony of the Bible itself, Jesus, the early apostles, and the early Church which all declare the Bible is Gods Word. Some characteristics which show the Bible to be Gods word would be: We read that the Bible is perfect (Ps 19:7), pure (Prov 30:5), cannot be broken (John 10:35), holy (Rom 1:2), sacred (2 Tim 3:15), without error (Ps 12:6, 119:140), powerful and living, (Heb 4:12), able to make someone wise unto salvation, (2 Tim 3:15).

2) This part will deal with the worlds hostility to the Bible and the external evidence that shows the Bible is Divine. The skeptic will ask questions like: How do we know that the Bible we have in our hands today is correct? What makes the Bible different than other supposed holy books, (Koran, Book of Mormon, etc.). Isn't it a translation from a translation from a translation?

MANUSCRIPTS- The manuscript evidence for the Bible is beyond reputable attack today. There are over 5000 copies from the original manuscripts in existence today. Hundreds, if not thousands, more than other ancient documents such as the Iliad, Odyssey and written works from Plato, Aristotle, etc. Most scholars today have no problem with the existence of Caesar or other historians like Josephus or the works by famous philosophers. Yet they would challenge the Bible. They aren't very consistent in developing their ideologies from the evidence. In 1948 a young shepherd boy came across the caves of Qumran near the Dead Sea in which were hundreds of scrolls from the time of 100BC to 100AD. These scrolls were written by a Jewish sect named the Essenes which are now called the Dead Sea Scrolls. Among these scrolls were the books of the OT along with many other apocryphal scrolls, Scholars were astounded to find that the text of the copied manuscripts from ancient times, with which we get our modern Bible versions, were virtually identical to those scrolls which were 2000 years old. So the Bible we hold in our hands hasn't been changed or corrupted through the last two millennia.

ARCHAEOLOGY- The archaeological evidences for the truth of the Bible are beyond count. There is a saying in Israel that says that every turn of the spade brings that much more proof for the accurate historicity of the Bible. When the Bible reads that there were temples and cities here or there, the evidence shows it. There are even magazines out there (Biblical Archaeological Review for example) which are dedicated to the current archaeological discoveries being made. I will note the contrast for example of the Book of Mormon which teaches that there were cities, temples, and major Jewish cultural centers all over the Americas. These so-called cities with their deep cultures are still yet to be found. Not even a single coin or foundation stone exists for these supplanted ancient Jewish American cities.

PROPHECY- God has a challenge for all those who claim to speak for Him. In Isaiah 41:22-23 we read, "...show the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods..." and in Isaiah 44:7-8 we read, "...who can proclaim as I do? Then let them declare it and set it in order...the things that are coming and shall come...Have not I told you from that time and declare it?..Is there a God besides me? Indeed there is no other...no not one." God says that those who claim to speak for Him should have the ability to predict the future 100% accurately, (Deut 18:21-22) because only God knows the future. God has given thousands of detailed prophetic passages to authenticate and prove that the Bible is Divine in origin. Many try to say that the prophecies are vague. That shows their ignorance of the scripture. Almost every nation within 500 miles of Israel has their future laid out in the OT. The book of Daniel is such an amazing prophetic book that many liberal scholars try to say that it was written after the events which it predicts because they deny the supernatural. The Bible prophesied the place of Jesus birth (Micah 5:2), His betrayal price of 30 pieces of silver (Zech 11:13), His death by crucifixion (Ps 22, Zech 12:10) and many more. Those aren't petty details. Much more could be said about this...but this shows that the Bible is the ONE and only true message from God to mankind authenticated by His ability to foretell the future 100% accurately. Other so-called holy books try, but their prophecies are unfulfilled or else outright fail.

STATISTICAL PROBABILITY- This deals with the overall message of the Bible as a whole. What is the probability of getting around 40 guys on 3 different continents, ranging from kings and princes to peasants and fisherman, over a period of 2000 years to write a message about God that is completely consistent with each other and yet have it be completely error free. The odds are against you with even 10 people over 100 years.

How did we get the Bible?
The Bible is a collection of 66 different books. The OT books were originally assembled into the Hebrew canon around 450-400 B.C. during Nehemiah and Ezras time period and was called the Vorlage. The word canon is a word that describes what books were recognized as being divinely inspired by the leaders of that day. The books of the OT canon were translated and organized into the Greek language around 250 B.C. which is today called the Septuagint version. These two versions are what Jesus and Paul would of been familiar with in their time.

The NT canon was around for about 300 years before being actually organized into a specific set number of books. There was a heretic by the name of Marcion in the 4th century that began to formulate his own "canon". In response, the Church decided they needed an official formalization or declaration of the recognized books of Scripture. They used 3 basic criteria to come up with their conclusions. 1)Was the book written by an apostle or by one who was under the supervision of an apostle (Luke was an associate of Paul and Mark was an associate of Peter for example)? 2)Was the book received as divinely inspired by the early church? 3) Did the books that were written by people other than apostles show that they were consistent in doctrine with the apostles books? This whole process was finished around 398 AD. It is important to note that they were led by the Holy Spirit and simply recognized that these books were already inspired. Their choice of these books didn't make them inspired. They simply recognized the fact that they were.

What is the Gap Theory?
The Gap theory comes in many forms, but all theorize a gap of an unknown amount of time between Genesis 1:1 2 and verse 3. 1)The first is the placement of millions or billions of years between this gap to account for the supposed evidences of an old earth/universe. 2)There are others who put the dinosaurs in that gap along with all the other fossils. 3)Another is the fall of Satan taking place between this gap, possibly along with number one or two, but it is not necessarily required that three go hand in hand with one and two.

First I would like to say that the word "created" in verse 1 is "bara" (#1254 in Strong's Hebrew dictionary) and most always refers to God's creative act out of nothing (Gen 1:21, 27; 2:3), bringing into Existence such as the angels or the human spirit/soul which were out of nothing (Is 43:1; Ezek 21:30; 28:13, 15) and also things that are entirely new productions, (Ex 34:10; Num. 16:30; Ps 51:10; Is 4:5; 41:20; 48:7; 65:17 18, Jer 31:22). It does differ from the Hebrew word "asah" (#6213) which means: to form or make from pre existing material such as making your bed, building or forming a house, to accomplish, to acquire, earn, procure to prepare, to keep, to fulfill, to squeeze, etc (Ex 23:22; Lev 19:37; Deut 22:21; Judg 1:24; Ex 12:48, etc.) My Hebrew lexicon states it this way: "Bara conveys the thought of creation "ex nihilo" (out of nothing), while asah is broader in scope and dealt with refinement. In other words, the emphasis was on fashioning the created objects, (cf. Gen 8:6, 33:17; Exodus 25:10,11,13,17). However, the word asah is used in Scripture to describe God's creative activity (Ps 86:9, 95:5, 96:5)."

So with this background we can examine the Genesis account and the varying Gap theories.

1) The idea that there are millions and billions of years between these verses does not originate with the consistent exegesis of the Bible. I believe that it stems from the compromise of Christians falling into the trap of so called evidences of an old earth and universe. Because of pressures and the constant propagandizing of the evolutionary model through the media, government school systems, museums, etc., it is almost common now to believe that this secular model of origins is "proven". There are many geologists and evolutionists abandoning this long held theory because of the evidences for catastrophism, the logic of cause and effect, numerous discoveries and facts showing a young earth and universe, and the concrete Laws of Thermodynamics which demand a Creator. So leaving behind the outward influences of the theories of science, there is nothing in the Biblical text that would even suggest or imply that there is are millions of years between this gap or in our past. Actually, for the entire history of the Judeo Christian era scholars have always believed that the text says what is says. God created the heavens and the earth only thousands of years ago and took six 24 hour periods to fashion or make it into the Pre fall condition. A few examples of the Biblical evidence for this would be:

A) In Matthew 19:4 5, 8; but more specifically Mark 10:6 Jesus says, "But from the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female". Jesus is making the point here about marriage, but at the beginning when God began his creative acts of the heaven and earth, man was not far behind and was part of those initial series of creative acts. The obvious conclusion is that by Jesus' own authority there were not millions or billions of years between the initial act of creating the heaven and the earth and the creation of mankind.

B) The terms "in the beginning", "in the beginning of the world" or "beginning of the creation" in the New Testament (Mat 24:21; Mark 13:9; Jn. 1:1; Acts 15:18 KJV; Eph 3:9; 2 Thes 2:13; Hebr 1:10; 1 John 3:8) always refer back to Genesis 1 where the physical dimensions of space and time, along with the heavens and the earth were created, (Titus 1:2; Eph 1:4; 2 Tim 1:9; Rom 16:25; Rev 17:8). So for Jesus to use these terms along with references to man show that there is definitely not a gap of millions of years, but a series of closely related events.

C) When God spoke the heavens and earth into existence, there was no reference point for the idea of an earth "day". However, the first thing He did was to create light. We don't know where this light shone from, but it is obvious from the terms "evening" and "morning" that the rotation of the earth in relation to this light began to be the reference for an earth "day". The reason I mention this is because in Exodus 20:11 we read, "For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day...". The point of God mentioning this to Moses is to confirm His command about resting on the seventh day by showing that He Himself ceased from creating/fashioning on this day. God was using His creative week of normal 24 hours days to show a direct relation to the Jews 24 hour six day work week followed by one day of rest. I will mention a couple of other points for those think that the creation week days were longer than 24 hours (millions or billions of years/ age long). First, the Biblical exegetical evidence against this is large. The word "yom" in Hebrew is the word for "day". It is used in other places as age long or a period of time not referring to a 24 hour period, (the Day of the Lord, Joel 2:11, etc.). However, every time the word "yom" appears in scripture with a number attached to it, (ie. Day1, 2nd day, 23rd day,) always refers to a literal 24 hour period. Second, the terms "evening" and "morning" in the Hebrew are direct references to dusk and dawn. The lessening of light in the evening and the increasing of light in the morning show a physical 24 hour rotation of the earth in relation to a light source. At first it was the initial light God created and then secondly the light from the Sun on the fourth day. Finally, the idea of age/day periods or millions of years between the days doesn't work with the order of Gods creative acts. I think He did this on purpose. If that were true, none of the plants (created on day three) could of received the required sunlight (photosynthesis) to grow for millions of years until the sun, moon, stars, etc. were created on day 4. Also, most of the flowers and plants would not of had the animals of days 5 or 6 to pollinate them, (honey bees, humming birds, etc.).

*I would like to address one of the supposed evidences of an old universe in conclusion. Specifically the idea of the light of stars being millions of years "out there" and thus would have required millions and possibly billions of years to reach earth. This is a valid argument, but one that is also based on assumptions. The main assumption is that the speed of light is a constant 186,000 mps and has always been that. There is very conclusive evidence showing that the speed of light is actually slowing down on an exponential curve. The implication of this evidence is if the speed of light were hundreds or possibly millions of times faster in the past, light would of reached earth in a quicker amount of time and thus would not of required the long periods of time. The evidence actually shows that according to this graph/curve the speed of light would of approached 11 million times faster at the moment of creation and thus would have been "almost" instantaneous. Which would mean the light at that time has been here all along and only later (consequential of the second law of Thermodynamics-decay) light would of slowed to its present rate when it began to plateau out. Even if that weren't true, Einstein's principle of General Relativity shows that time is relative to gravity and thus is faster in less gravity and slower in greater gravity. For example, an atomic clock at 5000 ft. above sea level clicks faster than one at sea level. Albeit, only a few microseconds difference, but a definite repeatable fact. This test was performed by the U.S. Navy in the 1970's. So what this means is: that according to the relative gravity, light "out there" could of traveled millions or billions of years to get here, because time would of "clicked" faster out in the universe in relation to the lack of gravity bending space and time while allowing the earth to currently remain only thousands of years old. This is a very simplistic explanation, but is developed fully in a book called "Starlight and Time" by nuclear physicist Dr. Russ Humphreys. We must remember that the sun, moon, and all the stars of the universe (galaxies, etc.) were made on day 4 (Gen 1:14-19) which would not of allowed for the millions or billions of years in the so-called Gap of time (between verses 2-3) to account for the great distances of the required light travel. They would have to of been made before the gap which the scripture clearly indicates otherwise.

2) Because what was said above, I will only say a couple things about the idea of fossilized animals including the dinosaurs being placed within this gap. First, the Bible very clearly teaches that after God created the earth, the animals, and man, that all of it was Very Good, (Genesis 1:31). There is no Biblical evidence for any previous animals being made, then destroyed and turned into fossils. Secondly, in Romans 5:12 the Bible teaches that death was non-existent until Adam committed the first sin. In addition, Romans 6:23 reads, "The wages of sin is death". The sin of Adam not only brought the curse of death to him, but also to all of creation, (Genesis 3:17; Rom 8:18-22). This is why Entropy exists (the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics). Entropy is the increase of disorder as time progresses. An example of this would be that the universe is slowly burning out and will eventually die a heat death. The sun will eventually burn off all its energy and die as with all other suns in the universe. Sure it will take trillions of years, but the process is still there. The death of the dinosaurs and the fossils of animals cannot be placed before Adam committed the first sin in Genesis 3. They should be more properly placed during the global flood of Noah where the pressures of the water would of created the perfect environment for the fossilizing and dispensing of animals worldwide; which is exactly what we find.

3) This aspect of the theory deals with the rebellion of Satan during this gap of time which led to his temptation of Eve in Genesis 3. Because the Bible doesn't teach exactly when Satan rebelled, we cannot say for sure. According to Job 38:7 we can see that the angels were there when God created the heavens and the earth. They shouted for joy and sang in praise to God. Could it of been that after this, Satan, through pride, led his rebellion before God began to fashion the earth during the next 6 days? In 1 John 3:8 it says that Satan has sinned from the beginning. Also, in John 8:44 Jesus said that Satan was a murderer from the beginning which would be a reference to his part in the death of Adam and Eve, and possibly Abel. Remember these terms in the New Testament refer back to the time of creation as mentioned in number 1. Because of the language of the Hebrew in verse 2 some Bibles (ie. Scofield) have it translated: "But the earth became without form and void". The word "was" in verse 2 is translated "became" in Genesis 19:26 where Lots wife "became" a pillar of salt. There are many scholars who contend that because of Satan's rebellion, God cast judgment on the earth and it became without form and void. Their reasoning is because the Hebrew words for "without form and void" are "tohu va bohu" which mean: a desolation, waste, a ruin, empty. While in Isaiah 45:18 God declares that he did not create it "tohu va bohu". Many see this as proof that God originally created it full of beauty, but because of Satan's sin, God cast judgment on the earth in the form of a flood (earth was full of water; Genesis 1:2) similar to the flood of Noah being a judgment and then taking six days to refashion it. This period of time in the Gap was an unknown amount of time, but was not long after the initial creation of verse 1 which allowed for a time where Satan could of have fallen. This theory is conjecture and hotly debated among Christians.

What happens to you when you die?
Man was made in Gods image, not physically speaking (John 4:24), with the ability of having life, consciousness and emotions. Also, the aspect of being made in Gods image carries the idea of man being triune in nature. Man has a soul, spirit, and body (1 Thes 5:23, Heb 4:12, Eph 3:16, 2 Co. 4:16). These scriptures show the above mentioned qualities which are unique to human beings: Is 55:3; Matt 10:28; Luke 8:55; Rev 16:3; Gen 35:18; Matt 17:3; Rev 6:9-11; 1 Sam 28:18-19; Acts 7:59; Is 57:16; Zech 12:1; Rom 8:16,26; 1 Cor 2:11-14; 1 Cor 15:5; 1 Cor 6:20, Gal 6:8; 2 Tim 4:22, James 2:26.

Author Spiros Zodhiates, whose native tongue is Greek and who has spent over 40 years in the study of Koine Greek which is the original language the New Testament was written, expounds upon the Greek word pneuma, translated "spirit", in this way: "Spirit is the element in man which gives him the ability to think of God. It is mans vertical window, while psuche (soul) is mans horizontal window making him conscious of his environment. The animals do not have a spirit, but they do have a soul. A soul is the element of life whereas the spirit is the element of faith. Whenever the word "spirit" is used, it refers to the immaterial part of man including his spirit and soul. When just "soul" is used in regard to man, it may also refer to his immaterial part, including his spirit. Sometimes, however, the word "soul" refers to mans sinful propensities, as in Luke 14:26. In this verse and other similar ones, the translators have rendered psuche as "life", but in reality it refers to mans fallen nature and sinfulness." (Pg. 931 in Spiros Zodihiates Lexical Aids). This is why Paul proclaimed that man is spiritually dead, (Eph 2:1,5; Col 2:13; 1 Tim 5:5). Also Adam and Eve spiritually died on the exact day as warned, (Gen 2:17), which is separation from God, and then followed by physical death 930 years later for Adam. Death can be seen not as extinction or sleep, but as separation. The wages of sin is death, (Rom 6:23). Sin and its consequence death, bring separation, (Is 59:2). The first death is separation of the spirit and physical body which coincides with separation from Gods presence as well, if an unbeliever. The second death is eternal separation from Gods presence. Thus, "the soul that sinneth shall (die) be "separated", (Ez 18:4).

These verses very clearly show that the spirit or soul moves on after death and does not stay in the grave, (Gen 35:18; 1 Kings 17:21-22; Eccl 12:7; Acts 7:59; Luke 16:19-31; 23:46; Rev 6:9-11; 7:13-17). When a person dies there is no waiting here or there for your soul to be resurrected as the word "resurrection" solely refers to the body, (1 Cor 15). We have eternal life now, (John 5:24, 1 John 5:11-12) and always will, (John 11:25-26) meaning the soul isn't dead or unconsciousness. Paul described his desire in Phil 1:21-23 to die and to depart and be with Christ. He desires to depart and be with Christ. Why else would he desire to die. If he wouldn't be with Christ and enjoy fellowship immediately, then it seems ridiculous to desire to die, because he could stay alive and still enjoy fellowship, yet not physical. Jesus told the thief he would be with Him in paradise that same day, (Luke 23:43). The same paradise that Paul visited in 2 Cor 12. In 2 Cor 5:6-8 he declares "...absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.". Our spirit becomes absent from the body at this time, (James 2:20). In 2 Cor 5:1-4 Paul declared that he longed for his new immortal body or "building" which replace the temporary "tent" he now enjoyed declaring that his spirit will enjoy the new body at the resurrection. In 1 Thes 4:13-17 Jesus brings with him all the spirits of the people who have died and reunites them with their physical bodies which rise up and meet their spirit in the air.

These are some verses that show a place of everlasting conscious torment where Satan and all who have followed his way will remain forever, separated from God, (Matt 8:11-12; 13:42,50; 22:13; 25:41,46; Lk 13:24-28; 2 Pet 2:17; Jude 13; Rev 19:20) and tormented, (Matt 8:6; 8:29; Mk 5:7; Lk 8:28; Rev 14:10-11, 20:10). Rev 20:10 shows that the beast and the false prophet (who are human beings according to Rev 13:1-18 "doing miracles"; 16:10-11 "HIS kingdom"; 16:13 "mouth of the beast, mouth of the prophet"; 19:19-21 "being captured"; yet still allowing for there to be a beast system which cant be thrown into the lake of fire) are still in the Lake of fire from being put there 1000 years earlier and are now joined by Satan. This obviously goes against them being burned up or annihilated. Also, in Rev 22:15, after the old heaven and earth are destroyed and the new heavens and earth are created (where righteousness dwells, 2 Pet 3:13) & Jerusalem is inhabited by the saints, it states that sinners are still outside of this city somewhere. Most likely into the "outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth", (Mat 8:12).

If God destroyed the Devil today would there still be sin?
The answer is YES. There would indeed be sin if the Devil was destroyed. And there will be. For example, during the thousand year reign of Jesus Satan and his angels will be bound by an angel in the bottomless pit where we will have no opportunity to tempt or deceive any

believer (Revelation 20:1 3). Read this whole chapter. It is fascinating. Anyway, during this thousand years there will be lots of sin. To the point that Jesus is said to have to rule with a rod of iron (Rev 19:15) (big stick in our vernacular). The Bible teaches that after the 7 year tribulation when Jesus comes back and sets up his kingdom, he will sit in judgment on the nations of the world. He will then usher into the kingdom those who are righteous (Mat 25:31-46). These people will include Jews and Gentiles. They will be in their natural bodies opposed to those Christians who were raptured earlier and given glorified bodies (1 Thes 4:13-18, Rev 19:16; 1 Cor 15:51-55). These natural people will still have the ability to sin and will. That is why Jesus rules with a rod of iron. If all people were perfect at this time there would be no reason to rule with a rod. The Bible teaches also that during this one thousand year reign of Jesus, that the feast of Tabernacles will be observed once again. Those nations which don't observe it will not be given rain on their land (Zech 14:16-20). This shows that sin is possible even while Satan is bound in the abyss. Also, the descendants of these natural people will join a rebellion a thousand years later when Satan is released for a little while (Rev 20:7-9) which shows that they still have the ability to sin.

This brings up another question. Why do we sin? James 1:13 15 says, "Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does

He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his OWN DESIRES and enticed. Then when desire has conceived, it gives birth

to sin, and sin, when it is full grown brings forth death." Doesn't that say it all. When we sin it is because of our sinful desires. Also read Romans 7:18 20 where it says that in our "flesh" nothing good dwells. It also references that when we do evil it is caused by the sin that dwells in us. It is us that sin, not the devil.

However, I will be quick to point out that the devil does help us to fall prey to our fleshly desires. Especially unbelievers. He blinds their eyes to the Gospel (2 Cor 4:4), deceives (Rev 20), casts doubt on Gods Word (Gen 3) hinders evangelism (1 Thes 2:18), accuses believers before God (Rev 12:10) and many more. He is busy trying to influence and seduce all peoples. He is very active in trying to cause us to sin. Satan challenges us all the time to have "lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and pride of life" (1 John 2:16). So, it is true that the Devil can help us sin, but the final decision is ours, not his.

However, there is a danger in this. That danger is becoming overly concentrated on the Enemy's activities. Many people spend more time worrying about the Devil than is necessary. The Bible teaches that we should not be ignorant of the Devils DEVICES (2 Cor 2:11), but never tells us to worry about him PERSONALLY. We need to focus on the WORD like Jesus did in Matthew 4 when confronted with Satan. James 4:7 says "Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you". What does James say. Submit to God and His authority. Then you can resist the Devil by knowing and trusting in Scripture like Jesus did in Luke 4. Also, in Matthew 6:13 Jesus told us to pray to the Father to "keep us out of temptation and deliver us from the evil one". So God is at work protecting us all the time from the Devil. He can't touch us unless God allows it for His purpose (Job 1-2). This is important to stress. There are many people who teach that we should BIND the devil. There is no CLEAR scriptural basis for this. Many try to INFER from certain passages this method of praying, but we should develop our theology and practice from CLEAR teachings of scripture. The only place the Bible ever CLEARLY teaches the devil being bound is in Rev 20:1-3 where he is BOUND by an angel. The most common passage used to support this view is Matthew 16:18-19 and Mat 18:15-18. Spiros Zhodiates, a native born Greek, is an expert in the Koine Greek language and comments on these passages in this way, "There is no reference made here to the binding and loosing of persons. One can note that this speaks exclusively to THINGS because of the neuter gender of the indefinite Greek pronouns "ho" (3739), meaning "whatever" in verse 19, and "hosa" (3745) meaning "whatever" in 18:18. Believers can never MAKE conclusive decisions about things, but can only CONFIRM those decisions which have already been made by God Himself as conclusive in the general context of His kingdom both on earth and in heaven. The two verbs, "dedemenon" (1210) and "lelumenon" (3089), are both perfect passive participles which are more accurately translated in the English as, "having been bound" and "having been loosed" already in the heaven". It is interesting to note that the parallel passage of Matt. 16, which is Matt. 18, is about church discipline. The comments made above fit perfectly within the context of church discipline. Whatever the church "allows" or "forbids" is the decision that has already been made in heaven, because the church makes it in accordance with the words of Jesus Himself and the rest of Gods authoritative Word.

It might be important to mention that there is no reference to any of the apostles or early disciples BINDING or LOOSING any demon or devil. Paul cast out demons when they possessed humans, but there is no reference to binding anything the way it is commonly taught today. One good example is the "messenger of Satan sent to buffer" Paul in 2 Cor 12:7-8. Why didn't Paul just bind this demon? Instead, Paul went to the Lord in prayer. Which follows the pattern of Matthew 6:13. We can also ask why Jesus didn't bind Satan when confronted by him in the wilderness? Its always important to note why Jesus did or didn't do something. Instead he resisted the Devil (James 4:7) and trusted in God and His Word to deliver Him from the enemy.

Once again when the disciples asked Jesus HOW to pray in Matthew 6, He told them. "OUR FATHER....keep us out of temptation and deliver us the from the evil one." We need to resist the enemy by praying to the Father and seek His protection, not trying to confront the enemy personally.

One other danger is people speaking evil of Satan. I don't like Satan whatsoever, but according to Jude 8-11 we should not speak evil of dignitaries (e.g. Satan or demons). Jude goes to the extreme of showing that even Michael THE ARCHANGEL "dared not bring against him a reviling accusation but said the LORD REBUKE THEE" (verve 9). Jude pronounces a WOE on those who participate in such things. 2 Peter 2:9-11 teaches that "God knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment" Who are these that are reserved for judgment. Peter says that these are people who speak evil of dignitaries (literally glorious ones; same as Jude 9 in reference to Angelic beings).We should give Satan respect simply because of his position as an angel (whether good or bad) not because his moral character warrants it.

To sum it up. The enemy does what He can to take advantage of our sinful desires and encourage us to sin. However, God gives us a promise in 1 Cor 10:12-13. He first commands us to be humble before God. It then reads, "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape that you may bear it." So there is no excuse for us when we sin. We can't blame the God or the devil because God is protecting us FROM and THROUGH temptation when it comes, even to the point of making an escape route for us. We need to avoid speaking to the devil or even speaking evil of Him but instead we need to trust in the Word of God just as Jesus gave us the example in Matthew 4. We need to trust that God is completely Sovereign over the Devil (Job 1:9) and continue to affirm the LORD'S protection of us from the evil one (Mat 6:13). We need to trust that when God does allow the enemy to tempt us, it is for our benefit in that God has our growth in mind (Rom 8:28; 2 Cor 12:7-8) and creates the opportunity for Him to give us His Grace.

coming....

If I'm a good person, can I still go to heaven?
Why do I need Jesus?
I've done some pretty bad things in my life, how can God forgive me?
Why is Jesus the only way to get to heaven?