AMAZING FACT: DEVOTION

Blood Moon or Red Ruse?

It’s been called a rare celestial event that signals the onset of apocalyptic events to occur in the literal nation of Israel. How are we to understand Jesus’ end-time predictions about the heavens?

“The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord” (Acts 2:20).

During the early morning hours of April 15, 2014, the first of four total eclipses of the moon occurred and was visible in the Americas. Astronomers call this a "lunar tetrad" and define it as “four successive total lunar eclipses, with no partial lunar eclipses in between, each of which is separated from the other by six lunar months (six full moons).”[1] When the earth falls directly between the sun and moon, the light from the sun that passes through the earth’s atmosphere creates a coppery-red hue of the moon.

Recently, some Christian pastors and writers have pointed to this upcoming lunar tetrad as fulfillments of Bible prophecy. One televangelist, pastor of the Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, John Hagee, has popularized this view in his best-selling book, Four Blood Moons: Something Is About to Change. He predicts that these “lunar eclipses foreshadow a world-shaking event” that will originate in the Middle East between April 2014 and October 2015. [2]

Based on a popular but errant view that focuses on the literal nation of Israel, Hagee and author Mark Biltz believe these events are unusual, though many astronomers disagree. Their efforts to line up historical events in Palestine with previous lunar tetrads are shaky. Regardless of these details, the foundations on which their interpretations are based find no basis in the principles of understanding prophecy as outlined in the Bible itself.

According to the New Testament, there are two Israels. One group is composed of the literal nation of Israel “according to the flesh” (Romans 9:3, 4) and the other is “spiritual Israel,” composed of anyone who believes in Jesus Christ. Paul writes: “They are not all Israel, which are of Israel” (Romans 9:6). Though it is tantalizing to peer at the Middle East with one finger on a Bible verse, the New Testament writers were very clear about focusing our attention on the new Israel, the body of Christ (see 1 Peter 2:5).

Does this mean we ignore this prediction Christ gave regarding His soon coming? Certainly not! We find an outline of sequential events that indeed might have already taken place. “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken” (Matthew 24:29). Some Bible scholars believe this passage was at least partially fulfilled on May 19, 1780, when a “supernatural darkness” covered certain parts of the United States. Reports indicated that the moon had the appearance of being red like blood. These events occurred at the end of a great prophetic time period and will occur again in the future (see Revelation 6:12, 13).

The phenomena in the sky is not to direct our attention to literal Israel, but to prepare our hearts to become part of spiritual Israel, God’s true people from every nation on earth who are ready for Jesus’ soon return.

Daily Devotional

For Apr 24, 2014

A Mother's Love
AN AMAZING FACT: One cold winter in South Wales, a mother was traveling cross-country with her young babe and was caught in a blinding blizzard. The following day, upon learning she never reached her destination, a group of men went out searching for her. They soon spotted a large mound of snow in the road that she was known to have traveled. They quickly swept away the white powder and found the frozen body of the barely dressed woman.
In her arms was a bundle of clothing, which they unwrapped to reveal her baby—alive. In the struggle of the snowstorm, the woman had taken off most of her clothing and wrapped it around the little boy to keep him alive. She knew that she would perish, but that the baby might survive. The baby was David Lloyd George, who lived on to become the celebrated prime minister of Britain during World War I. One of the reasons he achieved such greatness is that he never forgot about his mother’s love and sacrifice.

God has infused into mothers the instinct to protect their offspring even at the peril of their own lives. The Creator has pre-wired this sacrificial nature not just into human mothers, but also in the animal kingdom. In the mountains of Northern California, we have a lot of black bears that are generally harmless. On the few occasions when black bears have attacked humans, it’s usually because someone came between a mother and her cubs. Once a car was ripped apart by a mother bear because her cub was trapped inside when a well-meaning camper tried to take it home with him.

As the Bible says, “I will meet them like a bear deprived of her cubs; I will tear open their rib cage …” (Hosea 13:8). There is a deep quality in the heart of a mother that describes God. The Lord was willing to give up all of heaven to redeem His children. Nothing would be withheld between the saving love of God. Not even the life of God’s only begotten Son.
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
- Isaiah 49:15

A Shrunken Mummy

AN AMAZING FACT: John D. Rockefeller Sr. was strong and husky when small. He was raised a devout Christian but was determined early in life to earn money and drove himself to the limit. At age 33 he earned his first million dollars. At age 43 he controlled Standard Oil, the biggest company in the world. At age 53 he was the richest man on Earth and the world’s only billionaire.
Then he developed a sickness called “alopecia,” where the hair of his head dropped off, and his eyelashes and eyebrows disappeared. He became deeply depressed over his appearance, compounded by his constant stress, and looked like a shrunken mummy. His weekly income was one million dollars, but he digested only milk and crackers. He was so hated in Pennsylvania that he had to have bodyguards day and night. He could not sleep; he stopped smiling and enjoyed nothing in life.

The doctors predicted he would not live more than a year. Gleefully anticipating his demise, the newspapers had written his obituary in advance. Those sleepless nights set him thinking. A Christian friend told him if he did not begin to share his mounting wealth it would crush him like an avalanche. He realized with a new light that he “could not take one dime into the next world.” Money was not everything.

The next morning found him a new man. He began to help churches with his amassed wealth; the poor and needy were not overlooked. He established the Rockefeller Foundation, which funded medical research that led to the discovery of penicillin and other wonder drugs. John D. began to sleep well, eat, and enjoy life. The doctors had predicted he would not live over age 54. He died at age 98.

God understands the power of our thinking. When we focus on ourselves, we will become the most miserable of all people. But when we live to give, health will come into our lives. “A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones” (Proverbs 17:22). Solomon, once the wealthiest man in the world, wrote this Bible verse. John D. Rockefeller discovered its truth.
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
- Mark 8:36-37

Human Computer
AN AMAZING FACT: Perhaps the strangest human computer ever is Charles Grandemange of France. He was born in 1835—a one-pound baby without arms or legs. But he was endowed with a prodigious brain. At age 14 he toured Europe in demonstration of his calculating ability. He lived in a wooden box only one foot wide, but he could multiply two 100-digit numbers by one another within 30 seconds. He could divide a 23-digit figure by another and find the remainder at one glance. He was billed as the most lightning of all lightning calculators. It seems as if his misfortune resulted in the extraordinary development of mathematical skills.
More recently, Scott Flansburg of San Diego, California, has been dubbed “The Human Calculator” by Regis Philbin. This American mental calculator was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records in 2001 for his speed in mental calculation. Scott first realized his calculating skills at age nine and began solving his math teacher’s questions without writing down the calculations. He began keeping a running tally of groceries being purchased by his family at the store and giving his father an exact amount before the cashier rang up the total.

Flansburg has the ability to add, subtract, multiply, divide, and find square and cube roots in his head almost instantly. His calculations are always accurate. He is an advocate for raising math standards and has appeared on television shows. He has also written a couple of books to help children and adults increase their math skills.

The ability to calculate and store numbers in your head is an admirable quality. But there is nothing like storing God’s Word in your mind. David wrote, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:11). To help Abraham understand the great power of God, the Lord had him do some math. “Then He brought him outside
and said, ‘Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.’ And He said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be’” (Genesis 15:5). When we give our minds to the Lord, He promises to multiply our blessings. You can count on it!
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.
- Hebrews 6:14

Ali Hafed
AN AMAZING FACT: Ali Hafed was a prosperous Persian farmer living in India who owned a large and beautiful section of land with orchards, streams, and fertile fields. He was a happy and contented man until one day a Buddhist priest came to visit and told him tales of other farmers who’d become tremendously wealthy from discovering diamonds.
After hearing this, Ali Hafed became obsessed with thoughts and dreams of finding diamonds. Eventually, he sold his farm, left his family with relatives, and began searching for diamonds. Ali Hafed spent the rest of his life wandering the African continent, then Europe, in search of these elusive gleaming jewels. Finally worn out and penniless, in a fit of despondency he threw himself into the Bay of Barcelona in Spain and drowned.

Meanwhile, the man who had bought Ali Hafed’s farm happened to be passing a small stream on the property when suddenly his eye caught a bright sparkle of blue and red light from the stream bottom. He bent down and picked up a good-sized crystalline stone. He took it home and put it on his mantel as an interesting curiosity. Several weeks later
a visitor spotted the stone, looked closely at it, weighed it in his hand and nearly fainted. He asked the farmer if he knew what he’d found. When the farmer said he thought it was a piece of crystal, the visitor told him that he’d probably found one of the largest diamonds ever discovered. The skeptical farmer said that his stream was full of such stones. Not as large as the one on the mantel, but they were sprinkled generously along the stream bottom.

The farm that Ali Hafed had sold to go in search of diamonds turned out to be the Golconda Mines of India, for years the most productive diamond mine in the world, providing some of the largest diamonds in the English and Russian crown jewels. Ali Hafed had owned acres of diamonds but had sold his prosperous farm for practically nothing in
order to look for diamonds elsewhere.

Real happiness is much closer than most people think. To find the greatest treasure, you need to look no further than the Word of God.
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
- Proverbs 2:1-4

Johnny Appleseed
AN AMAZING FACT: Most Americans have heard of the legend of Johnny Appleseed, who went about the frontier with a kettle on his head, scattering apple seeds. But unlike Pecos Bill and Paul Bunyan, there really was a Johnny Appleseed. To begin with, his real name was John Chapman and he lived between 1775 and 1845. John had an extraordinary love for apples and wanted everybody to enjoy its fruit. He came from Philadelphia with apple seeds he collected and then planted them throughout the Ohio River Valley
Johnny roamed the wild countryside with a vigilant eye, looking for a suitable place where young apple trees could flourish—by a spring or on the side of a hill with rich soil. With a hopeful prayer he would gently push those little seeds into the earth and pat the ground, then build a brush fence to protect the saplings before moving on to the next promising place to start a nursery. Every fall he’d return to the cider presses in Pennsylvania, where he selected good seeds from the discarded apple pressings that he carefully washed, dried, and bagged for planting
the following spring.

As the orchards grew he would sell or trade the young trees to the thousands of new farmers that were settling the land. Even though he lived on the frontier he ate no meat, but he carried a stewpot or kettle with him. In this he could gather nuts or berries in season, carry water, boil potatoes, or cook ground cornmeal. He has been pictured wearing a
pot on his head, but more likely he kept it tied to the top of his backpack.

John Chapman never married, but he was a deeply religious man who loved people and especially children. As the settlers moved into the wilderness, his lonely nights were fewer because he was a welcomed guest at every cabin. Many a night he would hold them all enthralled with his stories of the wild woods or read to them from the Bible he carried. As a result of practicing his favorite hobby for about 50 years, this one man provided mountains of apples to feed thousands of people for several generations!

The apostle Paul was sort of like Johnny Appleseed. When we read of his accounts in the book of Acts, Paul went far and wide to plant churches. I have often wondered what the world would be like if every Christian felt that same compelling desire to spread God’s seeds of truth.
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
- Matthew 13:3

Finger of God?

An escalating outbreak of the deadly MERS virus is causing more deaths and creating fear of a global pandemic. Is God to blame for spreading fatal diseases?

A recent increase in the number of people killed by the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome [MERS] has caused alarm at the World Health Organization. Some are concerned that the virus, which has no treatment or vaccine at this time, could turn pandemic. Between 30 and 40 percent of people who contract the disease die.

The virus has been like a weak sibling of the SERS virus until recently. “There have been only about 350 cases detected worldwide in the past two years. But Saudi Arabia has reported more than 50 in just four days. Cases also turned up in Greece, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Jordan. All of the patients were exposed to the virus in the Gulf.” [1]

Apparently the virus has mutated and is more easily spread from person to person. Some think it originated from camels spreading to humans. What is catching the attention of the public is that the total number of infections in Saudi Arabia in the month of April has jumped 73 percent. The CDC in the United States says it is only a matter of time before someone carries it here.

Is God angry with the world and anxious to punish people with plagues? Jesus warns that in the last days there will be “pestilences” (Matthew 24:7) which is a contagious or infectious epidemic disease that is virulent and devastating. Some people point their finger at the Lord as the one who causes deadly illnesses. But the Scriptures show there is a sinister player roaming our earth.

Job was a “blameless and upright” man who “feared God and shunned evil” (Job 1:1). One day Satan accuses God of putting a hedge around Job. He claims God is being unfair and that if calamity came to Job he would blame God. So the Lord permitted Satan to cause havoc in the life of His servant, even allowing disease to touch his life. But Job never cursed God and clung to Him through it all.

This amazing story tells us that while God allows evil to occur in our world, the instigator of death and disease is Satan. His wicked strategy is to cause decimation and then blame God. As more people turn from the Lord and Satan gains more control of the elements of nature, we will see an increase in his disastrous work before Christ returns.

God permits pandemics to occur on our planet, but it is the great deceiver whose crooked finger is behind it all. Christians, like Job, may be touched with these results, but in the larger scheme of things we can know that we are safe in the hands of our Creator. Someday He will say, “Stop. Enough.” And He will destroy the one who causes all sin and suffering (Revelation 21:4).

The Imposters
AN AMAZING FACT: The common cuckoo bird is known as a “brood parasite.” A brood parasite is a bird that will trick another bird into raising its young. For example, the female cuckoo will spy on the nest of a small bird, such as a reed warbler. At the appropriate moment, the cuckoo hen flies down to the reed warbler’s nest, pushes one of the eggs out of the nest, lays an egg, and flies off. The whole process is achieved in only about 10 seconds. Amazingly, the cuckoo egg very closely resembles the eggs of their chosen host. The dedicated reed warblers unwittingly incubate, feed, and raise the young imposter, usually at the expense of their own genuine young. A cuckoo may visit as many as 50 different nests in a breeding season, each time leaving one of its own eggs for others to hatch and care for.
The cuckoo chick typically hatches before the natural ones and then commences to push the other eggs out of the little nest. One of the tragedies of nature is when you see a pair of reed warblers working themselves to death to satisfy the voracious hunger of a fat cuckoo chick that might be three times their size. Meanwhile, if the other eggs have
managed to hatch, the starving little warbler chicks are usually pushed out of the nest by the cuckoo chick!

Many people do not realize that the devil, like the cuckoo bird, has laid an egg in the Christian church that has been hatched, adopted, and fed until it has grown bigger than life. The Bible says Satan’s ministers can “transform themselves into ministers of righteousness” (2 Corinthians 11:15). And Jesus warned about “false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15).

That’s one reason it’s so important that we avoid trusting in other humans, no matter how “good” they seem. Even a person of good intentions may lead you in the wrong direction. Prominent leaders can err, and have often failed to live up to what is right. In the words of the old hymn—“I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.” Only God is worthy of our complete and total trust.
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
- 2 Corinthians 11:14-15

The Tree Weta
AN AMAZING FACT: Living on New Zealand’s North Island is a very large cricket-like insect with thorny legs called the tree weta. These giant flightless bugs typically live in holes in trees and eat lichens, flowers, seeds, and fruit. Some species grow four inches long and are as heavy as a cell phone. But don’t reach for them if they vibrate; they can deliver a very painful bite with their powerful mandibles and also inflict irritating scratches with their bacteria-laced spiny legs.
The menacing physical appearance of the weta makes these giant thorny bugs scary enough, but when you mix that with their zombie-like ability to revive from death, well, you have one spooky bug. Of course the weta does not really return from the dead, but they do sometimes “play dead.” When threatened it might lie still for a short time on its back, with legs splayed and claws exposed, and jaws wide open ready to scratch and bite. Another way wetas seem to cheat death is when they revive after being frozen alive for months. In the winter their bodies might be covered with frost at times in temperatures as low as minus 10 degrees C (14 degrees F). They are able to put themselves in a type of suspended animation because their haemolymph blood contains special antifreeze that prevents ice from forming in their cells.

Wetas can only pretend to rise from the dead, but the Bible says a day is coming when all will be resurrected. “Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth; those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation”
(John 5:28, 29). Christ rose from the dead and holds the keys of death. He offers to each of us the gift of the resurrection and everlasting life. Some Christians are Christian in name only. They are like the frozen wetas that
need to be thawed and resurrected!
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
- John 11:25

The Wise Ant

AN AMAZING FACT: Ants are the most numerous creatures on Earth. It has been estimated that the combined weight of the world’s ants is greater than the combined weight of all humans on the planet. We also admire ants for their ability to pull 30 times, and lift 50 times, their own weight. That would be equivalent to you or me out-pulling a Clydesdale or lifting an elephant. Ants understand team work too! If necessary, they will make their bodies into ladders to climb on, or rafts to float on.
Ants are also among the most organized insects. Some ant species herd aphids like domestic livestock. The ants and aphids are engaged in a symbiotic relationship in which each benefits from the other. On the one hand, the ants actually care for the aphids and protect them from ladybugs. In exchange, the ants receive nutritious “honeydew” excreted by the aphids. The ants tap the aphids with their antennae to let them know they would like some honeydew sap. Then they carry the “honey” back to the nest to feed others. While tending their flock, the ants may redistribute the aphids on the host plant to prevent local overcrowding. Before winter, these ants will even carry off aphid eggs to start a new herd of aphids in the spring.

Some ants are also farmers. Leafcutter ants from the tropical forests of Central and South America live in huge underground colonies, ruled by a single queen, that may contain as many as 8 million ants. The largest workers leave the nest and go out foraging for leaves and petals. They collect the leaves by cutting them with their sharp jaws into small pieces. They then carry the pieces back home. But they don’t eat the leaves. Instead, these resourceful insects use them to grow their own food! Back at the nest, smaller worker ants chew the leaves into tiny pieces to form large compost heaps. This compost grows the fungus on which they feed. These fungus gardens deep underground are carefully tended by tiny gardener ants.

The Bible says, “Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise” (Proverbs 6:6). When we study God’s creation, even the lowly ant can inspire us and give us wisdom.
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.
- Proverbs 6:6-8

The Elephant Bird

AN AMAZING FACT: Around the 1600s, early Arabian and Indian explorers began returning from the coast of east Africa with accounts of birds that were twice as tall as a man and three times as big as an ostrich. Naturally, their stories were scoffed at … until they brought evidence: eggs up to three feet in circumference! They were the eggs of an Aepyornis—a giant flightless bird found only on the island of Madagascar. Today the Aepyornis is better known as the elephant bird because of the stories Marco Polo told of a bird so strong that it could lift an elephant.
Though now extinct, the elephant bird was the largest bird that has ever lived. Scientists estimate that it stood 11 feet tall and weighed 900 pounds. By comparison, an exceptionally large ostrich might reach 9 feet and 300 pounds. By the time the French settled in Madagascar in the 1640s, the elephant bird had already become very rare. The last sighting
of a live elephant bird was in 1649. The natives’ histories on Madagascar describe the elephant bird as a shy, peaceful giant. It was likely driven to extinction by people raiding its nests for the extraordinary eggs. In fact, its eggs were even bigger than the largest dinosaur eggs. One of the largest intact specimens is 35 inches in circumference around its long axis, and probably had a capacity of more than two gallons. Some biologists have calculated that these eggs were as large as a functional egg possibly could be, meaning the eggs of the extinct elephant birds were the largest single cells to have ever existed on Earth.

Many people thought the elephant bird was just a myth until they saw the undeniable evidence. Unfortunately, in spite of the obvious biblical evidence, some people still think that the devil is a mythical beast with goat hooves and a forked tail. But the Bible makes it clear that the devil is real—and a formidable foe. Peter describes him as a “roaring lion,
seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Yet the devil can be resisted! Peter also warns us to be watchful, vigilant, and steadfast in our faith and promises that eventually “the God of all grace” will “perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle” us (1 Peter 5:9, 10).
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
- Revelation 12:9

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Faithful Unto Death

AN AMAZING FACT: After a forest fire in Yellowstone Park, a National Geographic photographer joined some forest rangers on their trek up a mountain to assess the inferno’s damage. As they hiked through the burnt forest, the photographer found a scorched bird literally petrified in ashes, perched statuesquely on the ground at the base of a tree. Somewhat curious of the eerie sight, he gently struck at the bird with his boot. When he did, three tiny chicks scurried out from under their dead mother’s wings.
The loving mother, keenly aware of impending disaster, had led her offspring to the base of the tree and had gathered them under her wings, instinctively knowing that the toxic smoke would rise. She could have flown to safety but refused to abandon her chicks. When the blaze arrived and the heat scorched her small body, the mother remained steadfast. Because she was willing to die, those under the cover of her wings would live.

The mother bird’s instinct to protect her young at the cost of her own life describes a quality infrequently found among humans. During the shootings in the Aurora, Colorado, movie theater this last year, some people ran for their lives, leaving their own children behind. But others threw themselves over their family at the cost of their own lives. It reminds me of the Bible verse: “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John 3:16).

Jesus did not hesitate to give His life for a world soon to be enveloped in an unquenchable forest fire. Christ wept out the words, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Matthew 23:37). Our Savior stretched out His arms over us, to shield us from the penalty of sin. Christ died in order that we might live.

The picture of a mother hen quietly sitting over her cute brood of little peeping chicks makes us smile. But the picture of Calvary is like the bird that died in the fire at Yellowstone, with outstretched wings, faithful unto death.
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
- Psalms 91:4

Missing Declaration of Independence

AN AMAZING FACT: After Stan Caffy and his wife Linda married, as part of combining households, she urged him to clean out the garage. Stan, an admitted pack rat, was reluctant to part with a reprint of the Declaration of Independence he kept hanging in his shop. He bought the yellowed document about 10 years earlier at a yard sale for a couple of dollars. Linda won the clean-out-the-garage debate, and so in March 2006 she rolled up the old parchment and took it, along with an antique table, and donated them to a local thrift store.
Fast forward one year. Michael Sparks was visiting the Music City Thrift Shop in Nashville, where he bought a candle holder, a set of salt and pepper shakers, and a yellowed print of the Declaration of Independence. Sparks, a music equipment technician, also figured the document was a worthless modern reprint, so he paid the asking price of $2.48 and headed home.

After looking over the document for a few days, he wondered if it might be older than he thought. So he clicked around on the Internet to do some research and soon realized, based on a number of clues, he had purchased one of only 200 official copies of the Declaration of Independence! Copies of the original document were commissioned by John Quincy Adams in 1820, when he was secretary of state. They were printed by William Stone in 1823. Of those 200 early copies, only 35 had been found intact. Michael now had number 36.

It took a year for Sparks to have the print authenticated and preserved. Then he put it up for auction in Burlington, North Carolina. The bidding opened at $125,000 and climbed to the sale price of $477,650. Stan Caffey confessed he felt like the village idiot when he read in the paper the document he had hanging in his garage for 10 years was this rare copy of the Declaration of Independence.

This is not the only time a precious national document has been misplaced or unrealized. During the reign of King Josiah in Judah, a lost parchment was found. “Now when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the Lord, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord given by Moses. Then Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, ‘I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord’” (2 Chronicles 34:14, 15). Finding this precious document brought about a national revival. Have you discovered the authentic truth in the Word lately?
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
- Matthew 7:7

America Bombed!

AN AMAZING FACT: Every American knows about the infamous day (December 7, 1941) when Pearl Harbor was attacked, but few people know that the Japanese bombed the American mainland 10 months later. It’s true! The bizarre and daring mission involved using a submarine to penetrate U.S. coastal defenses. Attached to the deck of the submarine was a small hangar containing a partially disassembled seaplane. The plane was designed to drop incendiary bombs on the dry Northwest forests with the intention of causing a massive inferno.
So, on September 9, 1942, a Japanese navy pilot, Nobuo Fujita, and his one assistant, Shoji Okuda, surfaced with the Japanese submarine crew off the North American coast near the border of Oregon and California. After the weather to cleared, the tiny seaplane was quickly assembled and secretly catapulted into the skies. Along with the two 160-pound incendiary bombs, Fujita packed a Samurai sword that had been in his family for 400 years. He reasoned if he was forced down, he would use it to end his life rather than be captured by the enemy. It was a peaceful morning in Brookings, Oregon, when a fisherman heard the sound of a small plane flying overhead. No one dreamed they were in the midst of an air attack. The small plane proceeded east, climbing to 8,000 feet, and dropped its load over a heavily wooded forest, becoming the only foreign enemy to ever bomb the United States mainland. But they didn’t wait
around to see what happened. Instead they hurried back to the sanctuary of their sub.

At 4:20 p.m. that day, a forest lookout on Mt. Emily spotted a small blaze involving about seven trees that was easily extinguished. Evidently, the wooded regions in Southern Oregon were still moist because of some unseasonable rains that had fallen a few days before the attack. In 1962, twenty years after the attack, Fujita returned to Brookings and presented the city with his cherished Samurai sword to pledge peace and friendship and to make amends for his attack. The sword was placed in the mayor’s office, where it remains today.

Did you know the Bible speaks of another ancient sword that God has given to mankind? “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword …” (Hebrews 4:12). No earthly sword can protect you like the Bible.
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
- Ephesians 6:17

Pigeon Missions

AN AMAZING FACT: Because there are so many pigeons in the world, we sometimes fail to appreciate these remarkable birds. Pigeons mate for life, make excellent parents, and have been known to live over 30 years! The racing pigeon is the marathon athlete of the air. It has the ability to beat its wings up to 10 times per second, and maintain a heart rate of 600 beats per minute for up to 16 hours without rest, while flying 50 to 60 mph! In addition, it can fly nearly straight up.
These skills have made homing pigeons a valuable communication tool for carrying messages in wartime. During WWII, 98 percent of pigeon missions were successful, often despite enemy fire. A famous WWI homing pigeon named Cher Ami delivered a vital message—the location of the famous Lost Battalion. The mission of that pigeon alone is credited with saving nearly 200 human lives! Cher Ami was awarded a medal for his heroic service. He died from his extensive battle wounds.

The French, Swiss, Israeli, and Chinese armies still use homing pigeons today because their messaging is not affected by electronic jamming. In the 17th century, King George of England decreed all pigeon droppings to be property of the Crown—and the lofts were policed to enforce the law! The reason? Pigeon manure was used in making gunpowder.

Advanced studies at the University of Montana and at Harvard have concluded: “Pound for pound, the pigeon is one of the smartest, most physically adept creatures in the animal kingdom.” They have been taught to use tools and were found to retain hundreds of objects or images in their memory! Knowing this, the pharmaceutical industry in Australia employed pigeons trained to identify anomalies in pills on a moving conveyor. The birds did outstanding work, but authorities soon ended the practice, fearing backlash from the perception that pigeons were more efficient workers than people. And, of course, they would work for chicken feed!

Did you know there was a prophet in the Bible whose name was pigeon? Jonah’s name means “dove” or “pigeon.” Unlike the faithful homing pigeons, Jonah tried to flee from duty. God mercifully spared his life, and Jonah went on to preach God’s message of warning, which saved an entire city from destruction.
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
- Jonah 1:1

Lincoln and Kennedy

AN AMAZING FACT: Have you ever noticed some uncanny similarities between Presidents Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy?
Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.

John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.

Lincoln was elected President in 1860.

Kennedy was elected President in 1960.

Lincoln’s wife lost a child while living in the White House.

Kennedy’s wife lost a child while living in the White House.

Lincoln had a secretary named Kennedy who urged him not to go to the theater.

Kennedy had a secretary named Lincoln who urged him not to go to Dallas.

Both Lincoln and Kennedy were shot in the back of the head in the presence of their wives.

Lincoln was shot in the Ford’s Theatre.

Kennedy was shot in a Lincoln made by Ford.

The names Lincoln and Kennedy each contain seven letters.

Both Lincoln and Kennedy were killed on a Friday and were assassinated by Southerners.

Lincoln’s assassin was known by three names, John Wilkes Booth, comprised of fifteen letters.

Kennedy’s assassin was known by three names, Lee Harvey Oswald, comprised of fifteen letters.

Booth shot Lincoln in a theater and fled to a warehouse.

Oswald shot Kennedy from a warehouse and fled to a theater.

Both Oswald and Booth were killed before being brought to trial.

Lincoln’s successor was Andrew Johnson, born in 1808.

Kennedy’s successor was Lyndon Johnson, born in 1908.

Are these coincidences? Probably, but did you know that the Bible teaches that history does have a tendency to repeat itself? Solomon once wrote, “That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which it may be said, ‘See, this is new’? It has already been in ancient times before us” (Ecclesiastes 1:9, 10).
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
- Ecclesiastes 1:9

Bridges in the Desert

AN AMAZING FACT: When people think of the London Bridge, they generally think of fog and cold, not cactus and sand! But today, the 140-year-old London Bridge resides in the middle of Lake Havasu City, Arizona. In 1963, chainsaw mogul and entrepreneur Robert McCulloch purchased 8.5 square miles of property in western Arizona and promised to develop it into Lake Havasu City. But McCulloch had a dilemma—how would he interest home buyers in relocating to a small town in the remote Arizona desert?
At the same time, the London Bridge was sinking into the clay of the Thames River. The famous bridge, built in 1831, was the victim of its own immense weight. London officials decided they’d have to replace the old bridge. Instead of simply tearing it down, they decided to sell it! In 1968, McCulloch purchased the bridge for $2.46 million—the highest price ever paid for an antique at that time.

Over the next three years, workers disassembled the five arches of the 1,000-foot-long and 50-foot-wide bridge in London. Each of the granite bricks were numbered to help with reassembly. Then, the granite bricks were shipped to America, where they were hauled to the brand new Lake Havasu City. The pieces were reassembled over land, and then a canal was dug out underneath, turning a peninsula into an island. The reconstruction cost an additional $7 million and the bridge was ready for business in 1971.

The unique purchase paid off for McCulloch. Pretty soon, tourists started showing up and eventually folks who came to see the bridge bought homes and decided to stay. Today, hundreds of thousands of people come every year to see the oddly placed landmark. By 2010 Lake Havasu City had grown to a respectable 52,000 residents.

Usually a bridge is built to cross a water barrier. In this case, a water barrier was dug in the desert to accommodate a multi-million-dollar bridge to nowhere! The Bible tells of a different sort of bridge in the desert. When the Israelites found themselves trapped by the Egyptian army on one side and the sea on the other, God miraculously created a dry-land bridge through the Red Sea. Truly, there is no dilemma too difficult for God!
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.
- Exodus 14:21

Amazing Facts of Faith

http://youtu.be/1AMFlih0OTY

the incredible hummingbird, these tiny creatures need to eat at least half-their body weight each day to survive. Pastor Doug then winsomely ties the lesson into a solid spiritual truth about the power of studying God’s Word.

I just wanted to say hello. I hope all is well with you.

The Black Ghost Knifefish


An Amazing Fact: The black ghost knifefish found in the Amazon Basin in Peru is a very strange-looking creature. It has no fins on the side, top, or tail. Its only fin is beneath in one long, single wave from front to back! This eight-inch fish has no tail and looks somewhat like a sideways butter knife, which narrows to a dull spear point at its back end. The one long, ribbon-like fin undulates from one end to the other. It looks something like a graceful, rippling black curtain that moves it through the water.


The knifefish has small, beady eyes and poor eyesight, but God has given this odd creature another way to see. The most unusual feature of the knifefish is its lateral line. This horizontal line of cells on its side is an electrical generating plant, producing waves of high-frequency impulses that are sent out into the water to both one side and the other. These impulses bounce off objects and quickly return, where they are sensed by other receptor cells in its skin. You might say this fish has a type of radar! The voltage of these cells is low, only about 3 to 10 volts of direct current. Yet the frequency of the impulses is high, running around 300 per second. As these impulses go outward, they create an
electrical sending/receiving field of signals, which tell the fish what is all around it.

But imagine the problems that might occur when two knifefish come near each other! Both fish are sending out signals, and one might think the incoming static of confusing patterns would jam their signals, “blinding” both fish. But the Creator gave these amazing fish the ability to change wavelengths. As soon as two knifefish draw near to one another, they immediately stop transmitting impulses for a couple moments, and then both fish switch them back on, but this time tuned to different frequencies from the other.

Have you ever been praying and felt that you were on the wrong frequency? Maybe you were having a lot of background noise and static, making it difficult to concentrate. Such “noise” does not need to be sounds we hear with our ears. Static can come in the form of our thoughts as well. When we fill our minds with Bible truth, seeking to remove all the distractions of the world, we will be more tuned into the voice of God in our thoughts (Isaiah 30:21).

KEY BIBLE TEXTS
Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
- Isaiah 59:1

An Important Piece of String

An Amazing Fact: Before a bridge was built across the Niagara Gorge, several lives were lost as people attempted to ferry across the turbulent, roaring rapids. You might be surprised to learn the first step in constructing a bridge over Niagara Falls was made by a 10-year-old boy named Homan Walsh. In 1848, Homan flew a kite from one side of the gorge to the other, which won him a $10 prize.


Someone on the opposite side caught the kite and tied a little stronger string to the end of the kite string, and the new, thicker string was pulled back across the gorge. The process was repeated with an even stronger string, then a cord, then a thin rope, then a thicker rope, and eventually they had a cable across the expanse strong enough to support workers, tools, and materials. Eventually, the two nations were connected by a sturdy bridge over which trucks and trains could pass. And it all started with one tiny kite string!

The Bible also tells of a woman who saved her whole family with a little red string. Rahab, a woman of ill repute, took a step of faith in her kindness to the Jewish spies sent to gather information about her city. As she helped them escape through a window, they promised safety to her or anyone she brought into her home when they returned to ransack the city—if she tied a red cord in her window. They respected their promise, and Rahab even became an ancestor of Jesus!

KEY BIBLE TEXTS
And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear. Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household, home unto thee. And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him. And if thou utter this our business, then we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear. And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window.
- Joshua 2:17-21

The World's Most Expensive House

An Amazing Fact: According to Forbes magazine, the 27-story skyscraper built in Mumbai, India, is one of the world’s largest and costliest homes. Mukesh Ambani, ranked by Forbes with a net worth of $43 billion, is building an eye-popping home that, when finished, will be 550 feet high with 400,000 square feet of living space. The Ambanis’ home, called The Antilia, will have no two floors alike in either plans or materials.


The first six stories will be dedicated to parking lots, with 168 parking spaces to pamper the many imported cars of family and guests, along with space for the 600 servants and workers. Of course, on days when the traffic is bad, they can use the helicopter pad on the roof. The Antilia’s living quarters begin at a lobby with nine elevators to access the 20 palatial floors above. The Ambanis plan to occasionally use the residence for corporate entertainment, so they have one floor with a formal ballroom complete with crystal chandeliers covering 80 percent of the ceiling and silver staircase. Another floor holds the wine room and theater.

One floor features an ice room where residents and guests can escape the tropical heat to a small, cooled chamber dusted by manmade snow flurries. For more temperate days, the family will enjoy a four-story open garden with a swimming pool surrounded by flowers, trees, and lawns with hanging hydroponic plants. The four floors at the top
house the luxurious living quarters for the family that will provide a panoramic view of the Arabian Sea and city skyline. The cost to build this skyscraper palace ranges between $500 million and $2 billion.

But this is nothing compared to the mansions Jesus has prepared for us. In quoting Isaiah 64, Paul writes to the believers in Corinth about heaven: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). The costliest buildings of Earth fade in comparison to the heavenly mansions being made for us by the hand of God. More than that, we will be able to abide with Christ forever.


KEY BIBLE TEXTS
In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
- John 14:2

Sky City

AN AMAZING FACT: The race is heating up among the world’s major cities for the bragging rights to the tallest building. New York City held the distinction for 40 years with the Empire State building at 1,250 feet tall. For just two years, the trophy passed to the World Trade Center, and then Chicago’s Sears Tower held the title for 25 years. The twin Petronas Towers in Malaysia surpassed the Sears Tower by just 33 feet and held the record for six years. Then the Taipei 101 tower held the record for six years at 1,667 feet.
In 2010, the Burj Khalifa surpassed the Taipei 101 tower by over a thousand feet, reaching a record breaking height of 2,716.5 feet. Located in downtown Dubai, the Burj Khalifa boasts more than 160 floors and contains private residences, 37 floors of office space, 57 elevators, a 160-room hotel, a fitness facility, and an outdoor observation deck. During the five and a half years of construction, 30 contracting companies and over 12,000 workers took part in the project.

But an even taller building, known as Sky City, is now on the drawing board. The company behind this building is not only seeking to surpass all the others by stabbing a little higher into the heavens—they also plan to build their 2,750-foot building in a mere 90 days!

The company Broad Sustainable Building from Hunan, China, has already proven their efficiency in construction: in 2011, they built a 30-story hotel in just 360 hours. The company uses prefabricated materials to achieve these super speeds—in the case of Sky City, 95 percent of the building will already be finished by the time they break ground in November 2012.

It is astonishing how quickly a record-setter can be surpassed—and it’s a reminder of the fleeting nature of earthly glory. While taking pride in our human accomplishments is always in vain, there is something worth boasting about: “But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me” (Jeremiah 9:24). After all, it is “not he who commends himself [that] is approved, but whom the Lord commends” (2 Corinthians 10:18). A commendation from God Himself is truly a record worth having. In addition, God’s commendations come with a complimentary residence in the true Sky City!
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.
- 2 Corinthians 10:12

The Pearl Bridge

AN AMAZING FACT: The Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge in Japan has the longest central span of any suspension bridge in the world. It was completed in 1998 and links the city of Kobe (on the mainland of Honshu) to Iwaya (on Awaji Island) by crossing the Akashi Strait. Before it was built, ferries carried people across the strait, which sometimes was lashed with bad weather. In 1955, two ferries sank, killing 168 people. The public outrage urged the government to build a suspension bridge. Construction began in 1988, and the bridge was opened for traffic in 1998.
The Pearl Bridge, as it has been nicknamed, has three spans. The center span is 6,532 feet long, with the other two measuring at 3,150 feet each, making the total length of the bridge 12,831 feet. To protect the bridge from damage, special girder systems were built to withstand winds of 178 mph and earthquakes measuring 8.5 on the Richter scale. It also has to stand against harsh sea currents. The two supporting towers rise to 928 feet high. Because of the changes in temperature, the bridge can actually “flex” by 7 feet!

Cables that hold the bridge up sink into 390,000 tons of concrete. Each cable is a whopping 44 inches in diameter and contains about 36,830 strands of wire each. There are 1,737 red, green, and blue lights mounted on the cables to illuminate the bridge; these can be changed with computer technology to many different patterns for different national or regional holidays. About 23,000 cars cross the Pearl Bridge every day.

Jesus once described the way to heaven as being narrow. Like the Pearl Bridge, it carries one over treacherous waters to the safety of God’s kingdom. But not many take this path. “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13, 14). Which bridge are you taking?
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
I pray thee, let me go over, and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon.
- Deuteronomy 3:25

Satellites

An Amazing Fact: The first living creature launched into space was a dog named Laika. On November 3, 1957, the Soviets flew Laika inside a pressurized chamber aboard the satellite, Sputnik 2. Since the launching of Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite in 1957, thousands of these “manmade moons” have been fired into Earth’s orbit. There are currently about 200 satellites orbiting our planet, though there are thousands of unused satellites and other “space junk” circling Earth. There are a few space probes that are orbiting as satellites around the moon, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and the sun.


There are many different types of satellites, including military, observation, communication, navigation, weather, and research satellites. Even space stations are considered satellites since they also are objects placed into orbit by humans. Satellites do not orbit the Earth in the same way. Some are called low-Earth orbit, polar orbit, and geostationary orbit depending on their purpose. They are typically semi-independent, with computer-controlled systems that keep them on track, powered, and sending correct information to Earth.

Television uses two types of satellites for services, the fixed service satellite and the direct broadcast satellite. The first (FSS) is typically used for broadcast feeds to and from television networks with larger dishes; the second is the type (DBS) used for sending signals directly to small dishes (18-24 inches) at people’s homes. These satellites are locked in a geostationary orbit. They circle the Earth around the equator at a very specific altitude that allows them to complete one orbit in the same amount of time that it takes the Earth to rotate once. As a result, these satellites stay 22,200 miles above one fixed point on the Earth’s equator at all times.

Jesus said to His disciples, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations … ” (Matthew 28:19). Christ also explained, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14). Could it be that one of the primary means of bringing the good news of salvation to the world is through the wonder of satellites? Without a doubt.

KEY BIBLE TEXTS
But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.
- Romans 10:18

Microscopic Bible

An Amazing Fact: On December 20, 2007, Israeli scientists in Jerusalem announced that they had successfully inscribed the entire Hebrew text of the Jewish Bible on an area smaller than a pinhead. The nanotechnology experts at the Technion Institute in Haifa say the text surface measures less than 1/100th of a square inch. They chose the Jewish Bible to highlight how vast quantities of information can be stored in minimum amounts of space.


According to Guinness World Records, the tiny Bible is now the world’s smallest. The previous smallest copy of the Bible originated in Australia and measured about an inch square and one quarter of an inch thick and contained 1,514 pages. With this recent Bible it only took about an hour to etch the 300,000 words of the Old Testament onto a tiny silicon surface smaller than a grain of sugar. The microscopic nano-Bible was written using a scientific device called FIB—Focused Ion Beam. With the aid of this device it was possible to blast focused beams of tiny particles called gallium ions towards a specific object. When the particles hit the object they cause the gold atoms plating the silicon surface to bounce off, thus etching it. This is similar to digging a shallow hole in the earth using a water jet from a hose. They hope to use the technology in the future as a way to store vast amounts of data on bio-molecules and DNA.

The plan of the Technion Institute was to photograph the nano-Bible using a scanning electron microscope, with the goal of enlarging the photo 10,000 times and displaying it on a giant 23-foot wall in their physics facility. It would then be possible to read the entire Bible with the naked eye.

It seems a bit strange to shrink the Bible down then blow it up! But whatever its size, the Bible is God’s Word. It is living and powerful (Hebrews 4:12); it is proven (Psalm 18:30); it is “able to make you wise for salvation” (2 Timothy 3:15). Best of all, it leads us to a relationship with Jesus—the Way, the Truth, and the Life.


KEY BIBLE TEXTS
And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
- 2 Timothy 3:15

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
- 2 Timothy 3:16

Ancient Roads

An Amazing Fact: The most advanced transportation system in pre-Columbian South America was the Inca road system. Even without horses or wheeled vehicles, a great network of 25,000 miles of roads constituted a transportation network rivaled only by that of the Romans. The roads connected all parts of the realm and made possible swift communication. Trained runners, working in relays, covered up to 250 miles per day on the roads. There was a coastal route and an inland route running north and south with many connecting roads. It covered some 1.2 million square miles of territory.


The Inca roads made quick and reliable routes for the empire’s military and civilian communications. Soldiers, porters, and llama caravans were the primary users. Others required permission, and tolls were extracted at some bridges. The width of the road was between three and 13 feet, with some sections 16 feet wide. Actually, much of the road was an improvement from a previous civilization, the Wari Empire. In the steep mountains of the Andes, giant flights of stairs were built. The main 3,700-mile route ran from Quito, Ecuador, in the north past Santiago, Chile, in the south.

The ancient Roman Empire also utilized roads to help them conquer the world. At the height of its power, the Roman Empire had a road system of about 50,000 miles consisting of 29 highways radiating from the city of Rome, and a network of roads covering every important conquered province. The Roman roads were three to four feet thick and consisted of three layers of successively finer stones set in mortar, with a layer of fitted stone blocks on top. By Roman law, the right of use of the roads belonged to all of the public, but the maintenance of the roadway was the responsibility of the inhabitants of the district through which the road ran.

God asked the Israelites to designate three cities of refuge for people who accidentally killed someone. The manslayer could flee to one of these cities and find safety, only if he was not found to be guilty. Instructions were given to build roadways to these cities. Jesus Christ also came to provide a roadway to heaven. The construction of these pathways cost Him His life. Though we are all guilty of sin, He offers forgiveness and protection when we confess our sins and ask Him to forgive us.

KEY BIBLE TEXTS
Thou shalt prepare thee a way, and divide the coasts of thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee to inherit, into three parts, that every slayer may flee thither.
- Deuteronomy 19:3

A Robot Apocalypse

Does the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) spell coming disaster for our planet? Is the future of humanity at risk because super-intelligent robots will someday attack and destroy us?

“The Lord said, ‘The people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them’ ” (Genesis 11:6).

The much-celebrated theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking warns that the unregulated development of artificial Intelligence (AI) could eventually lead to the end of the human race. In an interview with the BBC last week, the famous British scientist discussed the benefits of smart machines and the liabilities that could someday make people obsolete.

While Hawking sees great advantages to intelligent technology, he also sees risks. His own synthesized speech software program allows him to communicate as his body deteriorates from a motor neuron disease. He believes the creation of AI might be one of the biggest events in human history, but, “It might also be the last, unless we learn how to avoid the risks.” [1]

Hawking acknowledges his own limited understanding of these challenges. In 2007 he asked an open question on the Internet: “In a world that is in chaos politically, socially and environmentally, how can the human race sustain another 100 years?” A month later he confessed, “I don’t know the answer.” [2]

Hawking has stated he’s an atheist and does not believe in an afterlife. He calls heaven a myth and plainly says, “It is my view that the simplest explanation is that there is no God. No one created the universe, and no one directs our fate.” [3] But is there a better answer to our biggest questions than this?

The Bible provides us unequivocal statements on both the origin of our universe and the future destiny of our planet. Our philosophical problems cannot be answered by humans apart from God. Science is not a trustworthy answer to our moral issues. Jesus declares, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).

Regarding the future, there are over trustworthy 1,500 prophecies in the Bible predicting the second coming of Christ. For every prophecy on His first coming, there are eight that tell us He will return again. One-fifth of the New Testament explains the Lord’s return. We know from Scripture that every eye will see Him when He comes (Revelation 1:7), that God’s people will be clothed with immortality at His return (1 Corinthians 15:51–54), and that the wicked will fear His coming and try to hide (Revelation 6:14–17).

The end of the human race, as we know it, is sure. All evil, selfishness, immorality, and destructive acts will be destroyed forever. We will not all be blown to pieces by aliens or mechanical humanoids. The earth will be purified by fire and then made new by our Creator (2 Peter 3:10; Revelation 21:1).

For those in the hands of God, the future is bright.

1964 Mercury Comet

AN AMAZING FACT: Most people would consider themselves fortunate should they get 150,000 miles out of a car engine. For Rachel Veitch, however, her car has passed the 150,000 mile mark well over three times. Her vehicle is a 1964 Mercury Comet Caliente. She bought it new off the lot for a mere $3,289. And that low price even included all the upgrades. Rachel has given her beloved car the nickname Chariot, which is fitting considering it has safely carried her thousands and thousands of miles on the original engine. Ms. Veitch confessed that she once drove her Comet up to 120 mph “just for a mile.” She later had cruise control added because she kept getting speeding tickets.
On March 9, 2012, the 93-year-old Rachel Veitch parked her car for good. She said her eyesight was not sharp enough anymore to be driving. The 48-year-old car has actually outlasted her three husbands. Rachel adds, “With significantly less trouble.” How many miles did she clock on her beloved Mercury? Would you believe 576,000?

What’s her secret? For one thing, Rachel faithfully takes her “Chariot” in for all scheduled maintenance. We should mention she refuses to leave the Mercury’s side during any servicing or inspections. She also makes sure to show the mechanics a diagram outlining all the grease fittings on the car. Ms. Veitch is also always on the lookout for lifetime warranties on any parts, and when she finds one she makes sure to use it. Rachel’s car has gone through seven mufflers, three sets of shocks, and 16 batteries, all for the price of only one. Those half a million miles also included a recent trip to Rachel’s 70th class reunion, a trip that added over 3,000 miles to the historic odometer reading.

If a little loving care and regular maintenance can multiply the lifespan of a car, it makes one wonder how long our bodies might last with proper care? The Lord not only wants us to be in good health (3 John 2), but would have us be prepared for the Second Coming by caring for our bodies. “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23). God doesn’t want us to only care for our minds, but our whole being—bumper to bumper!
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.
- Psalms 20:7