The Great Deep

 There are many suppositions about what the universe looks like. In all honesty, every one of them is theoretical since there is no one alive today which has ever seen the universe. So, let's do what Christians should do and look at what the Bible says.

In the Scriptures there is reference to three different types of heavens. We can call them the sky, the universe, and where God dwells to differentiate.

The first heaven is the sky where the clouds float and the birds fly.

Genesis 1:20-21- And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

The second heaven is the universe where the sun, moon, and stars reside.

Genesis 1:14-16- And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

The third heaven is where God dwells, which most people think of as literal heaven.

Matthew 12:50- For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

II Corinthians 12:2,4- I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

The Bible also makes reference to something called the Deep or the Great Deep. And It appears that this is a reference to waters deep inside the earth and waters in the universe

First, the waters in the universe are separated by a firmament where the sun, moon, and planets reside- see Genesis 1:14-16 above. On either side of this firmament is water which separates where we dwell from where God resides.

Genesis 1:2- And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

How do we know that this is a reference to the universe? The last part of Proverbs 8 speaks of wisdom being with God before the creation of the heaven and the earth. And Psalms 148 tells of waters that are above the heavens.

Proverbs 8:27-28- When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep:

Psalm 148:3-4- Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light. Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.

Out in the universe, there is water. And the very top of that water is frozen. This frozen water is reference as a sea of glass on which God's throne sits.

Job 38:30-33- The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen. Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion? Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons? Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?

Psalm 29:3,10- The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters. The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King for ever.

Revelation 4:2,3,6- And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.

Whether God originally created the top frozen solid, or whether it was one of the consequences of Adam's sin that separated God from mankind, we don't really know. 

There is water deep inside the earth. God separated the waters from above the firmament with the waters below the firmament and dry land appeared.

Genesis 1:9-10- And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

Just like heaven can refer to three different places, the firmament refers to two different areas. When God gathered the waters into seas, he divided them with the firmament. 

Science is just now catching up to the Bible.

In 2014, Researchers from Northwestern University and the University of New Mexico report evidence for potentially oceans worth of water deep beneath the earth's mantle, which they claim may represent the planet's largest water reservoir.

"The presence of liquid water on the surface is what makes our "blue planet" habitable, and scientists have long been trying to figure out just how much water may be cycling between Earth's surface and interior reservoirs through plate tectonics. Geological processes on the Earth's surface, such as earthquakes or erupting volcanoes, are an expression of what is going on inside the Earth, out of our sight," said Jacobsen, a co-author of the paper. "I think we are finally seeing evidence for a whole-Earth water cycle, which may help explain the vast amount of liquid water on the surface of our habitable planet. Scientists have been looking for this missing deep water for decades."

Scientists have long speculated that water is trapped in a rocky layer of the Earth's mantle located between the lower mantle and upper mantle, at depths between 250 miles and 410 miles. Jacobsen and Schmandt are the first to provide direct evidence that there may be water in this area of the mantle, known as the "transition zone," on a regional scale.

Schmandt, an assistant professor of geophysics at the University of New Mexico, uses seismic waves from earthquakes to investigate the structure of the deep crust and mantle. The study combined Jacobsen's lab experiments in which he studies mantle rock under the simulated high pressures of 400 miles below the Earth's surface with Schmandt's observations using vast amounts of seismic data from the USArray, a dense network of more than 2,000 seismometers across the United States.

Jacobsen's and Schmandt's findings converged to produce evidence that melting may occur about 400 miles deep in the Earth. H2O stored in mantle rocks, such as those containing the mineral ringwoodite, likely is the key to the process, the researchers said. If just one percent of the weight of mantle rock located in the transition zone is H2O, that would be equivalent to nearly three times the amount of water in our oceans, the researchers said.

A more recent post on Daily Galaxy says:

 A massive underground ocean, three times larger than all surface oceans combined, has been found 700 kilometers beneath the Earth's surface. The monumental reservoir lies hidden within a blue rock formation known as ringwoodite, deep within Earth's mantle. This layer of scorching rocks, situated between the planet's surface and core, harbors an aqueous secret of immense proportions. The underwater expanse is not a traditional ocean but rather water molecules trapped within the crystal structure of ringwoodite. This unique arrangement allows for an enormous amount of water to be stored in a relatively compact space.

Steven Jacobsen, lead researcher from Northwestern University in Illinois, states,  "We should rejoice at the presence of this reservoir. If it weren't there, it would be on the Earth's surface, and mountain tops would be the only visible land." 

What we do know is that the waters in the universe and the waters deep inside the earth were how God flooded the earth in Noah's day.

A theory that I find very credible is the hydroplate theory. It explains a lot of the science behind things we see in the geological record. I believe that this theory combined with the waters in the universe is the only plausible explanation for Noah’s flood.

Remember that before the Great Deluge, there had never been rain. Water didn't drop from the sky. Everyone in Noah's time knew that it was a mist that came up out of the earth that watered the plants.

Genesis 2:5-6- And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

This is why people mocked Noah and wouldn't believe him. God sent a mist up from the earth that formed drops like dew on the ground and that's how the plants were watered. So, where would enough water to cover the mountains of the entire planet come from?

God knew. He'd send it down from the universe and pull it from the great deep. And it would dramatically change the earth’s environment. That’s why people before the flood lived hundreds of years and people after the flood barely lived past the age of 100.

Waters breaking forth from deep under the earth’s mantle mixing with waters pouring forcefully down from the universe would be enough to cut through the earth’s top layers creating higher mountains and deeper valleys, like the Grand Canyon. It can also explain the deep trenches in the oceans that look like something exploded out of it.

Genesis 7:11-12- In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.

The Lord dropped the water from the universe onto the earth. He allowed it to break forth from deep under the earth’s mantle. He let it gush and fall for 40 days and 40 nights. And then when He was ready, he sent it all back.

Job 38:8- Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?

Genesis 8:2-3- The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained; And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.

They returned back to the second heaven, the universe, and back deep into the earth under the mantle. That's why you won't find enough water, icebergs, or rain/ snow to actually flood the entire world on earth; it's hidden.

Now, regarding the waters in the universe…

Back during the Middle Ages, people were afraid that they would go sailing out too far and get attacked by a sea dragon. It seems silly to us today, but they had a good reason to fear a dragon in the water, it just wasn't in the waters on the earth!

Job 41:1,15,19,20,31-34- Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down? His scales are his pride, shut up together as with a close seal. Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out. Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron. He maketh the deep to boil like a pot: he maketh the sea like a pot of ointment. He maketh a path to shine after him; one would think the deep to be hoary. Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear. He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride.

This is no ordinary creature. This Leviathan is a dragon who can travel through the universe from earth to the throne of God and back.

Revelation 12:3- And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.

The Bible wants to make certain that you understand exactly who this dragon is. He will fight against the angels of God and will be cast out of the third heaven. This hasn't happened yet, but it will.

Revelation 12-7,9- And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 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.

Isaiah 14:12- How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

You must understand that when Lucifer was created he was the anointed cherub that covered the throne of God. He was a beautiful creation, and his beauty led to his demise. He became prideful and wanted to be like God, and for that he was removed from his position along side the other cherubim. But he can still come before God any time he desires; and it seems like God actually calls him to attendence often.

Job 1:6- Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.

Job 2:1- Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD.

In the future, Satan will be cast out of heaven and out of the universe and sent to the earth. After the Tribulation is over, Christ will chain him inside the earth in the bottomless pit for a thousand years.

Isaiah 27:1- In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.

Revelation 20:2,3- And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

God says that one day He will destroy this current creation.

2 Peter 3:10,12- But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

Revelation 20:11- And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

God is going to fold up this universe like you would an old unusable piece of clothing and destroy it. 

Psalm 102:25-27- Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.

There is a theory that the universe is actually shaped like a poncho, or a pyramid without a top because of the verse in Psalm 102 and the verse about Christ's coat in John 19.

John 19:23-24- Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did.

This is how it's speculated to look. Please excuse my artwork, I'm not the best artist, but it gives you the idea.

Like I said before, we don't know for certain what the shape of the universe is. God didn't see fit to spell it out in the Bible. But what we do know is that one day this current creation will be destroyed and recreated brand new and there will be no more sea to separate man from God.

Revelation 21:1- And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

Luke's Record of Christ's Genealogy

 Luke’s genealogy of Jesus shows Jesus humanity and history by  lineage through His full genealogy in Luke 3:23-38. The genealogy traces the ancestors of Jesus, father by father, beginning with Joseph (his step-father) through King David, Abraham, and Noah all the way back to Adam. This is considered Jesus' legal genealogy. He was presumed to be the physical seed of Joseph, and that is who this line goes through and why it states "as was supposed" the son of Joseph.

Galatians 4:4- But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

Sometimes people want to correct his verse, but they don't take into account that Jesus was literally made of just one human's DNA. His entire human genetic material was made from Mary.

While Reu does not appear after Peleg in Genesis 10 he is listed in the genealogy in Genesis 11:18-19. He is also mentioned in Luke 3:35 as Ragau. The spelling variations can be accounted for as follows: Luke is writing in Greek, whereas Moses (Genesis) and the Chronicles are writings in Hebrew.

However, in Luke 3.36 Cainan appears as the father of Sala and the son of Arphaxad. This has been alleged to contradict the Old Testament genealogies of the ‘generations of Shem’ recorded in Genesis 10:24, Genesis 11:12 and 1 Chronicles 1:18 where Salah (or Shelah, in Chronicles) appears as the son of Arphaxad. By consulting the KJV's translation of the Old Testament, we find that this genealogy in Luke 3 almost perfectly matches the genealogies found in the fifth, tenth, and eleventh chapters of Genesis and the first chapter of I Chronicles. There is just one discrepancy, "Cainan, son of Arphaxad,'' does not appear in the KJV Old Testament.

It should be noted that While the names 'Cainan' and 'Canaan' in English look similar in Hebrew they differ, the name 'Cainan' meaning 'fixed' and  the name 'Canaan' meaning 'humiliated'. The KJV translators would have noticed if this was the same name repeated a few lines later. What accounts for this discrepancy? Does Luke 3:36 have a name that doesn't belong, or did the genealogies of the KJV Old Testament leave a name out for some reason?

Cainan is mentioned in the Septuagint  made long after Luke was written, the Greek translation of the Book of Genesis, the Book of Jubilees, and the genealogy of Jesus given in Luke 3:36 in the New Testament. He is described as a son of Arpachshad and father of Salah, who lived in the time between Noah and Abraham. There is a reason that certain books were removed from the KJV canon of Scriptures. It was because somewhere in them they contradicted other portions of Scripture, and they weren't quoted by early Christians (Church elders). They were considered "doubtful writings".

The Book of Jubilees, a rewritten version of Genesis and Exodus supposedly dating from 160–150 BC records a Cainan between Arphaxad and Salah. Jubilees 8.1–5 gives a rather detailed account of this postdiluvian Cainan:

In the twenty-ninth jubilee, in the first week, in the beginning thereof Arpachshad took to himself a wife and her name was Rasu’eja, the daughter of Susan, the daughter of Elam, and she bare him a son in the third year in this week, and he called his name Kainam. And the son grew, and his father taught him writing, and he went to seek for himself a place where he might seize for himself a city. And he found a writing which former (generations) had carved on the rock, and he read what was thereon, and he transcribed it and sinned owing to it; for it contained the teaching of the Watchers in accordance with which they used to observe the omens of the sun and moon and stars in all the signs of heaven.

And he wrote it down and said nothing regarding it; for he was afraid to speak to Noah about it lest he should be angry with him on account of it. And in the thirtieth jubilee, in the second week, in the first year thereof, he took to himself a wife, and her name was Melka, the daughter of Madai, the son of Japheth, and in the fourth year he begat a son, and called his name Shelah; for he said: ‘Truly I have been sent’.

According to the Book of Jubilees, Cainan was taught to read by his father, and he found, carved on the rocks by former generations, an inscription preserving the science of astrology as taught by the Watchers (fallen angels), who had rebelled from God before the flood. 

Some early chronographers such as John of Antioch (seventh century AD) and George Syncellus (ninth century AD) also refer to a postdiluvian Cainan. Their accounts differ somewhat from the Book of Jubilees, so they are probably derived from independent sources. John of Antioch records Cainan’s discovery of a stele inscribed with astronomical teachings left by the descendants of Seth before the Flood. George Syncellus records Cainan’s ‘walking in the field’ and discovering the ‘writing of the Giants’ which he ‘hid...for himself ’. George Syncellus also repeatedly refers to the error of Eusebius and Africanus in omitting Cainan from their chronologies.

In The Patriarchal Age: or, the History and Religion of Mankind (1854), George Smith writes, "The Alexandrine Chronicle derives the Samaritans from Cainan; Eustachius Antiochenus, the Saggodians; George Syncellus, the Gaspheni; Epiphanius the Cajani. Besides the particulars already mentioned, it is said Cainan was the first after the flood who invented astronomy, and that his sons made a god of him, and worshiped his image after his death. The founding of the city of Harran in Mesopotamia is also attributed to him; which, it is believed, is so called from a son he had of that name." 

In the Septuagint, which is written long after Luke penned his gospel, Genesis 11:12-13 reads like this:

And Arphaxad lived a hundred and thirty-five years, and begot Cainan. And Arphaxad lived after he had begotten Cainan, four hundred years, and begot sons and daughters, and died. And Cainan lived a hundred and thirty years and begot Sala; and Canaan lived after he had begotten Sala, three hundred and thirty years, and begot sons and daughters, and died.

Berosus, the Chaldean annalist of the third century BC, refers to Abraham as a ‘just man and great’ who lived ‘in the tenth generation after the flood’. Eupolemus, a Hellenistic Jewish historian writing about the middle of the second century BC, also refers to Abraham as being the ‘tenth generation’ after the flood. But it is presumed from Genesis 11:11–26 and 1 Chronicles 1:24–27 that Abraham is the ninth generation born after the flood, Arphaxad being the first generation. In Luke 3:34–36, however, with the extra Cainan in the genealogy, Abraham is indeed the tenth generation after the flood.

The Jewish historian Demetrius, who lived in the 200s B.C. around the same time that the Septuagint translation was beginning to be prepared, also included the second Cainan. The writings of Demetrius are lost, but some of his statements were preserved by Alexander Polyhistor, who lived around the time that Christ was born. Like Demetrius, Polyhistor also included the second Cainan.

But why might the postdiluvian Cainan have been omitted from the Old Testament genealogies?  The postdiluvian Cainan does not appear in the (Proto-)Masoretic Text, the most common Hebrew version of Genesis. I argue that the omission from the Masoretic text is deliberate. It is evident that Cainan discovered and revived a wickedness which ‘former generations’ practised before the Flood. 

Deuteronomy 29:18, 20- Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood; The LORD will not spare him, but then the anger of the LORD and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the LORD shall blot out his name from under heaven.

Genesis 6:4- There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that,

Numbers 13:33- And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.

Where did the giants come from after the flood? Is it possible that Cainan was the reason for these giants, and that is why God would blot his name out of the Genesis record?

Moses, under the direction of God, blotted out his name from the genealogy of mankind most likely because Cainan had been tainted with Angelic seed or practices. we can conclude that he was not accidentally deleted in the Bible but was deleted for a purpose. This also impacted Ezra who also left his name out in the book of Chronicles. Thus, all of the Hebrew texts and those from Hebrew such as the Targum, excluded Cainan, except for Jubilees as it was providing a history.  Cainan’s sin most likely was the reason there were giants after the flood, based on what he did by following the teachings of the watchers (fallen angels) which he had translated. He would have had the child, Sala, very early before this transgression (the main objective of the watchers was to pollute the seed of mankind).

Now, you should understand that the Hebrew word ‘begat’ in Genesis 10:24 and 11:12 is not confined to immediate offspring, but may refer to a descendant. For example, in Genesis 46.15 Leah is said to bare ‘thirty and three’ sons to Jacob. Now, Leah only ‘bore’ six immediate sons to Jacob, so the remaining twenty-seven evidently includes grandsons and great grandsons; and yet Leah is said to have ‘borne’ these also. This is consistent with the usage of the word ‘son’ in Hebrew. A ‘son’ may be a ‘grandson’ or even a more distant descendant. 

Arphaxad more than likely raised Sala as his own. 35 years from Arphaxad to Sala as per the scripture is possible, as Cainan could have had Sala at a very young age.  Obviously, Cainan’s sin did not impact this son, but only himself and those who would come after. 

Also, genealogies in Scripture are for specific purposes and it is important to understand the purpose in each case.  For example, in Jeremiah 22.30, ‘Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah’. This was spoken of ungodly King Jeconiah. But does it mean that Jeconiah was absolutely childless? No, since it is apparent from 1 Chronicles 3.17–18 that Jeconiah had eight sons. In Matthew 1, when Christ's genealogy through his mother's side is recounted, it lists Jeconiah and the line of his descendants. Moreover, the last part of Jeremiah 22.30 itself implies that Jeconiah will have a seed, but that none of that seed will be on the throne of David and rule in Judah. He is to be written down ‘childless’ because he is ‘childless’ in respect of a royal seed, a seed ‘sitting upon the throne of David’, but not ‘childless’ absolutely. This is why there needed to be a virgin birth, the "seed" was God's, but the heritage was that of the line of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

Similarly, the genealogies in Genesis and 1 Chronicles do not record Cainan since they go from what Moses wrote and Moses was directed to leave him out. Cainan has no part in that genealogy because of his ungodliness. But that does not mean that he did not exist at all, for he is recorded in Luke’s Gospel.

So why does Cainan appear in the genealogy in the gospel of Luke? Should he not also have been excluded from that genealogy for the same reason? No, because the purpose of the genealogy in Luke is different. Luke’s genealogy is given at the outset of the Messiah’s ministry to confirm His legal credentials for the work set before Him. The purpose is not to distinguish the godly from the ungodly seed, nor to look along that godly line in hope of the Saviour to come, in which case an ungodly member of the line might be shunned as contrary to that hope. Instead, Luke’s aim is to trace a genealogical line to confirm the credentials of a Saviour already come, as ‘son of David’, ‘son of Adam’ and ‘son of God’.

It should be understood by the reader that God has caused certain details to be revealed in the New Testament in order to clarify issues in the Old Testament which are not immediately apparent. An example would be when He told Daniel to "seal up the vision and the prophecy", and then in Revelation, John was told "seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book". You need the New Testament to open the Old Testament, and you must have an indwelling Christ to understand how they are connected.

Genealogies not matching verbatim is not exclusive to Luke. For example, in Matthew 1:8-9, Matthew eliminated three names found in the Old Testament genealogical records—Ahaziah, Joash, Amaziah. This was perhaps done for two reasons. Firstly, these men were idolaters, which Cainan may have been as well (and thus prompted the Holy Spirit through Matthew to omit them from his record). Secondly, Matthew’s intention was to make three sets of 14 generations (Abraham to David, David to Babylon, and Babylon to Christ). Those three names would have made 17, offsetting Matthew’s symmetry. 

Likewise, Luke is not word-for-word with his Old Testament family trees. In fact, by adding Cainan to verse 36, the Holy Spirit through Luke totals 77 generations from Adam to Christ (thus perfectly divisible by seven, the Bible’s number of perfection or completion). Jesus is the perfect Man, “the son of” appearing 77 times in Luke 3:23-38! Eliminating “Cainan” from verse 36 to make it conform to Moses and the Chronicler, however, we have merely 76 generations in Luke. Then, Jesus therefore was not perfect or complete in His legal generations. Simply put, “Cainan” is necessary in Luke 3:36; it was Luke’s original writing, and therefore belongs.

Since Matthew skipped some names to provide only three sets of 14 generations in his genealogical records, surely, we can: (1) permit Moses and the Chronicler to intentionally skip one name in their respective Books, and (2) allow Luke to insert that name not found in the Old Testament in order to show Jesus’ perfection. The Holy Spirit superintended all these men, so we need not question the infallibility of their writings.

When in doubt, give God the credit. We need not sacrifice Bible inspiration, infallibility, or preservation: all we need to do is adjust our thinking to better understand Moses’ handling of the family tree in Genesis chapters 10 and 11.

Remember, Jesus is David’s “son” and David is Jesus’ “father,” but this is in the sense of great-(40X) grandson and great-(40X) grandfather. The sense is forefather and posterity, with a millennium separating them, but still an unbroken bloodline nonetheless.

Old Testament Jewish genealogies focused on biological sonship. However, the genealogy of Luke clearly focuses on sonship by adoption. Luke 3:23 says that Jesus was “the son of Joseph” despite Joseph having no biological connection to Jesus. Jesus was the adopted son of Joseph. If this pattern continues in the genealogy, it would not be surprising to find an adopted son who had previously been omitted from biological genealogies. We can reasonably accept that Sala was the adopted son of Arphaxad, and that Arphaxad raised Sala, who was the biological son of Cainan.

A better way to look at Luke 3:36 is simply to see it as progressive revelation. The Holy Spirit caused Moses and the Chronicler to skip Cainan’s generation when recording family information (reason unknown) but had Luke write it because Luke was focused specifically on Jesus being Israel’s Messiah perfect in His 77 generations. Without Luke, we would have never known a Cainan existed between Arphaxad and Salah.

If you ever find yourself pointing out errors in the KJV Bible, perhaps you need to get on your knees and ask God to open your eyes to the truths that He is trying to make apparent through these differences. You may just get a biblical revelation from God Himself!

Steal Away (song)

Twas The Last Days Of Laodicea (poem)

‘Twas the last days of Laodicea, when all through the land
The church goers were lukewarm, and none would take a stand;
The preachers had big churches, pretty sermons, and college degrees,
While the members had poison Bibles, the Internet, and big-screen TV’s;
So, not much spiritual work was really ever done,
Not much praise and glory really went to God’s dear Son;
Of course there were some soldiers who just wouldn’t give in,
Who still believed the Bible, and who still hated sin;
But most lay idle on their lukewarm beds
While visions of the world danced on in their heads;
Some dreamed of money and material gain,
Some dreamed of power and praise for their name;
Some dreamed of living for carnal sins
While the rest dreamed of recreation, entertainment, and trends;
The Bible soon became an unknown book
For to its holy pages few would ever look;
So all true Christians were hated and despised
By the proud Laodiceans with the lofty eyes;
The true believers still remained faithful to their Lord
By putting on His armor and wielding His sword,
But most pressed on in their worldly ways,
Groping in the dark and wasting their days;
But then something happened in the northeastern skies
That changed everything with an awesome surprise;
A bright door flew open, and with a great shout
Like the sound of a trumpet, I heard my name called out!
Some said it thundered, while others didn’t know,
But I knew very well – it was my time to go;
Time to meet my Lord and leave this world behind,
Time for my new body, for sinlessness to find;
Time for my reward, time to get my crown,
No one saw me looking back as my feet left the ground!
I’m glad I trusted Jesus, glad I bore my cross,
Glad I didn’t drop my sword and suffer endless loss;
Now I’ll reign forever, as God makes all things new,
No sickness, no sorrow, no dying, because His word is true;
So don’t bother looking for me; I’m now in a better place,
Not because I’m worthy, just because of His saving grace.

-James L Melton

Do You Have A Relationship or Religion? (video sermon)

The Potter And The Clay

Isaiah 64:8- But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.

There is a process to crafting clay pottery. It can't be done all at once. Clay can be used to make pieces as small and delicate as jewelry or as large as massive sculptures. It's potential is almost endless!

First is the digging process.

Gathering the clay from the ground. It is unusable at this stage.

This is like your human birth. You are fresh and full of potential, but not saved. You are born with a sin nature that separates you from God.

John 3:7- Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

Romans 10:9- That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Next comes the weathering Process. The clay is filtered with water through a fine mesh to remove any particulates. This is the very beginning stage on the path to usefulness for clay.

This is like salvation, the second birth. You are a new Christian and have an eternal destiny in heaven, but your usefulness as a Christian on earth is yet to be determined. God has to remove the world from you! You are on your journey to becoming a new creation.

Romans 8:29- For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

The moment you became a Christian, God started working on you to conform you into the image of Christ. Each stage of the process brings you closer to the envisioned finished product.

I Corinthians 15:49- And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

At this point in your life you are justified. Your sin debt has been paid by the blood of Jesus Christ. The rest of your life you will be going through a sanctification process. This lifelong procedure is all about you becoming like the Lord Jesus Christ. It happens gradually, day by day, as we submit our lives to the will of God.

Philippians 1:6- Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.

The next step is the drying process. This is where the potter removes the water and allows the clay to dry; this makes it pliable. 

This is your spiritual growth at the very beginning of your Christian walk. You have a lot to learn about your new position as a child of God. This stage gets you to the point where Christ can start using you.

Ephesians 4:22-24- That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

After enough time has passed, the wedging process begins. The clay is pounded and kneaded to remove excess moisture and create a solid lump without air pockets. At this stage the clay won't hold a shape properly. Clay is thixotropic- this means that as you work with it, the clay first gets sloppier and wetter, before it begins to dry in the atmosphere.

Christ starts pointing out things in your life that He wants you to yield to Him. It can seem like a confusing mess as you try to navigate through what Christ wants from you, personally. The more you resist His direction, the longer this phase takes. 

Romans 12:2- And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

After working the clay, it is left to rest. It has to just sit there. It seems like nothing is happening, but microscopically, the clay particles are growing bacteria that makes it sticky. These bacteria are needed for the clay to be able to hold a shape. 

This point may seem meaningless, but it's actually necessary. You may feel like God has abandoned you, but He hasn't. You are actually growing spiritually in this phase. All the work is done on the inside.

II Peter 1:4-8- Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

All of these things are shaping our character, something no human can see. Yet, it is of infinite value to the Lord!

Now comes the shaping process. Shaping it on a potter's wheel creates the shape and design, but it still won't hold if liquid or pressure is introduced. At any point in this phase the clay can be recycled into a different shape if the potter doesn't like how the design is turning out.

Sometimes this part feels like it will never end. It can be a dizzying process of learning to trust the Lord's guidance.

II Timothy 2:20-21- But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.

The hardest part of the shaping process is getting the clay centered on the wheel. 

This is the stage of the Christian's walk where many decide to go their own way and live for themselves. A vessel of honor would be one that is used by God to show His mercy, but a vessel of dishonor can also be used by God to show His judgment. How you yield to the shaping determines which way your vessel will be used. By keeping our focus on Christ, we can become a beautiful vessel of honor! It all begins with our determination- what we set our minds to accomplish.

I Peter 1:13-16- Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

 At this stage the clay is called "greenware" and it is at its most fragile! This is where it feels like the devil is attacking hard! Before the designed clay can be bisque fired, it needs to be “cleaned up”. The work can’t go into the kiln if it has sharp edges – when glazed, sharp edges turn into razor blades! 

The potter can use a piece of fly wire to rub the work all over – this will scratch a little and is done with a gentle touch. He may use a knife or metal tool to scrape any areas that require a bit more treatment. Finally, there's a very light wipe over with a slightly damp sponge to help soften and soothe all of the edges.

Ephesians 2:10- For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Now we are ready for the baking process. The clay is in the shape that the potter has intended, and it is baked in a bisque kiln at 1,800*F. This will harden the clay into the shape that will hold. There is no turning back once the clay goes into the fire. 

I Peter 4:12-13- Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

This process burns off the water in the clay. The structure of the clay is not altered that much at this temperature. This part as a Christian is no fun! It's the chastening of the Lord or the fiery trials that we go through.

Hebrews 12:11- Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

Colossians 1:9-12- For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

The firing takes about 10 hours to complete the cycle and about two days to cool down.

Once it has cooled, the work is placed in the glaze room ready for decoration! If you made it through the chastisement successfully, then you have learned to rely on Christ and look to Him. The world isn't as alluring as it once was, and heaven's sounding sweeter each day!

The glazing process is where the potter puts a coating on the clay with a silica compound that will turn into a glass type layer when heated at 2,200*F. This is necessary to keep the color and the design on the pottery.

There are three main options for surface treatment at this stage:

1. Oxide Washes
2. Underglazes
3. Glazes

Washes and underglazes do not “glaze” the work; it will still need a layer of glaze to fully seal the clay.
Underglazes are stable colorants. They can be mixed with each other to form a variety of colors and can be used like watercolors to paint the pottery. They should be finished with a clear glaze on top to seal them.
Oxides are a different option. They don’t always need a glaze on top, and some glazes can change the color of the oxide wash!
The glazes need no other “glaze” on top! But the potter must be careful of unknown glaze interactions. You can put any combination of glaze in a bowl or on a plate, but only a single glaze on the outside of any vertical surface!
Different chemicals in the glaze can have dramatic effects. For example, barium carbonate turns manganese bright pink! Other elements can turn manganese dioxide brown, blue, purple and reddish brown. Glaze chemistry is a whole subject on its own!
Glazes are a chemical reaction that occurs under heat. Simply put, glaze is a layer of glass-like substance that bonds with the clay underneath. Clay is made of silica, alumina and water. Glaze is made of mostly silica. Silica has a melting point around 3092*F. The silica requires a “flux” to help it melt at the lower temperature. Fluxes can be all sorts of chemicals – a common one is calcium – calcium has a melting point of 4532*F, however, together they both melt at a much lower temperature of 2264*F!
Remember the story of the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace? There were four men walking around in the fire, and only three climbed out. The form of the fourth was as the Son of God. He's the flux that goes through the fire with you so that you can endure the temperature and become like Him in the process.
Romans 6:5,9,22- For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
A glaze kiln takes around 12 hours to reach temperature and two to three days to cool down. Sometimes a third firing process is required – this is for decoration that is added to work after the glaze firing. For example – adding precious metals and lusters. This firing temperature is usually around 1112*F to 1472*F, depending upon the techniques being used. 
The final stage is the finishing process. During the heat of the fire the pores on the clay absorb the glaze and as it cools it is bonded to and locked into the clay. The pottery is now ready to be used for its intended purpose.
This is the portion of life right before Christ calls us home to heaven and we are sanctified. God's work in our lives is complete and we are eternally perfected inside and out in our body, soul, and spirit!
II Timothy 4:6-8- For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
This is the end of your journey. You have come so far and have become the vessel that God has intended. For a Christian it is a life-long journey, but it will be absolutely worth it all when we see Christ! 
I John 3:2- Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.