INDEX

Introduction

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Conclusion, the Seventh Day

Final Thought

Saying Yes to Life

NOTES

A response to the book by Les Sherlock

Posted February 2020

Unless otherwise stated, all scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright ©1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

This book can be found here as a paperback for £6.41 and Kindle for £5.03. In my view the Kindle is very poor value, since there are no production costs and yet it is not much cheaper than the paperback. Furthermore it has been produced in a very lazy way, because there are no hyperlinks for any of the dozens of notes in the book. It was obviously created by taking the text from the paperback and pasting it in without bothering to format it for the Kindle. (Since I have created three Kindle books myself, here, here & here, I do know what is involved!)

This book, written by Ruth Valero (in future referred to as RV), was produced as a study guide for the Church of England during the Lent period of 2020. On the surface it appears to be wholly commendable: who could complain about a book that is primarily concerned with the conservation of our planet? However, under the surface are allusions to concepts that in my view are unchristian in the sense that they conflict with the teaching of Christ (bearing in mind that the entire New Testament was written by His followers to explain what He taught in His life, to make clear the implications of His death and resurrection, to teach what it means to be His follower, and to counter falsehood).

So while in my view we are duty bound to care for our planet as best we can, at the same time we need to beware of theories based on false foundations, and this is where my great concern about this book lies. To deal with this I shall take quotes from some parts of the book, and consider them in the light of what the Bible (primarily) and scientific observations tell us.

Introduction

* The other stories are almost certainly older than the Genesis texts and it seems likely the writers of the biblical passages were familiar with them and used them when writing their own accounts.

* Valerio, Ruth. Saying Yes to Life, (Kindle Locations 147-148). SPCK. Kindle Edition.

Right from the start we are shown the attitude RV takes to the Bible. She quite clearly believes it is a collection of writings by people who were under the influence of local traditions and myths, and were presenting their own views of what God might want to be saying to them. This then gives her the right to accept, change or discard whatever she thinks appropriate, and is in stark contrast to Paul:

2 Tim 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God…

Bear in mind the word 'inspiration' means far more than simply being given the enthusiasm to write, as can be seen by some alternative translations:

All Scripture is God-breathed *

All Scripture is breathed out by God *

* Literal Translation of the Holy Bible, and the International Standard Version

* English Standard Version

Jesus said:

Matt 5:18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.

So not merely the individual words, but every smallest Hebrew letter had to have come from God, otherwise there could be no guarantee it would be fulfilled. Furthermore He quoted directly from Genesis 1:27 (In the NKJV, from which all my Bible quotes come unless otherwise stated, the capitalised words are those quoted from the Old Testament):

Mark 10:6 But from the beginning of the creation, God 'MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE.'

So both Jesus and Paul accepted that the Old Testament scriptures were authoritative, directly from God, and therefore not subject to local myths and legends. However, RV obviously believes she knows better than them, and therefore throughout this book puts her intellect above the scriptures and interprets them according to her own understanding in order to make them agree with her theories, as we shall see.

Prov 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding

Christianity is primarily a faith, which is why it is called "the Christian faith!" But this attitude to the Bible destroys people's faith in it, since it changes it from God's Word into man's ideas about God's word, which then, in times of great testing, leaves Christians without any solid foundation for their faith in God. (Notice also from Mark 10:6 that male and female existed right from the beginning of creation, but according to evolutionary theory with a universe around 13.7 billion years old and humans appearing around 200,000 years ago at most, they were made not at the beginning of creation but almost at the end!)

* Both the Genesis texts and Enuma Elish start from a place of chaos. The notion of 'the deep' (t?hôm in the Hebrew) has resonances with the Babylonion tamtu, which relates to the goddess Tiamat, representing the primordial sea or ocean.

* Valerio, Ruth. Saying Yes to Life (Kindle Locations 173-175). SPCK. Kindle Edition.

RV compares the Bible to Enuma Elish,* the Babylonian creation story, and while she mostly makes the point that there is significant difference between the two accounts, nevertheless implies that the writer(s) of Genesis are alluding to it, if not actually accepting parts of it as the basis for what appears in the Bible.

* See here for overwhelming archeological evidence of the validity of the Bible record, which includes reference to this legend

* As the creation stories come at the beginning of the Bible, we tend to think they were the first texts to be written. However, it is actually more likely that they are some of the later texts of the Old Testament and that, although versions of the stories may have been circulating orally for some while, they assumed their final form when the Israelites were in captivity in Babylon. This was around the time prophets such as Jeremiah and Ezekiel were speaking.

* Valerio, Ruth. Saying Yes to Life (Kindle Locations 178-182). SPCK. Kindle Edition.

This is in stark contrast to what Jesus taught. For example:

Mark 7:10 For Moses said, 'HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER'; and, 'HE WHO CURSES FATHER OR MOTHER, LET HIM BE PUT TO DEATH.'
Mark 12:26  But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB' ?

RV says the Pentateuch was written at the time of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, while Jesus said Moses was the writer. In fact the name of Moses appears 80 times in the New Testament, frequently in relation to his authorship of these first five books of the Bible (e.g. Luke 16:29). So according to RV, while in John 14:6 Jesus said He is the way, the truth and the life, He got it wrong regarding the authorship of the Pentateuch! How can a Christian - i.e. a follower of the teachings of Christ - contradict what He taught?

Internal evidence in the Pentateuch indicates Moses as the writer: Ex 24:4; 17:14; 34:27; Num 33:2; Deut 31:9, 24–26. Since he spent 80 days alone with God on Mount Sinai (Ex 24:18; 34:28), and many times afterwards (Ex 33:11; 34:34–35) there was plenty of time for the Lord to tell him what to write! See here for a little more on Moses’ authorship. In fact we are specifically told that God gave the Torah to Moses:

Ex 24:12 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law * and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them."

* Hebrew: “Torah”

Here is a quote from a Jewish scholar, and since it was the Jews who were given the task of preserving God's word, I think between them and RV I would take their view on this as the more reliable - and particularly as it also is in keeping with both what Jesus taught…

John 5:46–47 "For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"

…and Paul's comment:

2 Tim 3:16 "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God…"

The quote:

The Torah scrolls that we have today are exactly the same as the Torah given to Moses by God.

The Torah consists of five books:

• Genesis - Bereshit
• Exodus - Shemot
• Leviticus - VaYikra
• Numbers - BaMidbar
• Deuteronomy - Devarim

It is a foundation of our faith that every word of the Torah was dictated to Moses by God. *

For over 3,000 years, the Torah has been kept by the Jewish people, not so much because of the miracles which accompanied its revelation, but because it embraces the depths and heights of human nature, fulfilling a need that God knows to exist in man. The Torah is therefore intrinsically perfect, and requires no further external evidence for the truths it teaches. The Psalmist thus said, "God's Torah is perfect, it restores the soul" (Psalms 19:8).

From "The Handbook of Jewish Thought" Vol. 2

* While this is not explicitly taught in the Bible, there is a case for arguing that Jesus could only have said what He did in Matt 5:18 (mentioned earlier) if it did indeed happen in this way.

Bearing in mind what you have just read, now consider what Moses told Israel regarding what God had commanded (Deut 12:1):

Deut 17:14, 18 "When you come to the land which the LORD your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, 'I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me,' …it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites.

The Hebrew word translated ‘this law’ is tôrâh. See how Strong’s Hebrew dictionary defines that word:

to-raw', to-raw'

From H3384; a precept or statute, especially the Decalogue or Pentateuch: - law.

How could the kings write out the Torah, if it had not yet been written? See King David’s attitude toward it:

1 Kings 2:3 And keep the charge of the LORD your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law * of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn;

The evidence is overwhelming that the Jewish nation did indeed preserve the writings of Moses (Deut 31:9, 24–26) - the Torah - throughout their history; as can be seen from the following 72 verses:

Ex 17:14 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua,

Ex 24:4 And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD.

Ex 33:11 So the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.

Ex 34:27 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write these words, for according to the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel."

Num 12:8 I speak with him face to face, even plainly, and not in dark sayings…

Num 33:2 Now Moses wrote down the starting points of their journeys at the command of the LORD.

Deut 4:44 Now this is the law (Torah) which Moses set before the children of Israel.

Deut 17:18–19 "Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law (Torah) in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law (Torah) and these statutes,

Deut 27:3, 8 You shall write on them all the words of this law (Torah), when you have crossed over… And you shall write very plainly on the stones all the words of this law (Torah)."

Deut 28:58, 61 If you do not carefully observe all the words of this law (Torah) that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, THE LORD YOUR GOD… Also every sickness and every plague, which is not written in this Book of the Law (Torah), will the LORD bring upon you until you are destroyed.

Deut 29:21, 27, 29 And the LORD would separate him from all the tribes of Israel for adversity, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this Book of the Law (Torah)… Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against this land, to bring on it every curse that is written in this book… "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law (Torah).

Deut 30:10 if you obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law (Torah)…

Deut 31:9–12, 24–26 And Moses wrote this Law (Torah) and delivered it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, and to all the elders of Israel. And Moses commanded them, saying: At the end of seven years, at the set time of the year of release, in the Feast of Tabernacles, when all Israel has come to appear before Jehovah your God in the place which He shall choose, you shall read this Law (Torah) before all Israel in their hearing. Gather the people together, men and women and little ones, and the stranger who is within your gates, that they may hear and that they may learn to fear the LORD your God and carefully observe all the words of this law (Torah)… And it happened when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this Law (Torah) in a book, until they were finished, Moses commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, saying, Take this book of the Law (Torah), and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of Jehovah your God, so that it may be there for a witness against you.

Deut 32:46 and he said to them: "Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe—all the words of this law (Torah).

Deut 33:4, 10 Moses commanded a law (Torah) for us, a heritage of the congregation of Jacob… They shall teach Jacob Your judgments, and Israel Your law (Torah).

Deut 34:10 But since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face…

Josh 1:7, 8 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law (Torah) which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law (Torah) shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it…

Josh 8:31, 32, 34 as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law (Torah) of Moses: "an altar of whole stones over which no man has wielded an iron tool." And they offered on it burnt offerings to the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings. And there, in the presence of the children of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of the law (Torah) of Moses, which he had written. And afterward he read all the words of the law (Torah), the blessings and the cursings, according to all that is written in the Book of the Law (Torah).

Josh 22:5 But take careful heed to do the commandment and the law (Torah) which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you,  

Josh 23:6 Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law (Torah) of Moses, lest you turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left,

1 Kings 2:3 And keep the charge of the LORD your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law (Torah) of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn;

2 Kings 14:6 But the children of the murderers he did not execute, according to what is written in the Book of the Law (Torah) of Moses, in which the LORD commanded,

2 Kings 21:8 and I will not make the feet of Israel wander anymore from the land which I gave their fathers—only if they are careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law (Torah) that My servant Moses commanded them."

2 Kings 22:8; 22:11 Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, "I have found the Book of the Law (Torah) in the house of the LORD." Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the Book of the Law (Torah), that he tore his clothes.

2 Kings 23:2, 3, 21; 23:24–25 The king went up to the house of the LORD with all the men of Judah, and with him all the inhabitants of Jerusalem—the priests and the prophets and all the people, both small and great. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant which had been found in the house of the LORD. Then the king stood by a pillar and made a covenant before the LORD, to follow the LORD and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people took a stand for the covenant… Then the king commanded all the people, saying, "Keep the Passover to the LORD your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant."…Moreover Josiah put away those who consulted mediums and spiritists, the household gods and idols, all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might perform the words of the law (Torah) which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD. Now before him there was no king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the Law (Torah) of Moses;

1 Chron 16:40 to offer burnt offerings to the LORD on the altar of burnt offering regularly morning and evening, and to do according to all that is written in the Law (Torah) of the LORD which He commanded Israel;

2 Chron 17:9 So they taught in Judah, and had the Book of the Law (Torah) of the LORD with them…

2 Chron 23:18 Also Jehoiada appointed the oversight of the house of the LORD to the hand of the priests, the Levites, whom David had assigned in the house of the LORD, to offer the burnt offerings of the LORD, as it is written in the Law (Torah) of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, as it was established by David.

2 Chron 25:4 However he did not execute their children, but did as it is written in the Law (Torah) in the Book of Moses, where the LORD commanded…

2 Chron 31:3 The king also appointed a portion of his possessions for the burnt offerings: for the morning and evening burnt offerings, the burnt offerings for the Sabbaths and the New Moons and the set feasts, as it is written in the Law (Torah) of the LORD.

2 Chron 33:8 and I will not again remove the foot of Israel from the land which I have appointed for your fathers—only if they are careful to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law (Torah) and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses."

2 Chron 34:14–16 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 (Torah) of the LORD given by Moses. Then Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, "I have found the Book of the Law (Torah) in the house of the LORD." And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan. So Shaphan carried the book to the king, bringing the king word, saying, "All that was committed to your servants they are doing.

2 Chron 35:12; 35:26 Then they removed the burnt offerings that they might give them to the divisions of the fathers' houses of the lay people, to offer to the LORD, as it is written in the Book of Moses. And so they did with the cattle…Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and his goodness, according to what was written in the Law (Torah) of the LORD,

Ezra 3:2; 6:18  Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his brethren, arose and built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law (Torah) of Moses the man of God…  They assigned the priests to their divisions and the Levites to their divisions, over the service of God in Jerusalem, as it is written in the Book of Moses.

Ezra 7:6 this Ezra came up from Babylon; and he was a skilled scribe in the Law (Torah) of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given.

Neh 8:1, 3, 8, 14, 18 Now all the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate; and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law (Torah) of Moses, which the LORD had commanded Israel… Then he read from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate from morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law (Torah)… So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law (Torah) of God… And they found written in the Law (Torah), which the LORD had commanded by Moses… Also day by day, from the first day until the last day, he read from the Book of the Law (Torah) of God.

Neh 9:3, 13–14 And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law (Torah) of the LORD their God…"You came down also on Mount Sinai, And spoke with them from heaven, and gave them just ordinances and true laws (Torah), Good statutes and commandments. You made known to them Your holy Sabbath, And commanded them precepts, statutes and laws (Torah), By the hand of Moses Your servant.

Neh 10:34 We cast lots among the priests, the Levites, and the people, for bringing the wood offering into the house of our God, according to our fathers' houses, at the appointed times year by year, to burn on the altar of the LORD our God as it is written in the Law (Torah).

Neh 13:1  On that day they read from the Book of Moses in the hearing of the people…

Dan 9:11, 13 Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law (Torah), and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law (Torah) of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him… "As it is written in the Law (Torah) of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us…

Mal 4:4  "Remember the Law (Torah) of Moses, My servant, Which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, With the statutes and judgments.

* In every case, in all of these scriptures, the word ‘law’ has been translated from the Hebrew word ‘Torah’, and this word appears 219 times in the Old Testament.

This proves the notion that the first five books of the Bible were cobbled together * from various writings and oral tradition during the exile, is completely unfounded. In fact the main points I am pressing here, refuting theistic evolution and the idea Moses did not write the Torah, have been the orthodox teaching of the church throughout its history, with the attack on Moses’ authorship only appearing 3-400 years ago and theistic evolution infiltrating the church after Darwin popularised the theory of evolution. Evidence that this is the case can be seen in my response to David Wilkinson here, with quotes from key Christian leaders from immediately after the days of the New Testament up to the 18th century.

The writer of Hebrews gives a serious warning:

Heb 4:11–12 Therefore let us labor to enter into that rest, lest anyone fall after the same example of unbelief.* For the Word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing apart of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.  (MKJV)

At the very least, the phrase ‘the Word of God’ must refer to the Old Testament; but how can it be depended upon to have this effect unless it really is God’s word? Casting doubt on its authenticity is surely the unbelief to which this verse refers; and we are warned against trying to change it:

Prov 30:5–6 Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.

There is a serious warning about one’s attitude to the Torah… *

Prov 28:9 One who turns away his ear from hearing the law (Torah) even his prayer is an abomination.

…but a blessing for those who keep it:

Prov 29:18 Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but happy is he who keeps the law (Torah).

TOP

* See here for a more in-depth refutation of the claim that Moses did not write the Torah.

* ‘unbelief’: Strong’s Hebrew dictionary says,
ap-i'-thi-ah  From G545; disbelief (obstinate and rebellious): - disobedience, unbelief.

MKJV: Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, Modern King James Version Copyright © 1962 - 1998 By Jay P. Green, Sr. Used by permission of the copyright holder.

* Of course, since Jesus fulfilled the law Matt 5:17, we are no longer under law but under grace Rom 6:14. This means while the moral requirements of God for humans have not changed, as can be seen throughout the New Testament, things like food laws Rom 14:2–3 and observance of special days Rom 14:5–6 (for example) no longer apply. The fact we are not bound by the Torah today, however, is a very different thing from what we are discussing here.

Chapter One

* The poem about the sea creature Leviathan in chapter 41 may be an oblique reference to Tiamat as the sea monster.

* Valerio, Ruth. Saying Yes to Life (Kindle Locations 245-246). SPCK. Kindle Edition.

Notice RV calls this a poem. It is a typical tactic in order then to claim because it is poetry it is not intended to be understood literally. Well, if a love-sick boy writes a poem declaring his love to the girl of his dreams, does this mean because it is poetry it is not true and he doesn’t love her? Of course not! It is simply a different technique of writing used to emphasise the truth of what he is saying.

Here, RV is referring to the mention of Leviathan in the book of Job, and while she points out…

* However as Psalm 104.26 reminds us, for Yahweh God, Leviathan is not a hideous goddess who needs to be battled against, but simply a creature, overwhelming for us in its proportions, but for God like a pet to be sported with.

* Valerio, Ruth. Saying Yes to Life (Kindle Locations 246-247). SPCK. Kindle Edition.

…nevertheless, her reference to Tiamat once again implies the source of these scriptures being something other than 'breathed out by God'.

*If we do neglect the doctrine of creation in our churches and in our own thinking, it is often because we have developed an understanding of salvation that does not hold salvation and creation together.

* Valerio, Ruth. Saying Yes to Life (Kindle Locations 260-261). SPCK. Kindle Edition

* This Lent, my prayer is that Saying Yes to Life will help you remember the link between redemption and creation. Too often the doctrine of creation is divorced from redemption, but, as the Kenyan theologian Samson Gitau expresses it, 'There can be no redemption without creation'.

* Valerio, Ruth. Saying Yes to Life (Kindle Locations 264-267). SPCK. Kindle Edition.

With that comment I completely agree, and this is the primary reason for me writing this piece now. If we get creation wrong, we undermine, if not totally destroy, the basis of our salvation. Genesis explains how sin entered into a perfect world, causing chaos and disaster to it as a result, while Jesus paid the price and made the way for us to be restored back to God and was able to do so because since sin entered the world via one man, then so it could be atoned for by one man.* This teaching conflicts with evolutionary dogma that demands the entire population of the world did not originate from one man and one woman - in spite of the latest genetic evidence that shows it did!

* Rom 5:17–19

Although RV is very careful in what she says and what she doesn't say, presumably in order to make her book acceptable to more people, nevertheless it is very clear she is a theistic evolutionist with her references to people like David Wilkinson * and her claim the days of Genesis 1 & 2 are not literal days. In the notes section from the introduction, she says:

* Whose fallacies I expose on my web site here

* My use of the capital for 'Days' is to signal that I do not see these as literal days. There are good questions to be asked around how the Genesis creation texts relate to contemporary science but that is not the focus of this book.

* Valerio, Ruth. Saying Yes to Life (Kindle Locations 3114-3116). SPCK. Kindle Edition.

This is a big subject; but it is a very important one, as it is a clear example of twisting the Bible to fit current human opinion. There is no passage anywhere in the Bible that gives any hint that the days of Genesis are anything other than 24-hour days,* so to make them different puts external sources as a higher authority than God's revelation. In fact God specifically said:

Ex 20:10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work…
Ex 20:11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
Ex 31:16 Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.
Ex 31:17 It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.' "

God blessed the period in which He rested - the Sabbath day. It makes no sense for God to refer to the creation week if it lasted billions of years, because in that case it would bear no resemblance to what He was now commanding Israel to do. He effectively said to them, “You do what I did: work six days and rest on the seventh!”

It also makes no scientific sense, because it means that vegetation, being created the day before the sun, needed to survive without any nourishment from it for millions of years, which is utter nonsense.* (The contention that the sun was created before Day four but it was only then it became visible on earth, is equally ridiculous - either the sun's rays were reaching the earth on Day three or they were not. If they were then there is no way it could be described as being created on Day four; if they were not, then the vegetation could not have survived for millions of years.)

* See this page on my web site for more evidence than is possible here.

* Of course, the theistic evolutionist would claim the six-day creationist has the same problem of vegetation without sun, but the source of its energy was the same then as is seen in Rev 22:5 when there is no sun there either - a fact impossible for theistic evolutionists to accept, who will only consider naturalistic explanations.

* See here for a good explanation of carbon dating

** Since carbon 14 has a half life of 5,730 years, there are no circumstances in which any could be present after the maximum amount of time mentioned here. It is not only carbon dating, however. Soft tissue, red blood cells and DNA has also been found in these remains, no trace of which could survive, even under the most benign conditions, more than tens of thousands of years at the very most. Therefore, these scientific observations are absolutely devastating to the theory of evolution since they drive a coach and horses through the evolutionary timetable. Of course, all the periods mentioned here are the maximum possible, not minimum, and fit perfectly with an age of the earth of c6,000 years.

*** Beneficial mutations are always the result of a decrease of the specified complexity of DNA, which is the opposite process to that required for new kind of living creatures to evolve.

On the other hand there is significant scientific observation to prove that the world cannot possibly be billions of years old:

• The rate of the moon regressing from the earth would mean it would have been in contact with it at the time life was supposed to have been evolving, which is impossible
• The magnetic field around the world is reducing exponentially at a rate that has not changed in all the time it has been measured, such that it would have been impossibly high billions of years ago.
• The changes in the direction of the magnetic field in the past can only be satisfactorily explained by the devastating onslaught that hit the earth and triggered the world-wide flood, which then triggered the ice age that produced the ice caps we now see.
• Carbon dating * of dinosaur remains - now dozens of examples - prove the latest possible date for their extinction cannot be more than tens of thousands of years ago at most and an absolute maximum of 100,000 years, when for evolution to work they had to have disappeared around 65 million years ago.**
• The rate and amount of mutation observed in DNA proves it could not have been mutating more than around 10,000 years at the absolute maximum.
• The amount of mutation required to produce modern chimps and humans from a common ancestor, even if possible (which it isn't!), at the observed rate of beneficial mutations,*** would have taken many millions of years at the very least, if not billions or trillions.

There is a huge amount more I could say, but that will suffice. Links to various pages of my web site on the subject can be found here. Perhaps in particular it would be good to look at this one.

However, to return to the main point, if those days were billions of years to accommodate evolutionary theory, then Adam and Eve's sin had no consequences whatsoever, other than their banishment from one small part of the earth. Sickness, suffering and death had been continuing for millions of years before they appeared, and so they too would have become ill, suffered and died, whatever they did. God said the consequences of their sin, regarding the earth, was…

Gen 3:18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you

…but it would have been doing that for millions of years before Adam and Eve appeared, as can be seen from the geological record, which according to evolutionary theory was laid down during that time. So nothing changed there, then, either.

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Chapter Two

* By contrast, the poetic assertion that God spoke the world into being makes a very different statement.

* Valerio, Ruth. Saying Yes to Life (Kindle Locations 761-762). SPCK. Kindle Edition.

Who says it is a poetic assertion? This is one more example of coming to the Bible with a preconceived idea and manipulating it to fit. In contrast, in addition to the clear statements in Genesis that God created everything by His word, Hebrews says:

Heb 11:3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God…

There is much in this chapter about both flooding and drought, constantly telling us it is our responsibility to sort it all out. However, this is in contrast to what else she says:

* In the Gospels we see that Jesus is Lord over the wind and the waves, which obey him when he and the disciples are caught out on Lake Galilee in a storm (Mark 4.35–41). Of course they obey him: he is the one who created them, whose Spirit was brooding over the waters of chaos! He is the Lord of all creation.

* Valerio, Ruth. Saying Yes to Life (Kindle Locations 695-697). SPCK. Kindle Edition.

While it is true that God gives man responsibility over His creation, a fact that is virtually ignored throughout this book is that throughout the Bible we are told it is He who ultimately determines the weather. For example:

Deut 28:12 The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand.

See also 1 Sam 12:17; 1 Kings 17:14; 2 Chron 7:13–14; Job 5:10; Ps 68:9; Is 5:6; Jer 14:22; Ezek 38:22; Joel 2:23; Amos 4:7; Matt 5:45; Acts 14:17; James 5:17–18; and this is but a tiny sample of all the scriptures teaching that God controls the weather. If we now see the climate changing in an unprecedented way, perhaps we would be better to remember that Jesus told us when we see these things happening to look up, because our redemption is drawing near!

Luke 21:25–28 "And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near."

* In the second creation account of Genesis 2…

* Valerio, Ruth. Saying Yes to Life (Kindle Location 846). SPCK. Kindle Edition.

* For example, Gen 7:1–12 gives the ‘headlines’ regarding Noah and his family going into the ark; then Gen 7:13–24 goes back and gives more detail. Another example is when Samuel anointed David. The first narrative goes from 1 Sam 16:1–10 (actually half-way through verse 10.) Then further detail starts from the second half of 1 Sam 16:10, where we are told the chosen one wasn’t among those he’d seen. This must be the case because David was Jesse’s 7th son, not his 8th son: 1 Chron 2:13–15.

* Valerio, Ruth. Saying Yes to Life (Kindle Locations 1120-1123). SPCK. Kindle Edition

This is another fallacy commonly promoted by anti-creationists - that there are two creation accounts, which contradict each other. There are not two different accounts. The same technique is used here as elsewhere in the Bible,* where there is an initial account of an event and then this is followed by further explanation giving detail that was not included originally. This is the case with the first two chapters of Genesis, where chapter one gives a chronological order of events, and chapter two goes back to amplify with further detail what happened. If chapter two had given events saying 'on the first day', 'on the second day', etc., and different events happening on those days, then the criticism would be justified - but it doesn't!

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Chapter Three

* In fact, the American nineteenth-century preacher, D. L. Moody, said famously about his calling, 'I look upon this world as a wrecked vessel. God has given me a lifeboat and said to me, "Moody, save all you can".' His view has been very influential within Christianity, contributing to an understanding of the Christian faith that says the created order is doomed to destruction and our mission is to save souls onto the lifeboat of the Church and whisk them off to salvation in heaven.

* The key point here is that the theological understanding we see in Moody's deeply-held belief - and in the views of those who consider the role of the Church as exclusively 'preaching the gospel' and planting churches - is rooted in a negative view of the world.

* Valerio, Ruth. Saying Yes to Life (Kindle Locations 1128-1130). SPCK. Kindle Edition.

Quite frankly I am appalled by this section of the book. RV sneers at D. L. Moody as a misguided religious fanatic (my summary) whose influence on the church has been undesirable. This 19th century evangelist was responsible for large numbers of people coming to Christ and becoming Christians, and I am sure not one of those people, all of whom will now be enjoying the presence of the Lord, would hold RV's view! Indeed, the biggest theme of the New Testament is surely that of preaching the gospel, so how on earth can RV dare to criticise it?

* How then can something that God has declared good; that comes from the overflow of his love; that is the 'translation' of who God is, and that is continually sustained by his Spirit be described as a sinking vessel?

* Valerio, Ruth. Saying Yes to Life (Kindle Locations 1136-1137). SPCK. Kindle Edition.

As is always the case with those whose views conflict with the Bible, we come to an unbelievably self-contradictory statement. The world that God called good was the one He had made before sin wrecked it, so cannot possibly apply to it today. Of course, because of her evolutionary beliefs, she doesn't think sin made any difference to it and that it has always been the same. But then, that would mean when God looked at everything at the end of the creation period and declared it was all very good, He was declaring suffering, sickness and death (evident in the fossil record and without which evolution cannot take place because the fittest must survive over the weakest) as being very good - when Paul says death is an enemy (1 Cor 15:26) and God's intention is for no death, sorrow, crying or pain (Rev 21:4)! So why would God create by means of something He does not want? How could God call "good" in Genesis something He considers "bad" in Revelation? However, I said it was self-contradictory, so look at this from chapter six:

* As we have seen in every chapter, we live in a fallen world - a world where things are not as they should be because of the consequences of sin.

* Valerio, Ruth. Saying Yes to Life (Kindle Locations 2831-2832). SPCK. Kindle Edition

* For all its beauty and wonder, we know we inhabit a world of terrible sadness and suffering and we will not escape that while we live in what Ecuadorian theologian, René Padilla, has called 'between the times'. This is a world of wounds…

* Valerio, Ruth. Saying Yes to Life (Kindle Locations 3038-3039). SPCK. Kindle Edition.

In the previous quote RV says the world is good because that is what God called it, and yet in these she says things are not as they should be and it's a world of terrible sadness and suffering and of wounds. She criticises Moody for calling the world a sinking vessel, and yet accepts it is a fallen world. So why is it wrong when Moody says it but right when she does?

* The astrophysicist and theologian, Professor David Wilkinson says, 'matter matters to God'. It is a wonderful phrase and one that destroys a dualism that has its roots in pagan Greek Platonic thinking, but has become a prevalent part of Christian theology. This dualism separates out body and spirit, earth and heaven, natural and spiritual. It exalts the latter and denigrates the former, so that nature/creation is held to be inferior to the 'supernatural' realm.

* Valerio, Ruth. Saying Yes to Life (Kindle Locations 1142-1146). SPCK. Kindle Edition.

I am totally baffled how a professing Christian could deny the reality of a spirit realm in addition to the physical one. The New Testament is full of this teaching, so how can she possibly deny it?

* It creeps in when we talk about 'saving souls', and it's there again when we declare this world to be of less value to God than heaven and as something that will be destroyed. We see it when we sing hymns with lyrics like, 'This world is not my home, I'm just a-passing through'.

* Valerio, Ruth. Saying Yes to Life (Kindle Locations 1148-1151). SPCK. Kindle Edition.

So now we can understand why she sneered at D L Moody - she has no regard for anyone who has an interest in seeing people enter the experience Jesus described as being born again (John 3:3, 5). So if there is no heaven for us to look forward to, then where are all the Christians who have died at this present time? Is she really claiming there is no such thing as soul or spirit that continues to exist after the body has died? So when we die we cease to exist? This is Jehovah's Witnesses teaching and has no place in the Christian church whatsoever. Jesus taught of consciousness in a literal existence immediately after physical death (Luke 16:19–31), told the thief on the cross he would be with Him in Paradise that same day (Luke 23:43), Paul said that his death would mean He would be with Christ (Phil 1:21–24), and we see a vast number of martyrs in heaven, before the day of resurrection while life continues on earth in Revelation 7:9–17).

When Jesus spoke His final words to His disciples, He didn’t say, “Go into all the world and save the planet,” but:

Mark 16:15 And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
Matt 28:19–20 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

He didn’t want them to be diverted by anything from proclaiming the gospel, because He had gone to such great and painful lengths to procure salvation for mankind. There are many agencies working to ‘save the planet’, but there is only one that can possibly bring to people the salvation Jesus won for them - the Church; and if that puts all its energies into other things, it will not be done. Indeed, John tells us:

1 John 2:15–17 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

Clearly we must act responsibly toward the planet - this is a part of loving our neighbours; and Paul says…

1 Cor 7:31 and those who use this world as not misusing it. For the form of this world is passing away.

…but it is a question of priorities and the top priority for the Church is to enable people to be prepared for eternity, which lasts very much longer than this life! Since RV is so disinterested in 'saving souls' I ask her a similar question to the one Jesus posed (Mark 8:36). What does it profit a man if he saves the whole world and loses his own soul?

* On the third day the friends of Christ coming at daybreak to the place found the grave empty and the stone rolled away. In varying ways they realized the new wonder; but even they hardly realized that the world had died in the night. What they were looking at was the first day of a new creation, with a new heaven and a new earth; and in a semblance of the gardener God walked again in the garden, in the cool not of the evening but the dawn.

* Valerio, Ruth. Saying Yes to Life (Kindle Locations 1386-1390). SPCK. Kindle Edition

Utter nonsense! There was not a new heaven or a new earth in existence when Jesus rose from the dead. They will not be seen until the events have taken place that were foretold by Jesus, Paul, in Revelation and other prophetic books of the Bible.

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Chapter Four

* However, that is just a trip round the corner compared to the furthest object seen in our universe, which is GN-z11, a small galaxy observed by the Hubble Space Telescope. It is so far away that the light we observe set off from the galaxy 13.4 billion years ago.

* Valerio, Ruth. Saying Yes to Life (Kindle Locations 1735-1737). SPCK. Kindle Edition.

* More than three and a half billion years ago, Mars did indeed have the potential for life.

* Valerio, Ruth. Saying Yes to Life (Kindle Locations 1738-1739). SPCK. Kindle Edition.

This is further confirmation of RV's theistic evolution, in her considered age of the universe. But light from distant objects in a 'young' universe * is no problem whatsoever! To claim that the only way God could create the universe was by using the observable laws of physics is self-contradictory: if God is God, then He is not limited to what we can presently see, and when He stretched out the universe (a phrase mentioned nine times in the Old Testament **) He ensured the light of the stars would be reaching earth by the time Adam and Eve needed to see it.

Actually, evolutionists have an even larger problem themselves in this regard, since for the background temperature of the universe to be as consistent as it is, there is not time in their estimated age of the universe for it to have evened out and they have no Creator to have worked the miracle for them! Their invention of ‘inflation’ to solve this problem is equally in serious trouble, as can be seen here, where I give much more detail than is possible on this page.

In fact, throughout the Bible, the evidence of God’s intervention is in events that have taken place in ways contrary to the observable laws of physics and/or the way things normally work: Israel walking through the Red Sea; the walls of Jericho falling down; Daniel in the lions den and his three friends surviving in fire that killed those who put them in it; Jesus walking on water and feeding 5,000 men (plus women and children in addition) with five loaves and two fish; and so on. So why should God, who throughout the Bible works in ways contrary to those we normally see, be confined to the laws of physics we can presently observe when He created everything in the first place?

* Just two days before this page was published, this one appeared with more detail on the topic.

** Is 40:22; 42:5; 44:24; 45:12; 48:13; 51:13; Jer 10:12; 51:15; Zech 12:1

* There are many other passages in the Old Testament where prophets speak of the future hope of God's people, but this one needs noting because it is the passage that the prophet John quotes when he talks about seeing a 'new heaven and a new earth' (Rev. 21.1).

* Valerio, Ruth. Saying Yes to Life (Kindle Locations 1923-1925). SPCK. Kindle Edition

* Given the historical context of these words, it becomes immediately obvious that when this passage talks about 'a new heavens and a new earth' it does not literally mean the creation of completely new entities, but is speaking poetically to describe a situation of radical renewal.

* Valerio, Ruth. Saying Yes to Life (Kindle Locations 1930-1932). SPCK. Kindle Edition.

This is a typical tactic of those who deny the truth of God's word. "When the Bible says, "x" it doesn't mean "x," it means, "y"." So when the Bible tells us God is going to pour out His wrath on the world resulting in a massive amount of destruction, it means He isn't going to pour out His wrath on the world. When the Bible says God is going to make a new heaven it means He isn't going to make a new heaven. When it says He is going to make a new earth, it means He isn't going to make a new earth. And so on. The Bible says:

Is 5:20–21 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!

* Nonetheless, for too many people the belief that this world is going to be destroyed has been held hand-in-hand with the assumption that we need not bother looking after it now (a view that does not rest on strong biblical foundations).

* Valerio, Ruth. Saying Yes to Life (Kindle Locations 1991-1992). SPCK. Kindle Edition.

So presumably, when Jesus said…

Matt 24:35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

…He was wrong about that too? It is not the case that those who believe what Jesus taught therefore abuse the world; but it does mean that they don't get into the flap RV is obviously in when they see things going pear-shaped:

Psalm 46:1–3 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling.

The God who controlled the weather on the Lake (Mark 4:39) has not lost His power; but Jesus did tell us not to be alarmed when we see disasters taking place:

Luke 21:9–11 But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately." Then He said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.

So we are not alarmed when we see these things taking place, but rather turn to the Creator, whose power is absolute:

Heb 12:25–27 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, "YET ONCE MORE I SHAKE NOT ONLY THE EARTH, BUT ALSO HEAVEN." Now this, "YET ONCE MORE," indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.

The main thrust of ‘Saying Yes to Life’ is that God wants the world that He called “Good” to be cared for. Who was it who destroyed the entire world by a global flood? Who destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah by fire? Who decimated Egypt with a succession of plagues? Who is going to destroy the world by fire in the future?

2 Pet 3:5–7 For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

We are frequently being told of the dire consequences of global warming; but there is global warming coming that no-one can ever prevent:

Rev 16:8–9 Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.

Yes, we must be responsible with the way we treat our environment; but we must also be aware that, as has been seen in the past, God’s priorities may mean the environment is hit hard in ways we cannot control.

In one of the notes for this chapter, we read:

* One passage that I am not focusing on but is helpful to mention is 1 Thess. 4.13–18, which has sometimes been taken literally and used to support views on the Rapture. However, the phrase 'to meet' (v. 17) was a term used for a delegation of civic leaders to meet a dignitary who was on their way to the city and escort them in. This passage is therefore not about those who are still alive being whisked off to heaven, but is about Jesus' return to his earth (G. Green, The Letters to the Thessalonians, p. 226; N. T. Wright, The Resurrection of the Son of God, pp. 214-219).

* Valerio, Ruth. Saying Yes to Life (Kindle Locations 3377-3381). SPCK. Kindle Edition.

When the Bible says "x" it doesn't mean "x", it means "y." If those the passage says are going to be caught up to meet Jesus in the air are not going to have this experience, then we should assume that Jesus will not come in the way mentioned either. If one is not true, then neither is the other. This is totally inconsistent, and a perfect example of cherry-picking which bits RV wants to believe and which she does not.

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Conclusion, the Seventh Day

* On Day Seven, there is no longer the formula that has accompanied each day - 'and there was evening, and there was morning . . .' - and there is the implication that Day Seven does not finish but continues on.

* Valerio, Ruth. Saying Yes to Life (Kindle Locations 3027-3028). SPCK. Kindle Edition.

No there isn't! This is an essential premise for theistic evolutionists, because if the first six days were billions of years, then the seventh can't be merely 24 hours. But everywhere in the Bible where it refers to God resting on the seventh day, it is in the past tense: God rested. If the seventh day continues on, then it would say, God rests, or God began His rest.

In fact this is self-contradictory, because according to evolutionists the process of evolution continues to this day, and theistic evolutionists claim that God created by means of evolution. So how can God be said to be resting if His creative acts are still taking place?

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Final Thought

There is much in this book about us needing to reduce our carbon footprint; but I have largely concentrated on the theological aspects of what it contains rather than anything else. However, it has to be pointed out that CO2 is essential for life and without it we would cease to exist. All vegetation requires it and would die without it. Without vegetation all of life would end. We must first of all get away from the idea that CO2 is some kind of noxious substance that is bad for us. It is not - it is a part of the ecology of the earth that God created.

* Another point is that observation of the CO2 content of the earth's atmosphere compared to the global temperature shows they are not related in precisely the way claimed. There have been times in the past when the carbon content has been higher, but the temperature has not been higher; and vice versa. Furthermore, by far the greatest effect on global temperature comes from water vapour: that, along with activity in the sun almost certainly swamps any effect of variation in carbon content.

* See here for more detail on this aspect of climate change.

There have always been climate changes, and there always will be. In fact, as I write this sentence I have by my side a book called ‘Ice’,* published in 1982 by Sir Fred Hoyle. In it, this scientist was foretelling the dire likelihood and consequences of a new ice age and his solution was for the countries of the world to install giant pumps to bring sea water up from the sea bed to the surface in order for the water to be warmed by the sun and thus increase the overall temperature of the oceans and counter the serious danger of which he was warning. Within a decade the fear changed from global cooling to global warming! On the back of the book it says:

The Ice Age does not lie only in the past. It will come again, the glaciers advancing inexorably over Britain, northern Europe and America as they have so many times before. Under a stormy, dust-darkened sky the Ice will spread, sterile and lethal, across the land. A time of catastrophe and death.

Not some prophet’s apocalyptic vision. Not a science fiction writer’s nightmare but the chillingly detailed forecast of one of our most eminent scientists. Sir Fred Hoyle: founder of the Cambridge Institute of Theoretical Astronomy, knighted and awarded the Royal Medal for his contributions to physics and cosmology.

Drawing on his knowledge of many branches of scientific thought, he shows us why and how the new Ice Age will come upon us - and suggests how we may still be able to prevent disaster. But time is not on our side.

Now where have I heard that last sentence before? Obviously we should do whatever we can to protect our environment (for example the destruction of the rain forests is a very obvious wrong that disrupts the balance of the earth's atmosphere) and prevent the emission of noxious gasses, etc; but we should also remember that most, if not all of the scientists giving dire warnings of climate change are doing so on the assumption that the world is billions of years old (as was Sir Fred Hoyle); which means they are using a faulty foundation on which to build.

* The full title is “Ice: A chilling scientific forecast of a new Ice Age, by Sir Fred Hoyle FRS.” Published by New English Library
ISBN 0-450-05493-4

Gen 8:22 "While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease."

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