Today we hear a great deal about the Prayer of Jabez. Have you noticed where it is located? Maybe this is something you have not noticed. It lies right in the boring begats in 1st chronicles 4:9-10. We have mentioned the boring begats in a previous little message but now it is time to explore the subject in more detail. I have found the formula for being diagnosed a demented kook who belongs in a straight jacket on the back ward at Searcy Mental Hospital is simply to go around stating seriously that you believe the earth and the universe are only about six thousand years old. You get that look of: " surely a person of your intelligence and education must be joking".

Is the Bible the Word of God, or are only parts of it the Word of God? If only parts of it are inspired by the Holy Spirit, then which parts? What earthly or heavenly good is it to us if, we without omniscience must decide what is or is not inspired? My logic tells me if it is not all inspired, then it is useless and should be ignored. How can a fallen mind decide what is or is not inspired?

Some things are told to us in the Bible just once, and we believe them if we are Bible believing Christians or at least we should believe them. It seems to me if something is told to us in the Bible multiple times we have a stronger evidence of its importance and validity. Such a position is held by the boring begats. These early genealogies appear four times in scripture: Genesis 5 and 11; 1 Chronicles 1; Matthew 1; and Luke 3. God does not tell us how long a generation is because generations are variable. Since shortly after Noah's flood a generation appears to be around 25 years. The first ten generations from Adam to Noah were very long because people lived normally to great ages before the flood of Noah's time. After the flood the ages rapidly tapered off to that of today. By counting the ages given for individuals we can know the Bible tells us the Flood occurred 1656 years after creation. The straight addition of the chronologies gives a figure of approximately 2,000 years from Adam to Abraham. Historians generally agree Abraham lived at roughly 2,000 B.C. Thus the Bible teaches a creation date around 4,000 B.C. There are no known historical records other than the Bible that date earlier than 3500 B.C.

Is all of this of any importance or not? I think it is of tremendous importance if we are interested in defending the scriptures. I have never heard a minister touch down on this subject; hopefully, I will some day and then I can be released from the back ward.

In a book published in 1997 by an Englishman named Andy McIntosh titled Genesis For Today he says: "The scriptures teach a six literal day creation of the order of six thousand years ago with a flood covering the whole world only about 1,650 years later. The Lord taught very clearly using the major catastrophe of the Flood and the disaster of Sodom, that these were real events and a forewarning of the final judgement yet to come(Lk,17 26-30). Belief in a real historical world-wide flood is connected to belief in the second coming of Christ. The biblical teaching of a flood around 4,400 years ago contradicts the huge ages we are brainwashed with by the media. Suddenly when we look at matters from a proper biblical perspective, we realise that Eden and the Fall of Man were not so far in the distant past as many would have us believe. Our responsibility before God is accentuated as it is not more than 1000 generations since the Flood and 1100 generations to Adam and the Fall. We fell in Adam, we rebelled, we died. In the light of this, the brevity of life here becomes much more apparent and our responsibility before God is all the greater as we see the day of His Appearing close at hand."

Now isn't it comforting to understand why God included in the Bible the records of the boring begats? There are lots of them, but add them up with 25 years for each generation after the flood and they only equal about 4000 years from Adam to Christ. We know from Christ to today was about 2000 years more. Try this obvious truth from the scripture on a liberal Christian and then listen to them rage. This concept of a young earth based on a literal acceptance of the scripture is what I find to be the greatest stumbling block for a skeptic or a liberal Christian. Satan has done a masterful job of brain washing modern man with his religion of evolution and supposed great ages for the earth and universe. It is almost as if modern man is vaccinated against the truth of scripture and cannot be reached with the Truth.

Prepared from creation science literature to strengthen your faith by Sidney C. Phillips M.D. 1998. Revised 2002

End of message number 42.