It is written that God created the heavens and the earth, and He watches over His children. Before scientific discoveries, the Church believed that the earth had an edge. It’s amazing to imagine, but they thought the earth was flat. This didn’t keep them from preaching against sin, it didn’t keep them from believing in Angels, it didn’t keep them from having church buildings, it didn’t keep them from sending missionaries. But since scientific discoveries had not yet been made and the continents had not been discovered on the map, the maps were inaccurate, people, arriving on an island, thought that they had sailed to the continent or vice versa.
They knew what redemption was, that Jesus shed the Blood, that the Holy Spirit cleanses and washes.
I want us to understand our position in the universe. How did the Church before Galileo Galilei and Copernicus understand that the earth has an edge? How could they understand Christ then? How could they understand Angels, planets, thrones, and at the same time, realize that there is the end of the earth?! But what I want to say is that this didn’t keep them from preaching Christ. The grace of the Holy Spirit worked in the same way, without the knowledge of things that are not fundamental in the matter of redemption. It is sad when your knowledge is incomplete – because truth is the fullness of righteousness.
This is my subjective opinion, that today we are in a similar position in relation to the Universe. We have calculations that it takes billions of light years to the stars that we can’t see, which are no longer there. We also believe that dinosaurs died a few billion years ago.
The mixture of things that scientists throw out becomes our food. You know that many of the Nobel laureates are atheists, and most of them are aggressive atheists. They often speak with irritation about God, as if He did something wrong to them.
What is science then? What is the truth, if they have not even made it to think of God?! Why then do we need such physics or chemistry?
Cain builds a city, becomes its president, the production of musical instruments begins, violins and cellos are sold – but he is an atheist. He walks away from the presence of the Lord and builds his world. You meet him and ask:
– How are you?
– Excellent!
– And what about faith?
– Well… nothing! I am doing very well even without God!
Here he is today cooking potatoes over the fire, so delicious, so good. But this is not God’s grace, but “the grace of the wood”… Then he begins to think: “With this wood I’ll make the one who gave me warmth and this delicious stuff!” He works on the remaining piece of wood to make an idol, puts it in a corner and worships it.
God shows us these principles of idolatry in the Scripture.
Why are we talking about this? One can have a wrong picture of the world and the Universe and still believe in God. Just as our brothers used to believe in the ends of the earth. I don’t think they believed the earth was built on turtles. But I would be interested to hear from that generation how they pictured the earth. Surely they would tell me about the end of the earth. I would have listened to this. They seem to be praying in tongues, but they have a distorted view of the planet… This i s very interesting.
And we, too, today think of the planet, taking all the nonsense into our heads – we say that the planet is billions of years old, although the planet is only six thousand years old. Try saying that to scholars or traditional priests. This is what they believe in Israel, and we are united with them in this vision.
I am talking about the correct understanding of the world picture. I feel a very acute need and interest to revise everything that scientists and schools have imposed on us, because this is all without revelation.
God gave us the Bible starting with the book of Genesis. It is there that the story of how God created the universe begins. When He speaks about the sky, about the waters, about birds and fish, plants and trees – God begins the story of Himself from His creation.
This was not done in vain. Many missionaries, when they go to the Gentiles, don’t start talking about Christ at once, but with a correct understanding of how the world works. Because a man who receives this knowledge begins to discern, how to understand the creation, how to understand the Creator, the eternal plan.
You may say that personal healing is more important to you. But this is important to know. We need to reconsider the understanding.
The Apostolic Church of the latter days must bring a correct picture of the created world. God is raising this today. We see witness to this coming. People revise their lineage and find it to be different, revise history and understand that it is not the same as they presented it to us at schools. There are ideologues who shape the curriculum and education. This is high censorship aimed at making the people of the state think in a certain way.
A church that is silent and stops communicating the truth is worst of all. Therefore, we reveal the true picture of the world. We said that the Apocalypse is the unveiling of how the Universe is made: “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth… And I saw a door open into heaven. And it was said to me: “Come up here!”.. I was in the Spirit on the day of the Lord and saw the White Throne. “
This is how the Universe is made. We think of the space, stars, myriads of stars of the Milky Way, but the Scriptures say that there is a Throne there!
The Throne is an integral part of God’s creation, even if we don’t see it. Even if the eye can’t see it – because our sight is very limited. After all, this is all chemistry – the human eye catches things at a certain frequency, then projects it into the nervous system, and we receive certain emotions. Pain, suffering, anxiety – these are all impulses.
But besides all this, when He created man, God gave him His eternal Spirit, Which is higher than chemistry, even the highest one.
We must understand that there is a Throne in His Universe; we must not consider the Universe without a Throne. You say, you don’t want to think of this, but we can’t but speak, because it is God, Who gives the energy to the nucleus of an atom! We can’t tear the atom away from the Energy Source, which launched this mechanism, and say that now we will analyze it from the point of view of physics. And God is connected with the atom! This connection is as much direct as the Holy Spirit enters the human spirit and becomes one with it.
The world was presented to us in a certain way. Why can’t I know it as the Scripture teaches me in my conscience?! Therefore, I begin to see the world from the Throne. And the physical world as well.
I begin to see the physical world starting with man in God’s plan, and not with the one who lives in cities. I begin to see the physical world not from these days, but from the first chapter of Genesis – from God’s Eternal design of man. This is a completely different approach to science, a completely different approach to history. This is a different vision of the world picture.
I feel incredible urgency in this, because I am given new tools for liberation from human layering – where they “wandered” into when they rejected the existence of God Himself. They can get to the point that He is distant, that He is not kind – but that He is not!?- it was science that did it. This is not the work of philosophers, but of scientists. As they say at school: “We flew to the moon, they did not see any God there!” This is such nonsense.
Today Christianity mixes the world picture, they mix understanding of the creation of the world and man with false “discoveries” of science in this sphere. A false understanding of the cosmos and the Universe gives a false understanding of God Himself and the Kingdom of God.
You can’t understand whether it’s big or small, whether or not it “fits” into space. This is insane! We must start with the heavenly, and then move on to the earthly.
This thing belongs only to the prophets and Apostles. As Apostle Paul wrote, this mystery is revealed to His servants, the prophets. Previously, it was hidden from the sons of men, but now it is revealed to His prophets and Apostles.
This means that this is the truth, which is above science. This is the highest truth.
You might think it’s irrelevant, but it is as relevant as salvation! I don’t intend to be a priest who walks and talks “about whales and turtles.” But today you and I are not in the best position, we have a twisted world picture. We mix the Greek picture of the world with the truth, we have Aristotle in homiletics, oratory in the prophetic ministry by preaching, the “oracles” “feel” the “pain of the kidneys” “in the back row” …
These are all purely Gentile things. Today we can get cleansed and simply enter into the light and freedom of Christ.
It’s still little that we release ourselves in dancing. Some are even afraid to dance. And I heard from our old sisters about the church, where people hung in the air in their gatherings, so great was the power of God that fell on them.
The sister saw how an old man was in the air right before her a meter above the ground, then she saw that she, too, was in the air. The pastor of that church used to say: “When the next time of our meeting is – you learn it yourself, how and where!” This means that the spies will not understand, they don’t have the Holy Spirit, and the saints will hear from the Lord.
This is how the church gathered in persecution, it was normal. They moved supernaturally. I remember one sister telling how the Lord transported her. She went to the store with a shopping bag, and suddenly time stopped and she flew. She came back to her senses on an island in the middle of the ocean. There she stands on the sand. She sees a young man sitting in white clothes. She went up to him and, in order not to spoil anything, asked: “Young man, are you a young man?” He smiled, said nothing, and left. More people appeared, some kind of spiritual movement began with them. She stayed with them for a while, and the Spirit brought her back again.
And how did Philip preach the Gospel to the Ethiopian, and then was caught up from him? What could this new convert think?!
“When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught up Philip away so that the eunuch saw him no more, and he went on his way, rejoicing. But Philip was found in Azotus and, passing through, he preached the Gospel in all the cities until he came to Caesarea” (Acts 8:39-40).
Where do we dwell? We trust physicists and chemists! But we don’t believe in the Holy Spirit?!