The God Files

A New York Times Best seller titled "The Da Vinci Code" claims that a 2,000 year old church conspiracy can be decoded through the ingenious use of codes left as clues by Leonardo Da Vinci.

If you read the novel, please remember that you got the book from the fiction aisle. If you haven’t read the novel and planning to read it; please remember it is merely fiction.

The biggest giveaway that this novel is fiction is through its basis - the apocrypha. In my opinion, fiction and apocrypha should be synonyms.

The premise of the novel is that Mary Magdalene was actually the wife of Jesus. She was pregnant and about to give birth at the time Jesus was crucified, fearing for her and the unborn child’s life, she fled to France with the help of Joseph of Arimathea. The child, Sarah, who can miraculously heal people was born and in turn started the Merovingian dynasty. The Templar Knights found the record of genealogy and amassed a fortune by blackmailing the church. The Templars were executed by the church but some knights survived with the record who gave it to the Priory of Sion for protection, its secrets is passed on from one grand master to the next. The secret is sealed, the current descendant Jesus and Mary Magdalene is protected by the Priory of Sion until the new grand master rose to the ranks- Leonardo Da Vinci. Learning its secrets, Da Vinci coded the secrets in his artwork: In "The Last Supper" the man on Jesus’ right is not really a man but Mary Magdalene. The grail that is supposedly on Jesus’ side is deliberately missing, denoting that the grail is not really tableware but Mary Magdalene herself. She is the vessel of Christ’s blood also denoted by the "V-space" between Jesus and Mary Magdalene.

Let’s deconstruct from the painting to the crucifixion, shall we. At the time Da Vinci painted "The Last Supper" John the beloved is always depicted as a young, often drowsy, effeminate, unbearded man. It’s not biblical, it’s just the convention at the time. The V-space is done for dramatic effect. The missing grail wasn’t really important because according to Sir Thomas Malory’s Arthurian legends, the grail is not the grail from the last supper but the grail used by Joesph of Arimathea to collect Jesus’ blood before burial. (Note: This is not Biblical) The Priory of Sion never had Leonardo as grand master nor even a member. There is no historical background linking them. The Templar Knights drew its money from pilgrims and popular support from the rich. The Templars did not find a record of genealogy though many legends are attributed to them including Solomon’s mines. The Merovingian dynasty ended, unlike the novel’s claim that there are descendants alive to this day. There is a French legend that a child named Sarah, whose mother came by an oar-less boat, healed the sick just like Jesus. But it is just a legend, there is no further evidence/proof of their existence. If Mary Magdalene was pregnant and fled to France and gave birth, how then did she manage to proclaim that the tomb is empty after three days? In the apocrypha, Jesus kisses Mary Magdalene on the lips and that act infuriates the disciples. Consider this, If they were married, then the disciples should not get angry because it is only natural for married couples to do that. If we think that Jesus and Mary Magdalene had an illicit affair, it still doesn’t make sense because why would God break the first institution (marriage) He created? And also, according to Jewish law, they would both deserve stoning at the first sign of pregnancy out of wedlock (remember, she was allegedly about to give birth?).

Believing in the lies that spewed out of this novel undermines the deity of Christ. Furthermore, If Jesus had an offspring, the Trinity would be a mockery. The passage "…His throne shall be established forever" (1 Ch 17:14b) refers to Jesus ruling forever and underscores the fact that there is no heir. If there was an heir, it should say "His throne shall be established for a very long time." Forever isn’t just a very long time; it has no end. No end = no need for heirs.

The bottom line: Figures don’t lie but liars sure can figure.

There’s a new show on TV called "Desperate Housewives," according to a website (tvtome.com) it is about a town that is more than what it seems. The show’s point of view is that of a resident who committed suicide; her ghost is roaming the neighborhood and exposing her friends exploits, sexual or otherwise. Now, this may seem like "Sex and the City" with a twist, which, by the way, is the #1 TV show for CHILDREN ages 9 through 12.

But, anyway, most people (I hope) would look at this show in context and think that "this is just TV, it’s not real" Unfortunately, that is not what most people think, coming from a global point of view. All TV shows in the US get transmitted via satellite and distributed elsewhere in the world where people of different nationalities watch. The people in some of these countries think that what they see on TV is a reflection of the American society. That’s why they believe that Americans are sexual and immoral degenerates who deserve to be bombed. When an American missionary comes to them with the gospel, they are rejected and persecuted because the people think "You want me to be like an American, an immoral sexual animal?"

What TV is selling is "image." It maybe an ideal or a fantasy but then again, what kind of "image" are we showing our children and neighbors? I am not here to judge, what I’m saying is that as a Christian, we should make a stand against these sort of things. Change the channel if these type of shows are on, eventually, when the ratings drop, they cancel the show. Write letters to the network expressing your opinions, networks listen when a lot of feedback comes their way. Watch TV with your kids and talk about what they are watching, to make sure they understand the show’s context. What sort of light are we if we hide?

It’s a small world after all

It’s a small world after all

It’s a small world after all

It’s a small, small world

Forgive me if I gave you an ear worm (ear worm = any tune or song that gets stuck and repeats in your head) but I want to give you a new perspective in viewing the world we’re on.

The question is this: How should Christians view the world? In most Christian circles; the word "world" has a negative connotation. We sometimes refer to a greedy person "worldly." When people say "worldly pursuits" we think of a person’s desire to accumulate wealth and or fame.

Before we get the answer to the previous question, let’s see how God looks at the world. God views the world differently. It is obvious that He loves the world, specifically the people of the world. As it is written in the most quoted Bible verse:

John 3:16 "For God so love the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Furthermore, referring back to the Bible’s turning point, Genesis 12, we see God blessing Abram. As it is written;

1 The Lord had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.

2 "I will make you into a great nation

and I will bless you;

I will make your name great,

and you will be a blessing.

3 I will bless those who bless you,

and whoever curses you I will curse;

and peoples on earth

will be blessed through you."

Now, the person formerly known as Abram blessed the people of the earth through his descendant, the Messiah, and through his descendants, The nation of Israel. At this point, the gentiles (people outside the covenant of Israel) are not in the picture yet. But, if we look at Romans 4, we’ll see that the believers (Christians) are also descendants of Abraham by faith.

It is written: Romans 4:16

"Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring - not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all."

Therefore, by faith, the people of the earth would also be blessed through us. The way we could bless people is by spreading the gospel. To answer the original question, the world is our mission field. We should be global Christians for God is a global God, the whole world is His concern. We may think that this mandate is overwhelming and intimidating; yet if we compare the world to God, who fills the universe; we can definitely say; yes, it is a small world.

Hollywood is always hyping up an upcoming movie. The rule of thumb is; the best preview gets the most audience to produce hype; more hype means more audience turn out, more audience turn out means the more likely people would recommend the movie which in turn would yield better box office results. Some movies are all hype, they don’t deliver when people actually see the movie. While I write this article, the "Fantastic 4" the movie hasn’t come out yet but the hype is already here.

I am not writing a recommendation nor a put-down for the movie. I’ll be using the fantastic 4 as a parallel between another group of 4. No, it’s not the Beatles, It’s the 4 gospel writers. Case in point; The movie is not out yet but the hype is already here. It’s not here yet but we know it’s coming. Now, query: Was there "hype" for the gospel? Was there a way to know that it is coming? Simple answer: YES. It happened at least 1,446 years before Jesus Christ was born. Specifically, while Moses, the 12 Israeli tribes & the mixed multitude were wandering in the desert. In a previous article, we’ve discussed that, according to Numbers chapter 2, the camp of Israel is in the shape of the cross. Going back to the same chapter, we’ll find more details. The 4 large tribes (Judah, Ephraim, Reuben & Dan) have flags with faces on them. Judah has a Lion, Ephraim has an Ox, Reuben has a Man & Dan has an Eagle. It is easy to miss the significance because this is the first time we see these faces (the same set of faces can also be found in Isaiah, Ezekiel & Revelations).

Here’s the meaning: The banners represent the themes of the gospel.

- Matthew presents Jesus Christ as the Messiah. The Lion of Judah always refers to the Messiah.

- Mark’s gospel (Written by Mark but dictated by Peter) presents Jesus as the servant. The Ox is the common beast of burden thus it best represents a servant.

- Luke refers to Jesus as the son of Man. Luke even traces Jesus’ genealogy to Adam, the first Man.

- In John, Jesus is referred to as the Son of God. The Eagle, as a creature of the Air, reveals Jesus as the one from Heaven.

Remember that in the center of the camp is the tabernacle. The tabernacle represents God’s presence in their midst. Likewise, Jesus is the center of each gospel.

Further more, here’s a fun exercise for you and your friends (while also proving God’s design in the gospels) suppose 4 of your friends are to write an article about you. It may be fantasy, fiction or an actual event but with a few certain categories to meet:

- The number of words used must be exactly divisible by 7.

- the number of letters must be exactly divisible by 7.

- the number of vowels must be divisible by 7.

- the number of words that begin with a vowel must be divisible by 7.

- the number of words that occur more than once must be divisible by 7.

- the number of nouns must be divisible by 7.

- the number of male names must be divisible by 7.

In the natural, the chance of a person to meet one category is 1:7 (that’s not too difficult) the chances of meeting all 7 categories is 1:823,543, that means in 823,543 tries; you can get one right (that’s a lot of wasted paper, you can hear the tree huggers cry).

This pattern of 7’s is called the Heptadic structure (heptadic = seven-fold). It was discovered by Dr. Ivan Panin in 1890. The structure is applied in the original Greek scriptures. Here’s a "fantastic" fact: the more categories we apply in our article, the more stringent it gets; Dr. Panin discovered 75 heptadic structures. that means the chance of getting that article right is 1:2.4118650322570587750381309043266e+63. This number is almost unimaginable because the number of atoms in our galaxy is only 10^66. You have a better chance of getting the "correct" atom than writing that article.

What’s even more "fantastic" is that all the heptadic structure can be applied to all the new testament books. Sure, skeptics can say that they had a meeting and agreed what to write.

Here’s why the previous statement can’t hold water:

- We have just calculated the possibility of 1 article being right; more than one means using composite probability; suffice to say, the number would be of astronomical proportions.

- It is obvious that every New Testament writer has his own diction, vocabulary, and style. If they wrote it in this meeting and following these 75 categories; the books will have the same diction, vocabulary and style.

- The New Testament writers did not and can not write their books at the same time, The sequence of events justifies that. Example: Paul went home before John wrote Revelations, Not all of Paul’s letters were read by the other authors.

Now, do we believe the Bible because we can prove it mathematically? NO. We believe by faith but it’s comforting to know that God can confound the wise. In Science & Math, we can clearly see Who is Lord of All.

First of all, what is prophecy?  Is it solely a prediction of things to come? Well, yes and no; In a way it is not quite what most people think. Yes, it is true that prophecy is prediction. However, that is just in our point of view. The prophets "predicted" the future but we tend to forget the source of said prophecy — God. From God’s point of view, it is not prophecy, it is a declaration.

To understand this idea; we must remember that God is outside our time line. I think, the best analogy where we can use to "see" this idea in motion is through the "parade analogy." Let’s say, you are watching the rose parade in person; but when you get there, you are in the middle of the parade (thanks to traffic). Now, If you want to see the beginning, you have to run where the parade is going. If you want to see the end, you have to run where they are coming from. But, from this view, you can only see one part of the parade at a time. However, if you can get a ride on a helicopter, you can see the whole parade from its beginning to its end. Think of the parade as our time line or the whole human history, and the helicopter’s eye view as God’s perspective. In God’s "bird’s-eye-view" He can see the beginning of the world to the end of the world. He can see the fall of man, the redemption of man through Jesus Christ, the part we call the "present" and of things to come. This is termed "God’s eternal now" where everything is happening in the now. (I’ll explain this further when we talk about part of Einstein’s theory of relativity.) Therefore, when God reveals a prophecy to His prophet, from God’s perspective it is declaration; God reveals something that He saw in our time line. That is why, sometimes, the language of prophecy is in the past tense. In God’s p.o.v. it already happened but in ours it is still to come.

Another aspect of prophecy is pattern. Prophecy as pattern is called the Midrashic view. A specific prediction is direct and restrictive but a Midrashic prophecy may be subtle and at times may not make sense when we read it until we see a distinct connection with another later incident. The books of Exodus through Deuteronomy are filled with these type of prophecies.

An example of a midrashic prophecy can be found in Numbers chapter 2. The 12 tribes of Israel was told to divide into camps, with the tabernacle in the center. The Bible says that the tent of meeting, that houses the tabernacle, is rectangular, with the short sides on the east and west, and the only entrance is on the east. Now, directly east of the tent of meeting is the camps of Moses & the priest( that is 22,300 people) further east lies the camp of the tribe of Judah (represents 186,400 people). on the west side is the Gershonites (7,500) and the tribe of Ephraim (108,100). On the south side is Reuben (151,450) and the Kohatites (8,600) and on the north is the Merarites (6,200) and Dan (157,600). So, what’s the significance of these numbers? Draw a rectangle to represent the tent of meeting, then on each side, draw rectangles to approximate the number of people encamped on each side; the camp of Israel was the shape of the cross.

The Bible contains around 8,000 predictive verses, and at least 1,800 specific predictions on over 700 different matters. As you can see there are many things we can discuss in this blog and we’re not even scratching the surface.