In the Psalms, the author often contemplates the contrast between men who believe in God and those who apparently don't. He examines the apparent prosperity of the wicked and often questions why they prosper in the world created by a righteous all knowing God. Psalm 73 is a good example of this contemplation. Please read this Psalm in its entirety. Here we see two pictures of man as presented below in two scenes. The author of the Psalm is apparently the one who believes in God.

SCENE ONE: BELIEF IN GOD

This man examines the world around him and in wonder exclaims, "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge" (Psalm 19;1-3). As the picture changes we see the man raising his eyes heavenward and hear him meditatively say, "When I consider they heavens...the moon and the stars, which thou has ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him?" (Psalm 8:3,4 ). And as he faces the vicissitudes of life, these words come over his lips, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me" (Psalm 23:4).

SCENE TWO: DISBELIEF IN GOD

This man scoffs at the very idea that there should be knowledge with God Psalm (73:11). In his heart he says that there is no God (Psalm 14:1). He is prosperous, carefree, and has more of the world's riches than the heart could wish (Psalm 73:3,5,7). Of this man Psalm 52:7 says, "Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches."

Prosperity, strength, having a carefree life, having more than heart could wish - are these fruits of a godless life? "Behold, these are the ungodly who prosper in the world; they increase in riches".(Psalm 73:12). When the Psalmist thought upon these things he was troubled, and said, "When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me; until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end" (Psalm 73:16,17). The Psalmist did not understand until he came to view the matter in a different light - God's perspective. In vivid imagery the psalmist describes these non-believing men as being "set...in slippery places", being "cast...down into destruction", being "brought into desolation", and being "utterly consumed with terrors!" Indeed! Obscured to their view are the lasting truths of life. For, as the New Testament says, "...it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). Or, as Longfellow said in his poem of life,

"Life is real, life is earnest,

And the grave is not its goal;

Dust thou art, to dust returnest,

Was not spoken of the soul."

Why would some men deny the existence of God and even some who say they believe in God, live as if He did not exist? Why such skepticism in so many?

ANTIDOTE FOR SKEPTICISM

Apologists and theologians throughout history have frequently used the following arguments as proofs concerning the existence of God: ontological, cosmological, telelogical, anthropological, and moral.

The ontological argument simply states that the existence of God is certified by the fact that the human mind believes that He does exist. He is the First Cause. None greater than He, the Absolute Being, can be conceived.1

The cosmological argument traces the cosmos back to its Maker. It describes the cosmos as originating in time and its existence and attributes constitute proof of a First Cause that is self-existent and eternal and who possesses Intelligence, power, and will.1

In the telelogical argument the evidence of design as seen from order, adaptation, function, and natural or physical laws, proves the intelligence of the First Cause.1

The anthropological argument uses the physical and mental capacities as found in man to reason the character of the Creator.2

The moral argument considers mankind's moral judgments of what is right and wrong as providing further proof of the character of God. The existence of a moral impulse or consciousness in humans attends to a creator.2

The foregoing proofs and arguments are very pertinent when one reflects on the Bible's opening lines: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." (Genesis 1:1).

"Indeed, the more one understands the complexity of the simplest

phenomena of either the animate or inanimate world, the more sensible

does this statement seem. So many conditions are necessary before

life as we know it can exist on this earth that it is a mathematical absurdity

to say that it just happened. The distance of the earth to the sun, the

speed of its rotation on its axis, the amount of heat reaching us from the

sun, the tilt of the earth upon its axis, the size and relationship of the

moon to the earth, the thickness of the earth's crust, the proportion of sea

to land, the density of the atmosphere, and so on - all these are in exactly

the right relationship to each other. Science is constantly discovering the basic laws apparent
in the physical realm and many of these laws are of

the most complex nature. To say that our orderly universe with its well

defined laws, its amazing complexity and its abundant evidence of design

just happened is like saying that Webster's Unabridged Dictionary

resulted from an explosion in a printing plant."

1. "Systematic Theology" by Chafer, Vol l.

2. "Christian Theology" by Millard J. Erickson

God's revealing Himself through nature is called general revelation.

The Psalmist understood this for he states: "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork (Psalm 19:1).

These proofs and arguments concerning God's existence and His attributes as seen through his creation are logical and proper, but still to many persons they are not necessarily conclusive. Why might this be so? The Bible tells us by man's wisdom we can't find God. In the book of Job the question is posed, "Canst thou by searching find out God?" (Job 11:7). The implied answer is "NO." In the New Testament we read, "the world by wisdom knew not God..." (1 Corinthians 1:21); and, "because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shown it unto them. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse; Because when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,..." (Romans 1:19-22).

But God did something besides revealing himself just in nature. God, the Self Existent One who reveals Himself (called special revelation), spoke to mankind in many ways. He came to man as a theophany ( appearance of deity): to Abraham (Genesis 17:1,22; 18:1), to Isaac ( Genesis 26:2) , to Jacob (Genesis 32:30), to Moses (Exodus 3:2-6; 33:11), and to Gideon (Judges 6:12, 14-18 ff.) He spoke to selected men through dreams and visions: to Jacob

(Genesis 28:12-16), to Solomon (1 Kings 3:5-15), to Daniel (Daniel 2:19, 28; 7:1; 10: 7- 8). He made direct contact: to Balaam (Numbers 22:9; 23:4) and to

Moses (Exodus 33:11). He showed Himself through miracles and signs such as the judgment flood and salvation of Noah, the burning bush to Moses, the crossing of the red sea and the plagues on the Egyptians.

He also sent Prophets (His representatives) to his people to make Himself and His desires known.1 Though the prophets did predict at times, as God gave them this kind of information, the greater part of their declarative ministry was in preaching to the people of their own time. 2

Many of the prophets, were instrumental in providing the writings of the Old Testament, the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, as listed earlier in the introduction to this lesson. These books were acknowledged by the people of God to constitute the Word of God by the witness of the Spirit and the divinely authoritative character of the writings, right from the start. This is the only reasonable way to account for their universal acceptance. 3

This Bible contains many predictions, prophetic utterances, that confirm that the prophet and his message came from God, the God of creation or beginnings as described in Genesis. And as such He is also the God of History. One such historical instance concerning prophecy that we want to look at are the scriptural utterances concerning Tyre and Sidon, ancient maritime centers.

1. "The inspiration and Authority of Scripture". Rene Pache

2. "The Prophets of Israel," Leon J. Wood, p68

3. "Many infallible Proofs", Henry M. Morris

SCENE THREE: A PAGE FROM HISTORY

Tyre, once one of the most celebrated maritime cities of the ancient world,

today stands desolate, while Sidon has retained much of her former status. This is as was foretold centuries before by word of the prophet Ezekiel.

Both of these cities are spoken of several times in the Bible in connection with Israel or Jerusalem. The 27th chapter of the prophecy of Ezekiel tells us to what great prominence Tyre had risen. Hailed as "a merchant of the people of many isles," this chapter recounts her greatness verse by verse. However, before the 27th chapter was ever written, the prophet had already spelled out the city's doom. This judgment is described with considerable detail in Ezekiel

26:1-5. Note especially that the second verse of this chapter tells us this would befall Tyre because it held Jerusalem in contempt.

While the 26th chapter of Ezekiel gives a summary of what was to befall Tyre in the course of time, the following is a brief account of how these predictions were fulfilled.

"Tyre was totally destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar after a siege

of thirteen years (B.C. 573), and the latter city, which rose out of its ruins, recovered its ancient wealth and splender after seventy years as was

foretold in Isaiah 23:15-17. When it was taken and burned by Alexander in 332 B.C., it once more regained its strength, and nineteen years later withstood both the fleets and the armies of Antigonus. But then, after

being successively taken by the Saracens, the Mamelukes, and the Turks...it became a place for the spreading of nets."1

Thus disaster befell Tyre because the Lord God had thus spoken, "And I

will make thee like the top of a rock: thou shalt be a place to spread nets

upon; thou shalt be built no more: For I the Lord have spoken it, saith the Lord God" (Ezekiel 26:14).

1. "Treasures of Scripture Knowledge". p527

The prophet Ezekiel also spoke of Sidon. It too was to be harassed and invaded by its enemies, but in this prophecy no mention was made that it would be destroyed (Ezekiel 28:20-23). Sidon was taken in turn by the Babylonians, Persians, Egyptians, Mongols, and the French. Yet, despite all, Sidon exists and has retained much of her prestige as a maritime center to this day.

A second prophetic study that the student might want to undertake on his or her own, but outside the scope of this lesson because of its length, is a study of the Biblical prophecies concerning the nation Israel . If ever a nation should have been lost in antiquity because of all the attempts in history to subdue and annihilate her, Israel is that nation. Her establishment as a new state in 1948 after not existing for hundreds of years since the great dispersion of 70AD, is seen by many as an answer to prophecy. God had made several promises in the Old Testament concerning Israel that He has fulfilled and because He has many that He has yet to cause to come about, Israel had to come back into existence. Yes, the fact that Israel is a nation today is an answer to promises of old.

The Scriptures are full of other prophecies as well, especially those concerning the coming of the Jewish Messiah which we shall discuss in a later lesson. So why do we single out the tale of these two cities and cite it with so much detail and mention the existence of the nation Israel today? It is to give further evicence that God has spoken to us through His written word. It is to give credence to what a New Testament reference says, namely, "...prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" ( 2 Peter 1:21). Only God could predict with such accuracy and cause the prophecies to be fulfilled for, "Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world" (Acts 15:18).

The Old Testament not only speaks of prophets from God, it tells of false prophets as well, those who claim to be from God. Note Jeremiah 5:30,31: "A... horrible thing is committed in the land; The prophets prophesy falsely...and my people love to have it so..." Again note Jeremiah 29:8,9: "For thus saith the...God of Israel; Let not your prophets...deceive you...For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them."

THE CRITERIA

But how does one distinguish between the true and the false? Isaiah 8:20

gives us a very good clue. The translations of this verse generally reads, "To the law (torah) and to the testimony (teudah): if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." It means that if they speak not according to that which God has spoken, the word of God, the universally accepted Word of God, they speak not the truth.

How shall one then know who does or does not speak the truth respecting the vital issues of life, if he does not study the scriptures to ascertain what the Lord God has spoken or revealed. Yes, a study of God's word is of utmost importance for out of it are revealed the issues of life.

SUMMATION

So, with this introductory lesson as background, we posit that God exists and that He has revealed Himself by general revelation, His creation; and also by special revelation, especially the Bible. Prophecy, on the one hand gives immutable evidence that the Bible is indeed what it claims to be, the inspired Word of God. This makes it the infallible rule by which to measure the credibility of those who supposedly are its teachers or prophets-ie. do they teach what is really written in God's Word.

EXAM SHEET for lesson 1: THE SCENES OF LIFE

Student Name________________________________________Number________

Address__________________________________________________________

City_________________State_______________________Grade____________

Study you lesson carefully before answering the exam questions.

Part l. In the right-hand margin write "True" or "False" after each of the following statements. Then fill in the proper Scripture reference or references where indicated.

1. The universe gives every evidence of being the creative work of God._____

Scripture____________________________________________________

2. The Bible declares him a wise man who says that there is no God.________

Scripture______________________________________________________

3. Prosperity and all that heart could wish tends to obscure lasting verities._______

Scripture_____________________________________________________

4. That God created the heaven and the earth is mere conjecture.___________

Scripture________________________________________________________

5. To many Persons, rational proofs for the existence of God are not necessarily
conclusive._____

Scripture_________________________________________________________

6. The prophets made their predictions of things to come by means of astrology.______

Scripture__________________________________________________________

7. The judgments on Tyre and Sidon resulted from the contempt they held
for Jerusalem . _______
Scripture___________________________________________________________

8. Only God could have known the course that history was to take with respect to Tyre and

Sidon_______________________________________________________________

Scripture____________________________________________________________

9. In prefacing his prophecy against Tyre, Ezekiel said, "I see by the stars."__________

Scripture___________________________________________________________

10. One is at loss to know how to distinguish between true and false teachers and

prophets__________________________________________________________

Scripture__________________________________________________________

Part ll. Review the last paragraph of your lesson, entitled SUMMATION, which

reads as follows:

"So, with this introductory lesson as background, we posit that God exists and that

He has revealed Himself by general revelation, His creation, and by special revelation,

especially the Bible. Prophecy, on the one hand gives immutable evidence that the

Bible is indeed what it claims to be, the inspired Word of God; and on the other

hand, which makes it the infallible rule by which to measure the credibility of those

who supposedly are its teachers or prophets."

Now use another sheet of paper to give your reaction to this paragraph.

MAIL TO:

Living Message Fellowship
Box G
Grand Rapids, Mi. 49501