Music that is not in tune and preaching that is heretical or compromised sound off-key and are both offensive to anyone with ears to hear.

Like the bleating of a sick goat attempting to imitate a lamb is the preaching of a false messiah.

The words of Jesus are like wonderful heavenly music. The words of Satan are more like a jackhammer and a chainsaw right outside your bedroom window.

The words of Jesus are like the most beautiful of all symphonies. The words of Satan are like fingernails raked across the blackboard, accompanied by the relentless and offbeat pounding of garbage can lids.

It doesn’t matter how many false messiahs sent by Satan attempt to sweet-talk seekers into believing their delusional claims. There is still only one Truth and one Messiah.

Whether a false prophet or false Messiah starts his or her own “ministry” or religion solely for the purpose of getting rich, or because they are well-meaning but simply misguided, or because they are completely delusional, or just flat-out wicked, those foolish enough to follow them are led astray.

Jesus is like a safe harbor where even the mightiest storms obey His commands (Mark 4:35-41). Following a false messiah is like being hammered by a raging hurricane while out in the middle of the ocean in a leaky rowboat.

Sometimes it is necessary to get hammered by a hurricane in order to realize the value of a safe harbor.

There is a time to stay in port and a time to put out to sea. Make sure the captain of your ship is qualified.

The qualifications for Messiah are very strict. Jesus is the only one to have ever met them.

The standards for a false messiah are lax. A vivid imagination, delusional thinking, spiritual arrogance, and an egotistical need to be treated special are about all that is required.

Because a sinless life is required to be Messiah, all of humanity has been disqualified.

With only one exception, all who ever claimed to be the Messiah were lying.

Delusions follow faulty logic, and a messiah complex is the grandest delusion of them all.

Delusion has taken a firm grip when a man or a woman desires and is willing to accept God’s glory as his or her own.

God alone deserves all of the glory and all of the praise. If not for Him, there would be nothing. Literally, there would be nothing at all.

Humans sometimes deserve to be honored. But never ever glorified.

Jesus is the Messiah; He is the Savior; He is the author of our Salvation (Matthew 16:13-20).

Jesus laid down His life for us to pay the penalty for our sins. Then He rose from the dead and, in so doing, conquered death for us (Luke 24:46-47).

Jesus ascended before over 500 witnesses and went to prepare a place for us (Luke 24:50-51; Acts 1:9-11).

Jesus promised to return for us and take us to the place He has been preparing. He said He would do this on the day of His Father’s choosing (John 14:3-10).

Jesus gave us the signs to watch for so we would know when the time was near (Matthew 24, Luke 21, and 100 or so other places in scripture as well).

The signs are all converging today, here in the year 2023.

Jesus said to watch and to be ready and to look up, for our redemption draws near.

The Highest Honor, The Deepest Praise, and All of The Glory are reserved for the Father, through the Son, and by the Holy Spirit.

Choose eternal salvation this very day and trust in Jesus, who is the one and only Messiah.

Your friend in Jesus, Rick Segoine

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All are invited to visit ricksegoine.net where free downloads of my book, From God to Eternity, are available. Original gospel songs and story songs are also available to download at no cost.

Genesis 1:1-2, Genesis 1:31, Genesis 2:1-3, Psalm 33:6, Isaiah 45:12, Acts 17:24

Summary: There are four “theories” used by some believers to explain our origins apart from the biblical account of creation. We looked at “theistic evolution. “Now we will look at the “Gap Theory.” Is it a legitimate alternative? We need to examine its claims.

Four basic creation “theories” have been promoted by Christian theists over the years as alternatives to the biblical account of creation as recorded in the book of Genesis. They are theistic evolution, the gap theory, the day/age theory, and progressive creationism, each one contrived to appease those skeptics within the scientific community who, for the most part, express an unwillingness to even consider examining data that brings the theory of evolution into question.

Some scientists have expressed open hostility toward anything that would force them to consider other alternatives. Their thinking is based not on objective scientific inquiry but on pride and a deliberate blindness to the obvious (Romans 1:18-20). These four theories are nothing more than excuses to appease the wicked world system, something the Bible clearly forbids (Matthew 16:26; Romans 12:2; Titus 2:12; James 4:4; 1 John 2:15).

The second alternative explanation for creation apart from Scripture is referred to as the “Gap Theory,” which owes its original “creation” to a minister named Thomas Chalmers in 1814. He believed that because “science” had spoken, and what it said must be accepted as true (sound familiar?), it was necessary to “modify” the Bible in order to make it agree with science. Both scientists and philosophers were beginning to express doubts about the accuracy of the Genesis record. The “gap theory” was an attempt to reconcile some of their probing questions.

So, how does this theory “work” in terms of the very “scientific principles” that Chalmers and his contemporaries proposed and championed? Does it help explain the account of creation presented in the Bible? Let’s look at what it teaches.

Chalmers suggested that a large “gap” of time passed between the first two verses of Genesis 1. This “gap” of time could account for both an old earth for the naturalist/evolutionist, and a more recent six-day creation for the creationist. Chalmers proposed that Genesis 1:1 represented God’s first primordial creation, which He later felt compelled, for some undisclosed reason, to destroy. Many “gap theorists” believe that Satan fell to earth after God’s first creation and so ruined it that God decided to destroy everything and try again. According to the gap theory, Genesis 1:2 represents God’s re-creation, which He accomplished in six days. Chalmers believed that this provided a sufficient explanation for how God created His new world according to the week of creation as written in Genesis 1.

A book written by John Timber entitled Earth’s Earliest Ages attempted to explain in detail how this process was accomplished. Cyrus Scofield and Finnis Dake popularized the ideas of Timber and incorporated them into the notes of their respective study Bibles, first published in the early 20th century. The late pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Donald Grey Barnhouse, wrote a book entitled The Invisible War, where he promoted the gap theory as part of the spiritual conflict between God and Lucifer. I don’t question the sincerity of these men, as they were all devoted followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, but again, we need to examine this theory and see if it lines up with what is recorded in Genesis or not.

The gap theory, like theistic evolution, assumes that God’s original creation evolved from simple to complex by the evolutionary process of gradualism until He was finally forced to stop the process. The reality is that the theory of gradualism does not work any better when it is placed before the creation week than it does when it is incorporated into the creation week.

Gap theorists teach that the word “was” should be “became” in Genesis 1:2 – “And the earth BECAME formless and void.” However, “was” is translated “became” only when the clear intention is to demonstrate a SPECIFIC change of state in a subject (“Lot’s wife BECAME a pillar of salt”). The context of Genesis 1:1-2 does not call for a definite change of state in God’s creation. Verse 1 is a declarative sentence. It makes a statement of plain fact, telling the reader that God is the Creator, period. Verse 2 simply addresses the original condition of the creation, not a “re-creation.” You could say it this way: “God created the heavens and the earth. Here’s how it happened.” The conjunction “and” ties the two sentences together, nothing more.

The Bible states that death and sin came through one man, Adam (Romans 5:12-21). The gap theory suggests that there was some kind of “pre-Adamic” race that died before Adam (before Adam’s sin) as a result of God’s judgment on the original creation.

The question is, if Jesus died for the sins of Adam’s race, then who died for the sins of the “pre-Adamites”?

The Bible says that there was a worldwide flood. Gap theorists try to show that there were two floods, the first one destroying the original creation. However, Scripture is silent regarding some kind of primordial flood that wiped out the first, or “primeval” earth. 2 Peter 3:6-7 states that God has promised only two worldwide destructions. One has already occurred by water (Genesis 6-7), and one that in the future will occur by fire (2 Peter 3:10). There is no record of a third destruction.

Finally, the order of creation given in Genesis 1 does not agree with any type of evolutionary theory. Gap theorists seek to avoid conflict on this issue by postulating that the order of creation as outlined in Genesis 1 applies only to the re-created earth of verse 2, not the original creation of verse 1. The Gap Theory assumes that evolution occurred on a primordial creation before an assumed second creation. NONE of this is supported in Scripture.

We are not to be ashamed of what God has clearly given us in Scripture concerning our origins. We are not to allow the ungodly world system to bully us into capitulation. We should never be forced to embrace an empty theory built on philosophical sands of chance, circumstance, randomness, and godlessness.

The Word of God is sufficient in explaining how we got here and where we are going in terms of eternity (Luke 12:13-21; John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 3:23, 6:23, 10:9-10; Hebrews 9:27). Your eternal destiny will be determined on whether or not you admit that you are a sinner in need of a Savior, and to humbly bow before the Creator of not just the universe, but the LORD of all, Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:9-11). This is no theory. It is the truth (John 8:32).

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