Astrology & the Zodiac

Is it weird that everyone is trying to predict their future by looking at the stars? Or is it a place of common knowledge?

Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and they shall serve as signs and for seasons, and for days and years; Genesis 1:14 NASB

Most people are familiar with Western astrology, some know about the Chinese zodiac, but did you know almost every culture has some kind of Zodiac tradition? Caution: the Bible warns against worshiping the stars or believing the stars are controlling events—but the Bible also says that they are for signs (and seasons)

Relevant Verses

A few relevant verses on the topic:

• Genesis 1:14
• Deuteronomy 4:19
• Judges 5:20
• Ezekiel 32:7
• Psalm 97:6
• Revelation 6:13
• Revelation 8:12

In Other Cultures

The following is a list of a few cultural astrology traditions.

• Agricultural astrology
• Arab and Persian astrology
• Babylonian astrology
• Burmese Astrology
• Celtic astrology
• Chinese Astrology
• Egyptian astrology
• Hellenistic astrology
• Mayan astrology
• Indian astrology
• Islamic astrology
• Sri Lankan Astrology
• Tibetan astrology
• Western astrology

References

1. "List of Astrological Traditions, Types, and Systems". Wikipedia; visited September 2021
2. "Zodiac". Encyclopedia Britannica; visited September 2021
3. Dadhichi. "Astrology in Different Cultures". Astrology.com. February 19, 2018

Falling Stars

The sky is on fire,
Stars removed from their place—
Streaks of orange in the night
Light upon my face.

Darkness is replaced
By these streaks of light
All eyes focused on this display
of stars blazing bright.

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Nick Iliasov

Isaiah 13: Babylon is Fallen, is Fallen

Isaiah 13 tells us about the fall of Babylon. Whether God was talking about the fall of spiritual Babylon or ancient Babylon is something worth studying.

Introduction

Isaiah 13 is where Isaiah gives us a vision concerning the massa of Babylon. Massa is the original Hebrew word which is translated to burden in the KJV and oracle in most modern translations. I like that we can see the different translations because I think together the words give us a better context for the message. It's not just an oracle foretelling what will happen, but a burden that Babylon has created for itself. Like Jeremiah 50-51, the passage discusses the ill-fate of the notoriously sinful nation.

Proclamation of War

The first 5 verses are a declaration of war on God's enemy (Babylon). In these verses God calls His army together together and instructs them to lift a banner or signal high on the mountain. In the past, nations marched into battle with their flag—in fact some families had crests that were put on flags and carried into war. This made it obvious which side a person was on. Today we're into more covert forms of warfare, but the Bible warns us that when the end draws nigh, we will have to make a choice which side we are on. In doing so, we will either receive the seal of God or the mark of the beast. We are to wear our seal of God proudly.

While the army mentioned in these verses could be God's people, and the banner they hold up could be symbolic of choosing between good and evil, it could also be a description of the Medes, who actually defeated ancient Babylon. In fact, later in the chapter (Isaiah 13:17), Isaiah—who lived long before the defeat of Babylon and before the Medes were even a country worth mentioning—named the Medes as the people who would defeat Babylon.[11]

Which Babylon?

There are two Babylon's mentioned in the Bible. One captured the southern kingdom of Judah and is taught about in our history classes. God promised to destroy the main city (or capital as we would say) or the kingdom so completely that nothing would be built there again. The other Babylon is a symbolic name given to the state of the world during the end times. Revelation, which was written many many years after the fall of the original Babylon, constantly beseeches God's people to come out of Babylon (Revelation 18:2-5) and rejoices at Babylon falling (Revelation 14:8; 17:5; 18:10). This means that when we look back at texts written by prophets like Isaiah, we are often left wondering if the prophecies they attach to Babylon are meant for the first Babylon, the second Babylon, or both.

Most of the events of the Old Testament foreshadow the events of the New Testament. We can see double fulfillments and a repetition of history throughout the Bible. Matthew 24:36-39 tells us that the end times will be just like it was in the days of Noah, who also experienced a judgement day of sorts. This means it is possible that Isaiah is predicting events for both the fall of ancient Babylon and the coming judgement day. After all, at the fall of Babylon the Israelites did return to their own land with their own people and likely other captured groups did the same just as Isaiah predicted.

Destruction

One of the reasons its so hard to determine if God is referring to spiritual Babylon or ancient Babylon is the finality of His judgment on the city. Isaiah relays a message of absolute judgment; when these things were to come to pass, there would be no turning back. Just as it was with Sodom and Gomorrah—other cities that once destroyed by God were never rebuilt—God's judgement would be final. People would cry out but by then it would be too late.

Weak Hands and Melted Hearts

Isaiah 13:7 says that God when the time of judgment comes upon Babylon, the people's hands will be weak and their hearts will melt. If one's hands are weak, they are in a poor physical state; this could be from famine, weariness, or disease. To have your heart melt suggests an effect on your emotional state. When we are in sin, we harden our heart against God's light (and consequently, anyone emitting His light). When He brings His judgment those hearts will melt, but only sorrow and regret can come to them at that point because there isn't any turning back. It's much better for us if we never harden our heart than to force God's hand to unthaw it the hard way.

If you look at the fall of any empire you can see that there isn't just a physical threat, but a mental and emotional threat as well. When people go into survival mode, anything is bound to happen. Even in our own society today, as we see an increase in the media reporting on police brutality and mass shootings in the U.S., we're also seeing an increase in people experiencing mental health issues.[13][14] Surely in the final days of ancient Babylon and the final days of the world, the emotional state of the people was and will be much worse.

A Woman in Labor

Isaiah describes the pain of the event like a woman in labor. This metaphor is repeated in Matthew 24 to describe the second coming of Jesus. There are multiple interesting things about this metaphor.

For one, God often uses a woman to symbolize the church. Since the church is really the body of Christ, or believers, the passage could be taken to reference persecution of believers. Anytime a city is given over completely to sin, those who remain true to God will be persecuted. Just as light and dark cannot coexist, good and evil cannot coexist either.

Another note is the predictability of the situation. With the exception of a few rare cases,[12] when a woman is pregnant she, and everyone around her, knows. At first there are intimate signs that only she would know (like a missed period). As time goes on, and the child begins to grow, her stomach will grow. Even before fancy technology giving us more accurate due dates, a woman would know the month to expect her child. Thus, when she goes into labor it isn't a surprise, people will likely be prepared and ready to meet the new baby. So, too, one would expect the fall of the city to be predictable; the city might weaken or enemies grow stronger and more disgruntled. There should be signs telling those paying attention that the time is near.

Finally, there's the aspect of bittersweetness. There is immense pain in bringing forth the child, but the end result is worth the pain. Ancient Babylon was a sinful city and spiritual Babylon is even worse. Although the destruction of the city is tragic and people were (or will be) lost forever, it has to happen for the good things that were (and are) to come to be fulfilled.

Sun, Moon, & Stars

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Jeremy Thomas

Isaiah 13:10 gives us one of the most familiar signs of the end times: the sun, moon, and stars being darkened. Ecclesiastes 12:2, Isaiah 24:23, Ezekiel 32:7, Joel 2:10; 3:15, Matthew 24:29, Mark 13:24, Luke 21:25, and Revelation 8:12 all refer to the sun, moon, and stars being darkened.

The Dark Day of 1780

On May 19, 1780, a large portion of the northeastern U.S., along with neighboring regions in Canada, experienced what is called "the dark day." By noon that day everything was dark. Some people believe this is the event foretold in the Bible. Those who do not think this event is the fulfillment of the prophecy often complain that it only occurred in one region of the world. When you consider the fact that at any given time half the world is in darkness because they aren't facing the Sun, it seems plausible to me that the sign could only effect a portion of the Earth.[4][5][6]

A Dark Sun

I'm sure you learned about sun spots in school, but if not, a brief recap is that there are these dark patches on the sun where the temperature of the surface is much cooler than the rest of it's surface.[18] There are also holes in the surface, known as coronal holes. These create solar storms that can hit the Earth. This year such a hole opened in our sun and it was predicted that one of these storms would hit the Earth in March. Our magnetic field protects us from major damage, but as we continue to pollute the planet, we put ourselves at risk.[19]

We often assume that these verses mean the earth will experience darkness from the sun not shining, but it could be a reference to coronal holes or sunspots appearing on the sun.

Where Are the Stars?

Growing up, I loved to look out at night and gaze at the stars. Lately, I can't find any stars in the sky. The main reason I can't see stars anymore is because I live between two major cities. It is estimated that light pollution from a city can travel up to 200 miles to obstruct our view of the stars. I was content to believe that was the issue until I talked to my dad and found that they're having the same trouble at home. There's no way there's enough lights in my hometown or that general vicinity to block out the stars. There are no skyscrapers, there's only one traffic light on the 23-mile long road I live on, and the neighboring town just got a McDonald's like 3 years ago and still doesn't have a Walmart. It seems a bit fishy that they can barely see the stars, too.

Light pollution, though scientific, is actually very interesting in the context of the end times. Obviously, something more will have to happen to obstruct the sun (which is why many people gravitate toward the Dark Day of 1780), but the darkening of the stars is an ongoing issue in developed countries. Cities are growing larger and larger; in fact if I want to stay in my field it will be impossible for me to find a job not in a major city. God doesn't seem to like big cities though—remember the tower of Babel? The people of Babel clumped together in one city, and part of their rebellion against God was that they were trying to avoid being scattered after God told them to go fill the Earth. Cities have higher depression rates.[7][8][9] Also, throughout history, it's been the people who lived in highly developed cities (Egypt, Babylon, Rome, Britain, Germany, etc.) that have gone forth killing and conquering. As we near the end times, it makes sense that populations will gravitate toward cities; between the destruction from natural disasters and the need for the antichrist system to monitor and control everyone, the need to be in close proximity will increase greatly. This would in turn, create more light pollution and block the stars from the view of most people.

An Observation

When I was younger, I thought it was weird that hurricanes almost always struck at night. Since then, I have read about hurricanes striking during the day, but when I think about it, powerful storms usually cause it to be dark anyway. Wether it's a tornado, hurricane, or fierce thunderstorm, the clouds block out the light of any and all celestial objects that would normally give us lights. Although I don't think this is what is meant by the darkening of the celestial lights, I do think it's interesting that natural disasters, such as those mentioned, have a similar effect and will also increase during the last days.

The Extinction of Man

If you've ever studied animal extinction or read about endangered species, you know that animals don't just disappear over night. It's usually a gradual process that sees a steady decline in population until there aren't enough members of the species to continue. So, it shouldn't be a surprise that before Jesus returns to destroy mankind there will be a decline in our numbers. Isaiah 13:12 tells us that man will be made more precious, or rare, than gold.

This may be hard to imagine considering the population explosion we've been experiencing, but logically it actually makes a lot of sense. Many of the judgments that precede Jesus' second coming will cause massive fatalities (natural disasters, wars, famines, etc.). There will be a decline in moral values which lead to poor conditions among humans—be it relationships between families or the treatment of the poor, the ramifications could easily have a negative effect on population growth.

In fact, as we speak, the fertility rate in the US just hit an all time low.[1] We haven't reached the point that we'll see a population decline due to this, but some of the reasons given for such a decline definitely speak to an end time climate. Stressors such as economic uncertainty and failure to accomplish certain milestones have lead people to hold off on bring children into the world; certainly these will be major factors in the final days as well.[2] Then you have situations like the one in China. China had a strict one child policy and favored male children to female children. Now, there's a gender imbalance in their births.[3]

Scattering the People

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/NASA

When people gathered to make the tower of Babel in an attempt to defy God and make a name for themselves (Genesis 11), God reacted by confusing their language and scattering them across the world. Just before judgment day, another scattering will occur. This time the precursor is the heavens shakings and the Earth moving out of place. Isaiah tells us that after this occurs each person will flee back to his or her own people.

Is It Literal?

Haggai 2:6 also mention the heavens shaking and the Earth moving out of it's place. I don't know if this is meant to be taken literally or if it's a figure of speech, after all many of us are walking around saying "I'm shook" after learning something shocking despite not being physically shook.

When I first read the passage, I couldn't help but thing of all the astronomy documentaries I've watched. The universe is fascinating and while scientists tend to reject God in their attempt to explain things, they really can't pinpoint exactly what got us to the point. There's still of a lot of "I don't know"s and "this is a possible scenario but we can't explain this one factor"s. One such example is why Uranus rotates on it's side. While there's a new theory brewing about the planet's odd rotational pattern, the leading school of thought is that it was knocked off-center by a very large object.[17] What if something similar happened to Earth?

People often take the stance that if there's a scientific explanation for something, it isn't God, but who do you think created science? Sure, we can measure gravity and inertia, but why do they exist? If a large comet were to hit the Earth in conjunction with the signs of the end time, it would be because God removed His protection from the Earth and allowed the comet to have that path.

Figuratively, I suppose the passage would simply mean that things are shaken up around the universe. People (and angels) are reeling from the times and power structures are about to change. Everything would be in chaos.

Division Among People

Who do consider "your people"? That's who you would run to in the aftermath of whatever cataclysm God is warning us about. Jeremiah 50:16 and 51:9 reiterate the prophecy that people will be regrouping themselves and retreating back to their own people. For some people this might mean close family, for others it might mean close friends, but I'd wager that for most people, it's going to mean people of similar culture and language.

In the U.S., and many other places where there was both colonization and slavery, there exists racial tension. While many naïvely thought having our first black president showed we had moved past that, the immediate election of Donald Trump after the end of Barak Obama's term says something much different. Mr. Trump's campaign was wrought with racial disparaging and featured supporters physically bullying and harassing non-whites at his rallies. He was even endorsed by prominent members of notorious white supremacist groups such as the KKK and the Alt-Right. Just like that, then U.S. is back to an overtly racist climate.

As a black person in the U.S., I definitely see how this verse could be in reference to racism, and possibly even classism. Given the nature and history of people, I envision that when Isaiah says a person will flee to their own people, race and money will play major roles. Race wars and riots have been a threat in the U.S. for quite a while; notorious cult leader and murderer Charles Manson tried to start one in the 1960s.[10] It doesn't seem odd that with the stressors of plagues, famines, wars, and natural disaster set to accompany the end times, that a race war will actually be triggered.

Now, remember, I'm not saying that's what this verse definitively means, I'm mentioning a possibility. I should like to think that a real believer would not fall prey to such foolishness, and will be fleeing toward other believers regardless of skin color, cultural background, economic situation, etc.

Media-Persia Defeats Babylon

Back in the early 1600's when colonies were just starting to pop up in North America, do you think anyone could have predicted that one day those colonies would band together and defeat the most power empire of the time? The region that would become the U.S., a major, if not the major, world power of today was merely a blip in the world at that point. The people in the colonies were banished from their respective locations and/or fleeing religious persecution. There was absolutely no reason to believe that in less than 200 years, they would overthrow Britain to form their own country, let alone that said country would grow in power to rival that of the countries that were already well established in that day.

That's basically what Isaiah did when he penned the words in Isaiah 13:17. In that moment, Isaiah told his contemporaries that God was telling him a powerless and disorganized people (the Medes) would bring about the destruction of one of the greatest cities of their time (Babylon). Before Isaiah's prophecy could come true, the Medes actually allied themselves with Babylon to destroy Assyria, who had control of both nations at the time. After defeating Assyria, both nations actually rose in power, with Babylon becoming even more powerful. Just when it seemed as though Isaiah had failed as a prophet, Cyrus the Great led his men to capture Babylon. They didn't even plunder the city, just as Isaiah predicted. This began the weakening of the great city which would eventually experience a civil war of sorts that led to the violence and bloodshed mentioned by Isaiah. In the end, the city was destroyed and it's population moved to a new city. While many people have attempted to rebuild the once fabulous city, it still lays in ruin, just as God said it would.[11][15]

And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.Revelation 14:8 KJV

Death of Children and Babies

Isaiah 13:18 makes you clutch your imaginary pearls and hang your head—at least that's what I did. The army that ripped through Babylon would be so cold hearted that they would kill pregnant women and their unborn babies. How heartless can you be!? When I first read this, it seemed barbaric and something that clearly would only happen in ancient times. Then I turned on the news and saw the way infants are being snatched away from their mothers at the border.[16] While they may not be murdering children, it shows that we haven't really come that far. There are still depraved people out there who wouldn't hesitate to commit such a heinous act. Clearly, while this army was executing God's anger, they weren't actually of God. It was a situation where God removed His protection from the people due to their defiance.

The Wild Beasts

Isaiah 13:21-22 describes the behavior of "wild beasts." There are wild beasts in the desert, in islands, and in pleasant palaces. If you've ever read Daniel, or done an intense study on prophecy, you know that beasts are symbolic of nations in prophecy. Revelation clearly defines the dragon as Satan, and since Satan is currently ruling our world, it makes sense that he and his agents would be living in palaces up until Jesus' return. As for the beasts in the desert versus the islands, I'm not sure exactly.

On the one hand, the Middle East is a desert. The nations involved—Israel, Babylon, and Media-Persia—are all located in the desert and all stood to lose something from the events. While Israel gained their freedom, they had been in captivity long enough that Babylon had probably started to feel like home. It would almost be like sending descendants of African slaves in the U.S., back to our respective tribes in Africa (if that were even possible). They would have to rebuild their cities and their culture. If we took this understanding, I don't know who the nations of the islands are.

Conversely, it could mean literal animals, with dragon probably translating to some type of lizard or snake. Now that the city is in ruins, the remains of the homes are literally inhabited by animals.

References

1. Nicholas Bakalar. "U.S. Fertility Rate Reaches a Record Low". New York Times. July 3, 2017
2. Rachael Rettner. "US Birth Rate Hits All-Time Low: What's Behind the Decline?". Live Science. May 17, 2018
3. Bill Powell. "Gender Imbalance: How China's One-Child Law Backfired on Men". Newsweek. May 28, 2015
4. Evan Andrews. "Remembering New England’s “Dark Day”". History. May 19, 2015
5. "Sun Turned Into Darkness". Bible Universe; visited June 2018
6. Tom de Castella. "What caused the mystery of the Dark Day?". BBC. May 18, 2012
7. Oliver Gruebner, et al. "Cities and Mental Health". Deutsches Ärzteblatt International, pg. 121-127. February 2017
8. Rachael Rettner. "Depression Higher in Rich Countries, Study Suggests". Live Science. July 25, 2011
9. Diana Kwon. "Does City Life Pose a Risk to Mental Health?". Scientific American. May 20, 2016
10. Paul Valentine. "Charles Manson: Racist serial killer who terrified a nation dies at 83". The Independent. November 20, 2017
11. Ryan Foster. "A Prophecy About Babylon Confirms the Accuracy of the Bible". Beyond Today. May 3, 2010
12. "Search: Woman Gives Birth, Doesn't Know She's Pregnant". Google
13. Diane Dreher Ph.D. "The Alarming Rise in Teen Mental Illness". Psychology Today. January 24, 2018
14. Dennis Thompson. "More Americans suffering from stress, anxiety and depression, study finds". CBS News. April 17, 2017
15. Richard N. Frye. "Cyrus the Great". Encycopædia Britannica. April 12, 2018
16. Camila Domonoske and Richard Gonzales. "What We Know: Family Separation And 'Zero Tolerance' At The Border". NPR. June 19, 2018
17. "Collision-Free Theory Explains Why Uranus Is Lying on Its Side". MIT Technology Review. December 3, 2009
18. "The Sun and Sunspots". National Weather Service; visited July, 2018
19. Sean Martin. "NASA solar storm to strike TODAY: Experts warn hole has opened in the SUN". Express News. March 22, 2018

Job 38-40: God's First Speech

In Job 38-40, Job gets his wish. God speaks to Job and gives Job the chance to speak. Of course, when the Almighty asks Job what he has to say, Job is suddenly very aware of his boldness to think he could accuse God of treating him unfairly.

Introduction

Who are we that we could approach God and question His actions? We often complain about the fairness of the world and why God let this or that happen, but as Elihu pointed out, we know nothing compared to what God knows. We are not more righteous than God, therefore we cannot judge a situation. When God speaks to Job, He opens the floor for Jon to question Him, but Job realizes at that moment that he has been foolish. The description of the scene reminds me of the times I would mumble somthing smart in response to my mother, but when she confronted me about what I said, I would clam up and hold my breath. I image Job reacting in similar fashion.
Top

God Speaks

God answers Job from out of a whirlwind. I want to dwell on this because previously, I always envisioned God simply speaking out of nowhere. A whirlwind could be anything from a tornado to a simple wind storm, but either way, Job would have been in the midst of such weather. Hearing God's voice seems terrifying enough, add in a whirlwind, an it's no wonder Job lost his resolve. Job realizes its in his best interest to keep his mouth shut.

God tells Job to "gird up now thy loins like a man," which is basically the predecessor to "man up." Now that God had made His presence known, Job wasn't springing forth to take advantage of the opportunity as he said he would. God says that Job has spoken without knowledge and echoes much of what Elihu has already said, reminding Job that he wasn't there when God created everything. Job can't affect change, only God can, because God created these things. Job has no wisdom of what's in the world, but God does, again, because He created everything. It is He who created and cares for everything. This is why we cannot question Him.

As God reminds us that He created everything, God mentions several types of animals—"unicorns" ostriches, peacocks, wild donkeys, horses, and hawks— that despite being unintelligent, He looks out for. Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, were under the impression that only good can happen to the righteous and bad to the wicked, but these animals were neither righteous nor wicked. As animals, they don't have the ability to choose a side, yet God cares for these animals because He created them. Similarly, God cares for us because He created us.

Photocredit: Jon Taylor

Behemoth

During God's comments to Job, He brings up Behemoth. Behemoth is a reference to a legendary creature that no one can figure out, or rather agree upon. Scholars have identified the creature with well known creatures of today such as the elephant and the hippopotamus, mythological creatures, and dinosaurs. There is no consensus of which category the animal actually falls into.

Some of the descriptions seem to rule out the elephant and hippopotamus of today, however. God tells us that the animal is only approachable by God. While I wouldn't advise running up to an elephant or hippopotamus, both have been cared for by humans. People even ride on the backs of elephants. It seems unlikely that this description applies to these two creatures. Behemoth is described as follows:

1. Herbivore (eats grass like an ox)
2. Strong
3. Tail like a cedar
4. Bone like iron or brass
5. Lives in marshes
6. Chief of God's ways (Large?)
7. Can drink up an entire river
8. Only God can approach it

Based on this description, I'm not inclined to believe the creature is a hippopotamus or elephant. That leaves mythology or an extinct creature like a dinosaur. God says that He made behemoth just as He made Job; therefore it seems that God is not referencing mythology, but something real.

Naturally, scholars then assert that the animal in question must be a dinosaur, specifically, a sauropod.^[1][2] The most well known sauropod is probably the Brontosaurus. Another possibility is found in the Baluchitherium. Baluchitherium was one of the largest animals to ever walk the earth and was something like a massive, hornless rhinoceros.^[3]

God uses behemoth as an example to ask Job, if he couldn't approach an animal such as behemoth, how could he judge anything? God was able to tame the creature the way we tamed dogs and cats. The contrast is meant to remind us that we are small and helpless while God is infinite and all powerful.

Science

Once again, we find reference to science in the text of Job 38-40.^[4] Below, we discuss the relevance of these verses.

Ocean Springs

Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?Job 38:16

Topically, we can see lakes, rivers, streams, and the ocean. We know that rivers empty into the ocean, but the Bible gives more than one hint that there are other sources of water. In the details of the flood, we learn that water didn't just come from the sky, but from the earth as well. Job 38:16 tells us that there are springs in the depths of the ocean. Scientists began expecting hot springs in the ocean in the early 1970s and found the first one in 1977, 1.24 miles (2 km) below sea level. God said asked if Job had entered the springs of the sea, but until recently, we didn't possess the technology to dive that deep.^[5][6][7]

Light

Job 38 actually has quite a bit to say about light. Light is probably one of the most pervasive of God's creations and God is often compared to light Himself, so it makes sense that there is a lot more to the phenomena than meets the eye.

Light Travels

Job 38:19 asks about the way in which light dwells. The Hebrew word translated to way is "derek" which can mean way, road, distance, journey, or manner.^[9][10] Essentially, Job is telling us that light travels in a particular direction. Job may not have known the speed of light, but God informed him well ahead of schedule that light travels, which means it has speed. (The calculation of the speed of light started in 1670 with Olaus Rømer.^[11])

The Division of Light

Job 38:24 informs us that light can be parted or scattered. The scattering of white light is what creates color. This is part of the process of creating a rainbow. Snell's law, which describes the bending of light, wasn't established until the 984ad and is based on a concept that Ptolemy started in 2nd century ad, well after Job's era.^[8]

Light Waves

In Job 38:35, God brings up radio waves! Lightnings, or light, is a wave. There are several types of waves in the light spectrum, one of which is radio waves. It is through radio waves that we send messages. Although we are unable to see the waves, they are still part of the spectrum of light, thus we are sending messages through light, just as God said in Job 38.^[4][12]

Dinosaurs

We already talked about the relationship many scholars see between behemoth and dinosaurs. As such, many use the verses in Job 40 that describe behemoth (as well as the verses in Job 41 on Leviathan) to say the Bible discusses dinosaurs.

Astronomy

Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?Job 38:31 KJV

God asks Job if he is able to bind Pleiades or loose Orion. Both Pleiades and Orion are constellations that can be seen in the sky. What's interesting about this question is the fact that the stars that create Pleiades are actually bound by gravity,^[13][14] but the stars those that make up Orion are not bound by gravity and are loose.^[15]

I have seen people who try to refute the accuracy of this claim since Pleiades is not permanently bound. The fact of the matter is that they were bound at the time the words were spoken, are bound now, and honestly, the world will probably end before they come unbound (the estimate for when they won't be gravitationally bound is about 250 million years). Furthermore, the point of God's question was whether Job (mankind) could replicate this act and the answer is still no.

Animal Instincts

Job 39 concentrates on animal instinct. God informs Job that animals can function without anyone teaching them anything because He made them that way. Today, scientists explain instinct as a product of evolution. It is interesting that lower order species, spiders, are born with knowledge of building webs having little to no contact with their mothers.^[16] Turtles find their way to the ocean without their mothers.^[17] Yet, humans have to be taught everything; we don't learn to walk until almost a year into life, some of us will never learn to build anything, and navigation is hit or miss.

References

1. "Behemoth". Wikipedia; visited June 2017
2. Mart-Jan Paul. "Behemoth and leviathan in the book of Job". Creation; visited June 2017
3. Melchia. "Behemoth: Largest And Strongest Land Animal In Man’s World!". The Apple of God's Eye. February 22, 2011
4. "101 Scientific Facts & Foreknowledge". Eternal Productions; visited June 2017
5. B. Hanks. "Exploring the deep ocean floor: Hot springs and strange creatures". U.S. Geological Survey. June 24, 1999
6. Steven A. Austin, Ph.D. "Springs of the Ocean". Institute for Creation Research. 1981
7. Brian Thomas, M.S. "Scientists Describe Job's 'Springs of the Sea'". Institute for Creation Research. July 23, 2015
8. "Snell's Law". Wikipedia; visited June 2017
9. Job 38:19". Bible Hub; visited June 2017
10. "Strong's 1870. derek. Bible Hub; visited June 2017
11. Jose Wudka. "Light. University of California Riverside Physics Department. September 24, 1998
12. Thuy Mai. "Electromagnetic Spectrum. NASA. April 28, 2016
13. "Pleiades". Wikipedia; visited June 2017
14. Bruce Mclure. "Pleiades star cluster, aka Seven Sisters". Earth Sky. November 7, 2016
15. Barbara Kennedy. "Speeding star gives new clues to breakup of multi-star system". Phys.org. March 30, 2017
16. "Spiderlings". Kid Zone; visited June 2017
17. Carrie Arnold. "How Do Sea Turtles Find the Exact Beach Where They Were Born?". National Geographic. January 16, 2015

Genesis 1 & 2: Creation

This story of creation is one of the most widely known stories of the world. It is staunchly contested by evolutionists and plagued with theories about "the real first woman" Lilith. Are you ready to dive in?

Introduction

Creation vs. Evolution

Evolution is a scientific theory that concludes animals evolved from single cell organisms into the creatures we have now. According to evolution humans evolved from apes over. Many believers do not believe in evolution as they it conflicts with the story of creation in Genesis. There are two major discrepancies between these views: God created man vs. man evolving from apes, and the timing of the events.

One thing I don't understand about my fellow believers is the overwhelming attempts to "prove" creation. By nature, some things—many things—concerning belief in God require a leap of faith. If there is a tree in a field, when you point to the tree and declare, "There is a tree in the field!", only a blind person will contest your observation, and knowing that they are blind, even they will probably believe whatever the majority says. God doesn't want mindless slaves who have been forced to worship Him, He wants us to choose to worship Him. So, as we walk in faith, every once in a while God brings us to a cliff to see if we will make the leap of faith because we truly believe and trust Him or if we will stay behind because we do not trust Him. I'm not going to try to prove one or the other true, it's up to you to decide what you believe. Instead I'm just going to point out some interesting things people on both sides tend to assume or assert incorrectly or overlook all together. If you are curious to some arguments however, check out this video on Problems with Evolution
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God the Magician?

Many in today's society think of God as a magician—they imagine him waving His arms and then *poof* something happens, but verses such as Genesis 2:7, clearly say that God formed man. This implies that He shaped and molded His creation the way a sculptor shapes and molds a statue. I prefer to think of God as an artist, a title more befitting for the Creator.

Let's talk about artists for a second: think of your favorite artist or an artist you learned about once. Does one of their paintings come to mind? Can you recognize the writing of your favorite author without seeing his or her name on the text? When you hear a song for the first time, can you guess the artist before the radio host tells you who it is? Branding, before it was a buzzword, is something all successful artists have in common. As far back as as man can trace, created works have been subjected to authentication processes. These processes are made possible because each artist has a brand, a signature that identifies him or herself.

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Genesis 2:7 KJV

God is not much different from an artist—there are signs of His signature all over the universe which link His creations. Top

Timeline of Creation

Genesis 1 gives the timeline of events. Repetitive in structure, each set of verses tell us what God said, what was created by his command, His blessing and approval of the creation, and what day it was. Moses tells us that in the beginning there was nothing but God and waters, which His spirit moved over.
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The Two Tales of Creation

Some people believe that Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 are two different accounts of creation and assert that there are discrepancies in the accounts. This has not only lead to legends about a mysterious woman named Lilith, but also calls into question the ordering of the events of creation.

Lilith

The origin of the Lilith legend lies in the fact that Genesis 1:27, we are told God created male and female with no distinction of who was created first, but in Genesis 2 we are clearly told that God created Adam first and Eve second. From this people have asserted that there were two different women created, one named Lilith and one named Eve.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.Genesis 1:27 KJV

According to lore, Lilith refused to be submissive to Adam and ran away. These legend existed in ancient Judaism, and while Lilith is not mentioned in the English Bible, there are stories of her in the Babylonian Talmud. In version of her story she is akin to a demon, perhaps having origins in Sumerian vampire myths where female vampires are called Lillu or Mesopotamian myths about lilin (female night demons)^[10].
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Evidence For

One website goes into massive details about the "evidence" for the existence of Lilith, claiming Lilith was serpent in the garden, citing similarities between Lilith and the leviathan, and discrepancies in Genesis 1 and Genesis 2's description of creation^[6].
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Evidence Against

While Lilith may be mentioned in the Talmud, she is not referred to as Adam's wife^[7]. Furthermore, there isn't actually a discrepancy between Genesis 1 and Genesis 2. Moses presents the story of creation similar to how someone would give an academic presentation (or talk) today; first he runs through a highly structured outline that gives an overview of what occurred (Genesis 1), then he goes back to add in details he though were important. Note that while Genesis 1:27 mentions male and female in the same sentence, it does not say that they were created simultaneously (see the earlier section called God the Magician?). Since God formed man, we can logically conclude that one was created and then the other, with both being created on the sixth day. In Genesis 2, Moses is no longer giving us a timeline, but telling us the specifics of what happened. When it says God planted a garden, and the trees grew (Genesis 2:8-9), this isn't Him creating trees, this is Him planting specific trees in a specific location. If you read Genesis 2, you will notice there is no mentioning of the sun, the moon, the stars, or the heavens in terms of creation, this is because Moses isn't giving us a new and contradictory timeline. Nowhere in Genesis 2 does it say "and then He created" or anything similar; Genesis 2 merely notes the things we have already been told were created when providing more detail on them. In Genesis 2:19, this is not saying God created Adam before he created the animals. Nowhere does it say first God created Adam, then the animals, then brought them to Adam. We already know Adam was created after from Genesis 1, Moses is simply reminding us that the animals were created by God (repetition was clearly the style of writing back then, and this also marks emphasis that God is the Creator) before informing us that God let Adam choose the names of each creature. Yes, Moses is speaking of Adam needing a mate in verse 19, but there is no indication that Moses is giving us a timeline or sequential events between the two verses. If the events were sequential, it would read "And then out of the ground..." or "So out of the ground..." however, there is nothing that concretely gives us the timing of this action in relation to the creation of man.

¹⁸And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. ¹⁹And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.Genesis 2:18-19 KJV

When looking at Genesis 2 as a whole, it is obvious that Moses is just detailing events that occurred and reiterating the fact that God created all things, not giving a precise timeline of said events. Top

Day by Day Creations

The First Day: Light

The first thing God creates is light, from the context of the entire chapter, we can see that this light is not the sun but some other light (the sun was not created until the fourth day). There are two interesting links to science stemming from the fact that God created light first: (1) is this light related to The Big Bang that science theorizes about—how would someone who knew nothing about science come to the conclusion that light was the first thing created on their own? and (2) the concept of sonoluminescence, the ability for sound waves (like God's voice perhaps) to transform underwater bubbles into light.

²And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. ³And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. ⁴And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. ⁵And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.Genesis 1:3-5 KJV

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The Second Day: Heaven

In verses 6-8, we are told that God creates, then separates a "firmament" from the waters. According to the concordance in the KJV Study Bible, "firmament" is mentioned 3 other times in the bible: Psalms 19:1, Ezekiel 1:22, and Daniel 12:3. Each time it is a translation of the Hebrew word raki'a meaning "expansion." It is defined as denoting "the space or expanse like an arch appearing immediately above us."^[1] God calls the firmament Heaven. Note that Genesis 1:1 speaks of "heaven and earth" where heaven is not capitalized as it is in Genesis 1:8 with reference to the firmament. There are four different Hebrew words in the Old Testament that are translated into "heaven": rakia (firmament), shamayim (heaven and earth or upper and lower regions), marom (mountain), shechakim (expanses).^[8]

And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature was as the colour of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above..Ezekiel 1:22 KJV

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.Psalms 19:1 KJV

And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.Daniel 12:3 KJV

Ezekiel speaks of the firmament in reference to a vision he has of "the glory of God," while Psalms uses is to speak of God's handiwork and Daniel 12 is discussing the end of the world. Using these passages and the facet Heaven is capitalized in Genesis 1:8 indicating a proper noun, we know that this is reference His home, Heaven—thus on the second day He created Heaven.

³And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. ⁴And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. ⁵And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.Genesis 1:3-5 KJV

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The Third Day: Earth

Genesis 1:9-13 details God creating Earth (the planet). He separates land from water and creates plant life. The phrase "yielding fruit after its own kind" implies the fruit trees were fully mature. This not only contradicts evolutionists' theory that the seed came first, but also contradicts the idea that animals (specifically marine life) came before plants. A question posed by Presents of God Ministries is "why do we have wasps that rely on certain plants to lay their eggs within them to procreate. And if this is true, how do those plants survive without the wasp pollinating them? If the plants and the wasps were created thousands of years apart, how does the plant pollinate without the wasp, and how does the wasp procreate without the plant?"
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The Fourth Day: Sun, Moon, and Stars

Next, God creates the Sun, moon, and stars, which he tells us are to be for signs, seasons, years, and days. Here, we come some of the questions I find most interesting. This is the first day that Earth has a Sun and moon, up until this point day and night appear to refer to the first light, created. More-so than the order of things, the most attacked points between evolutionists and creationists is the timeline. Was it really 6 days? Now, as a believer, I believe that God does not lie to us, so when He says 1 day He means 1 day. Some Creationists use 2 Peter 3:8 to argue that 1 day = 1,000 years... I don't necessary think this is the case (I think the point of that verse was more to illustrate that when you are immortal time becomes irrelevant), but I do recognize that time is highly influenced by man. Take daylight savings time for instance—its not real, just something man implemented for our benefit (at the time, at least). Similarly we have the Julian and Gregorian Calendars, along with the Mayan. Muslims mark their calendars based on Mohammed, where as we based ours after Jesus. Since we are all alive today and able to speak to each other, it is easy to figure out why our calendars differ and match them up, but what of the beginning of the world? How do we know the Earth rotated at the same speed, that the days were 24 hour days?
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The Fifth Day: Life in the Seas & Life in the Sky

God created creatures of the sea and creatures of the sky. Again, people often use this as "evidence" that creation is wrong, as both sea life and birds are created "simultaneously." However, being created on the same day does not imply simultaneousness—God still may have created the sea life first and the life in the air second, we aren't told. It's still odd that mankind would have guessed life to begin in the ocean or in the sky. Wouldn't people assume like started on land (or in the sky only)? Why wouldn't they think God lived on Earth and created things with mankind watching? Again how did they get so close to what science claims without the benefits of modern science? Plus, we know science isn't perfect, I mean ten years ago Pluto was a planet... Einstein corrected Netwon's laws...

And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.Genesis 1:21 KJV

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The Sixth Day: Life on Land & Man

On the sixth day, God created the animals that live on land, last creating man. An important thing to note about the creation of man is that for everything else, God says let the water or let the Earth bring forth, but for man, He says "Let us make man in our image." This signifies that we are different—special—from the other animals. It is here that we meet Adam and Eve for the first time (though not by name). We are also told that everyone was vegetarian at that point.

And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.Genesis 1:30 KJV

Genesis two adds more detail to the picture that man was formed from the dust of the ground and woman was formed from man's rib.
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The Seventh Day: Rest

God sanctifies the seventh day, which we now call the Sabbath. The seven days represent our modern week, the first day being Sunday and the seventh, Saturday. An interesting thought that comes from concluding the timeline of creation: one year represents the time it takes the earth to make a complete revolution around the Sun, the original 30 day month represents the lunar cycle, a day represents one revolution, hours represent the cycle of the Sun traveling in the sky, so what does a 7 day week represent? Other nations have used a different number of weeks, but evidence supports the 7 day week dates as far back at least as far as the Babylonian empire. Even in the ancient days there was the concept of a "week," but what prompted them to create a week? What (other than God) would prompt the Jews to choose 7 days? Why not assume God created the world in one day? Or eight days? Or aligning with the season? The 7 day week cycle has never been broken since Moses day and perhaps even before Moses' day according to modern sources^[9].
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Points of Interest

God Says "Us"

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.Genesis 1:26 KJV

When we learn that God created man, God refers to "us" before creating man. There are many possibilities in who the mysterious "us" is. The most logical (and probably common) guess is that "us" refers to Jesus and the Holy Spirit. In Genesis 1:2, it is commonly believed that the "spirit of God" moving is the Holy Spirit, which strengths the hypothesis that this is who He was talking to. Another identity for "us" could include the angels. The Bible focuses on man's history, particularly the lineage of Jesus, so we are left in the dark about the timeline for the creation of the angels and events that transpired in Heaven. Were the angels created before or after man? We are told that everything ("all the host of them") was finished by the seventh day, so we know that the angels must have been created between the first and sixth day. He may have created the angels in heaven right after He created Heaven on the second day, or He may have made the angels on the sixth day like man—it's impossible to say for sure. Which means it is possible that the angels were also part of the "us" God refers too.

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.Genesis 2:1 KJV

Taking into consideration the act that God again uses "us" when discussing the fall of mankind in Genesis 3, we know that "us" is knows both good and evil. This would definitely include Jesus and the Holy Spirit, but what about the angels? A lot of things are speculated about angels, and using these speculations we could make an assumption about whether angels knew of both good and evil, but let's wait until we find Biblical evidence to prove or disprove that the angels.

And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:Genesis 3:22 KJV

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Marriage and the Sabbath

Two traditions were established in the Garden of Eden while the world was still perfect: the Sabbath and marriage.

And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.Genesis 2:3 KJV

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.Genesis 2:24 KJV

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Tilling the Ground

Genesis 2:5 tells us that when God created the plants of the Earth, there was no man to till the ground. While its impossible to tell if Moses was saying Before God created man, there was no one to till the ground so God created man, or if he was telling us that originally plants survived without man tilling the ground, it is interesting to note that this becomes man's punishment in Genesis 3.

⁵And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. ⁶But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.Genesis 2:5,6 KJV

Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.Genesis 3:23 KJV

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The Garden of Eden

Moses not only describes the beauty of the Garden of Eden, he also tells us the general location of Eden.

And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.Genesis 2:8 KJV

And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.Genesis 2:10 KJV

Verse 8 of Genesis 2 tells us that Eden was located east of something (assumably the location of where God created man). We are given further insight to its location in verses 10 through 14, where we are told the names and locations of the four rivers that flow from Eden.

• Pison is the first river. We are told that it surrounds a land called Havilah, and that Havilah is rich with gold, bdellium, and onyx.

  ¹¹The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; ¹²And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.Genesis 2:11,12 KJV

• Gihon is the second river and it surrounds Ethiopia.

  ¹³13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.Genesis 2:13 KJV

• Hiddekel is the third river and it flows toward Assyria.
• Euphrates is the fourth river.

  And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.Genesis 2:14 KJV

There are several places mentioned of which we have record and know the location: Ethiopia, Assyria, and Euphrates. With research, we find that Hiddekel is the ancient name for the Tigris River^[5][3]. Havilah is thought to be the Grecian Colchis near the Caspian Sea by some sources^[2]. Many people speculate as to the locations of Eden, and the locations of these rivers but there are two thing that are definite from the description given: 1) Eden was likely in the middle east, near Mesopotamia and the Fertile Crescent, and 2) this is East of Africa. Science claims man originated in Africa, the Bible claims man was created then moved eastward to Eden. When Adam and Eve left Eden where did they go? Did they head South or West, further East or North? The bible doesn't tell us, but again, Moses tells us something eerily close to what science claims. Sources also have found that it is possible life originated in the Middle East^[4], where the Garden of Eden is located. Another interesting point is that Moses gives us tons of information of the first two rivers, just enough information of the third river to identify it as the Tigris, and no information of Euphrates, which is unchanged in name. I highly doubt this is coincidental.

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References

1. BibleStudyTools.com: Firmament
2. BibleStudyTools.com: Havilah
3. BibleStudyTools.com: Hiddekel
4. Deem, Rich. "Humans Out of Africa". God and Science. April 4, 2014
5. Dictionary.com. "Hiddekel". Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
6. "Lilith in the Bible". Bitter Waters.com
7. "Lilith in the Torah, Talmud, and Midrash". About.com
8. Smith, William. "Entry for Heaven". Smith's Bible Dictionary. 1901.
9. "What Is the Origin of the 7-Day Week?". Calendar Through the Ages. 2008
10. "Where Does the Legend of Lilith Come From?". About.com

The Darkness Above

Black,

Blank and bewildering--

Behold, my God this emptiness...

Ethereal,

Ever-changing and eternal

Embodying these unclaimed souls...

Secretive,

Slow and spacious

Serenading the roots of my mind...

Majestic,

Matter and mayhem--

Murmuring, my God, it's full of stars...

Flying Stealth in the Night

Between rolling white clouds
And glittering gold stars

Image created by John Cortes

Below the moon, but above the seas--
Where the wind blows swiftly
Beneath heavy wings,
I fly undetected.

Disappear from the radar
Lose touch with the world below
As I journey from past to present
From your present to my future--
Speeding through empty skies,
I rise above gravity.

A Little Star

Little star burning

dashing through the dark sky--

watch over me awhile.

Mars Lives

Red,

Speckled and shining 

Far in the sky

A tiny speck,

A disillusion of mass

Greater than we see--

It twinkles, like a star

And someone may be watching

Looking back at me

At a blue speck,

Second star to the right

On 'til morning,

When beauty fades.

Wish Upon A Star

A

Way

In the dark

Distantly glowing

Sparkling and twinkling

Fire--an invincible life force holding beauty at immortal standards

A beacon of hope for the universe to gaze upon in awe

Constant. Consistent in its reign and power...

Reach out to me and speak confidence

Open the door to life's maze

Shower me in your abyss of wisdom

grant me jewels,       pearls, and rubies

I want to shine,               in the dark sky

Wish--on the                        lost loves of 

hope and                                 bring peace

home.                                                home.

Celebration

Sound crusading out of a wave

Clearing the path--leading...

Bursts of light, 

Fire falling and sparkling

Shimmering dreams

Innocence of a star's baby

Captured and paraded

In pomp and fanfare

Against the black sky

Obstructing the star's themselves

If for only a moment.

Alienated

Half of what you say,
Is empty to me--
You don't understand my words
Because I'm seeing something
You just can't see.
Is it a hallucination--
    Wishful thinking,
    Dreams on shooting stars?
Or is it real,
    Something I can touch
    Something I can feel.
Way off in the distance
So close and yet so far
I see it there,
An answer just off the horizon
Sparkling, shining
Beautiful in simple elegance.
I see it there,
All alone,
Just like me.

Escape

Blue water
Rushing against
Warm sand,
A soft breeze
Gently,
    gently,
        gently
             Blowing in the night.

Black sky
Silently watching
O'er a blue moon
And sparkling stars
Blinking
    Twinkling
         Glittering
               Wishing in the night.

StarFire

At night, when light fades
And darkness prevails,
I gaze up at the star filled sky
In wonder...
And I wonder,
Up there--out yonder,
Death is a brilliant firework
A beautiful remembrance
Of a light burning out.
How can fire be so beautiful?
And I can only hope
When my time comes,
I burn brilliantly--
Overwhelm the world in passion
And explode in a blaze.

I'm Wishing on A Star

I wish I could go back
Caress the keys of my childhood
--Softly--
Tell myself a bed time story
And disappear into my own fantasy
Slowly,
Count the stars in the sky,
Infinite wishes waiting
Selfishly...

I wish I could stay there
Wallow in the comfort of my mind
--Recklessly--
Block daylight from my eyes
Create my own world in front of me
--Respectfully--
Fly off the cliff, dive into the river
And find myself
--Repeatedly...