Genesis chapter 6 begins with a tale of intermarriage between “sons of God” and “daughters of men”. This union created giants, or “nephilim” in Hebrew. This intermarriage was so evil that it prompted a terrible punishment from the Lord and led to the great Flood. The question is, who were these giants? This is not a topic that is commonly discussed but I believe it is worth investigating.

Let’s start by taking a look at the passage itself:

Genesis 6:1: “And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
3 And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years.
4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.”

There are a few interesting things about this passage. First, no “daughters of God” married “sons of men” – it went strictly the other way. Second, the union resulted only in sons. None of the children became “mighty women” and there is no evidence that any daughters were born to these couples. That in itself is quite strange and hints that something very unusual is going on. Some have said that the “sons of God” referred to godly men and “daughters of men” referred to sinful women, and that the passage is simply speaking about the dangers of marrying unbelievers. But if that is the case then why weren’t any daughters born to these couples and why did their offspring become giants? Verse 4 clearly says that each one of these children became “mighty men” of extraordinary ability. All of these facts make it highly unlikely that this is a simple case of believers marrying unbelievers. I think that something else is going on – something quite unusual and disturbing.

We can learn a little more about what is going on by examining the passage’s key words. In Hebrew, they are:

Mighty men: 1368. Powerful, warrior, tyrant, champion, chief, giant, mighty, strong.

Giants: 5303. Hebrew: “nephil”. “It means a bully, a tyrant, a giant. It appears three times in the OT (Gen 6:4, Num 13:33). Since the etymology is uncertain, there is much speculation among reputable scholars concerning the nature of these individuals. Until more evidence becomes available, perhaps it is wise to do as the RSV and NIV translations did: render it “Nephilim”.

Right away we can see that we’ve stumbled across a mystery. The very definition of the Hebrew word “nephil” is fraught with uncertainty to the point that scholars recommend the world remain untranslated. That’s quite remarkable! Once again, if these people are simply humans then why all the mystery? There are lot of excellent, clear, and well-understood Hebrew words that could have been used in this passage if the author intended to describe sinful people, but they were not used. There is clearly something significant going on here.

For the record, the only other use of the word “nephilim” (giants) in the Bible can be found here:

Numbers 13:33: “And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.”

Notice the description of these beings. The Israeli spies reported that the nephilim were giants of extraordinary size, which matches the description in Genesis 6. These were clearly not normal people and the Israelites were terrified at the sight of them. Of course, this just deepens the mystery. What is going on here?

I believe the key to understanding this passage can be found in the use of the phrase “sons of God”. Each nephilim had two parents: a “son of God” and a “daughter of man”. The phrase “daughter of man” literally means “female”, so that’s easy enough to understand. But who were the sons of God? As it turns out, that phrase is used in three other places in the Old Testament. All three occur in the book of Job, and in each case the phrase refers to angels:

Job 1:6: “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them.”

Job 2:1: “Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord.”

Job 38:4: “Where was thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding.
5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? Or who hath stretched the line upon it?
6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? Or who laid the corner stone thereof;
7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”

As you can see, in each case the beings called “sons of God” refers to angels, not men. It’s true that in the New Testament believers are called “sons of God” (John 1:12) but at the time when Genesis 6:1-4 was written that was not the case. Job is one of the oldest books of the Bible and it is not a stretch to imagine that the Hebrew phrase “sons of God” carries the same meaning in both Job and Genesis. Therefore, if “sons of God” means “angels” in Job then it means “angels” in Genesis 6 as well. (In this case it refers to fallen angels, or demons. If the nephilim were half-demon and half-human then it’s no wonder they were beings of terrible power and breathtaking evil!)

It’s also worth noting that the difference between a “son of man” and a “son of God” is that sons of men are born while sons of God are created. A son of God would be a being that was created directly by God Himself, which would include Adam and the angels. Once Christ appeared He made it possible for others to become “sons of God” by becoming Christians, but that was not an option in the Old Testament. Aside from Adam all humans are born from human parents, not created by a direct act of divine will.

Some have objected to this interpretation, saying that in the New Testament Jesus says that angels are not given in marriage. This is true: in Heaven angels do not marry. However, the Bible never says that angels are incapable of intermarrying with humans. It is clear that they are not allowed to do this, and that this act is a greatly evil one that damns the angel for eternity. It’s not surprising that angels don’t marry in Heaven because in Heaven the Lord’s will is done. Demons, however, have no interest in doing the Lord’s will.

I believe Genesis 6 teaches that in the days before the Flood demons intermarried with humans and produced a new race of powerful, evil beings. This race (which was composed only of men) was destroyed by the Flood, which wiped out everyone except for the line of Noah. What’s particularly interesting about this is that Noah’s genealogy did not include any of these “sons of God”. This is critically important because the Messiah had to be a pure human. If He was part demonic then He obviously could never have been God!

The nephilim were actually a clever plan by Satan; he was trying to corrupt the genetic line of mankind in order to make it impossible for the Messiah to ever come. God solved that problem by wiping out the nephilim with a Flood that destroyed everyone. In this context the Flood makes a lot of sense – it was important for everything to be wiped out in order to destroy the nephilim and preserve the sanctity of our genetic code. (Of course, Satan wasn’t content with just trying this one time; he later tried it again in the land of Canaan in order to stop the Israelites from entering the Promised Land. This could be another reason why God ordered every last Canaanite destroyed – He wanted the nephilim wiped out.)

There are a couple other passages that may be related to this. The first one can be found in 2 Peter:

2 Peter 2:4: “For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;”

The word that is used for “hell” in this passage is a very special one that is used only in this one passage. This is its definition:

Hell: 5020. “Found only in its verbal form in 2 Peter 2:4, meaning to consign to Tartarus (which is neither Sheol of the OT, nor Hades of the NT, nor Gehenna, nor hell, but the place where certain angels are confined, reserved unto judgment). This punishment for these angels is because of their special sin.”

Notice what this says here. These fallen angels (or demons) are confined to a place called Tartarus. This is actually not the same place as the “hell” we know. When people die without accepting Jesus they go to hell, not Tartarus. Tartarus is a special place that is populated only by demons who committed a very special and terrible sin. To put it another way, there are actually two hells – the normal one and Tartarus. Humans cannot be sent to Tartarus. It is reserved strictly for a special class of demons.

Now it’s obvious that not all demons are bound in Tartarus. Quite a few of them wander over the surface of the Earth and cause all sorts of horrors. Yet, there are some that committed a sin so great that they were not permitted to wander the earth. If this is an accurate reading of the text then what sin did they commit? Isn’t it quite likely that the demons that are spoken of here are the “sons of God” that created the nephilim in Genesis 6, and that their great sin was intermarrying with humans?

I think it’s worth noting that the very next verse speaks of Noah and the Flood. Isn’t it possible that the two verses are related – that the great sin of these angels had something to do with the Flood that destroyed the old world? If fallen angels did intermarry with humans and produced a race of evil offspring then it would make sense that the Lord would judge it, and it would make sense to mention the Flood when referring to this event. It would also be easy to understand why the Lord imprisoned these demons – He didn’t want them doing it again.

There is one other possible mention of this. It can be found in Jude:

Jude 1:6: “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”

Here we have another mention of angels that are “reserved in everlasting chains” and waiting the final judgment. The very next verse speaks of Sodom and Gomorrha, highlighting it as a second example of what happens to those who engage in fornication and immorality. Note the use of the phrase “even as”, which seems to indicate that both the angels and Sodom were guilty of the same type of sin. If Jude is speaking of fallen angels that intermarried with humans then this makes a lot of sense, for in that case both the demons and the residents of Sodom were guilty of fornication.

In summary, Genesis 6 teaches that before the Flood demons took human women for wives and had children with them, producing a strange, fallen, depraved race called the nephilim. The Lord judged this act of wickedness by destroying that race in the Flood and imprisoning the demons who had committed this sin in Tartarus, awaiting judgment in the last day.

Elder Lane abruptly felt himself pulled back into the physical world. As he slowly regained consciousness he opened his eyes and saw Adrian Garza was standing over him, a look of trepidation on his face.

“What now?” Elder Lane said irritably. “What has gotten into you? Must you keep pestering me?”

“It’s war!” Adrian gasped. “The Sentinel just contacted me. They’re going to war against the swarms!”

“Right now?” Elder Lane asked, concerned. He sat up in his pod and looked at Adrian. “Do you mean to say that they’re launching their war right now?”

Adrian nodded. “That’s what they said! The war has already begun. The Sentinel told me that they noticed unusual activity and decided that they had to act. They had wanted to spend more time building up their forces but they decided launch a preemptive strike immediately in order to protect us from the swarms.”

“To protect us?” Elder Lane asked, confused.

“They think we’re the target. They don’t know for sure, but that’s their guess, and they’re probably right for all I know. They did tell us that our Wall should protect us and that we should be safe, but just to make sure they’ve sent part of their fleet here to guard us. They’re hoping that by launching their strike now they’ll be able to draw the swarm’s attention away from us.”

Inwardly Elder Lane smiled. So they had to launch before they were ready, he thought to himself, and on top of that they diluted their forces by sending part of them here! What fools they are! This attack just might work after all.

“Thank you for letting me know, Adrian,” Elder Lane said aloud. “Will you inform me when the battle is over?”

“You’re not going to stay out here?” Adrian asked, confused.

Elder Lane shook his head. “I’ve done all that I can do, and from what you have told me our defense is in good hands. Staying out here would not change anything. Just let me know what happens, will you?”

Adrian nodded. Elder Lane laid back inside his pod and pressed the button to reseal it. So they were unprepared, he thought excitedly. Unprepared! Maybe we have a chance of winning this after all.

A group of nearly two hundred warships suddenly appeared about a quarter million miles away from New Caldwell. Thousands of years ago this planet had been home to the Ranger’s most distant colony, but the swarms destroyed it long ago, leaving the world in ruins. Now it was the closest system to the network, and the Artilect took advantage of this.

The ships that appeared were not the Alpha or Beta-class vessels that the Artilect had spent the past week fabricating. Instead the Artilect had hastily fabricated a small number of much weaker ships that were highly vulnerable to the swarms. It wanted to make sure that this group was heavily damaged in the attack – thus giving an incentive for the swarms to follow as they retreated in disarray.

As soon as the vessels appeared in space they began attacking, firing beams of searing blue energy at the planet below. The beams cut through the planet, turning large chunks of it directly into energy. The resulting explosion blew the entire world into fragments, scattering the swarms and destroying a great many of them.

Yet more than half of the swarm survived the initial assault. The bots quickly regrouped and ferociously attacked the invasion fleet. The invaders continued to fire into the dense swarms of bots, blasting them into energy, but there were simply too many of them. The relentless bombardment of trillions of bots wore away at the invasion feet, and one by one their ships were vaporized.

When the fleet was down to a quarter of its original size it turned around and disappeared into hyperspace. The swarms eagerly followed.

“It’s working,” Sergeant Howell commented. The entire group from the Sparrow was in the core of Tonina, watching the holographic display that the sergeant had set up. The Artilect and the Sentinel were not there, but everyone else was present except for Amy Stryker. Amy had bitterly protested at being excluded, but in the end she was forced to accept her fate and remained on her planet. Amy was not kept in the dark, however; the Artilect created a similar display for her on her world, and she watched it alone. Amy understood the need for security but she was still upset about it. She hated being alone and cut off from the rest of her family.

“It certainly is,” Captain Max agreed. The group watched as the blue and red dots hastily abandoned all of the Ranger planets and jumped into hyperspace. All of them had plotted a course that would eventually intercept the invasion fleet.

“It looks like they’re all leaving,” Richard said in surprise. “I don’t see a single dot staying behind!”

“That’s poor strategy on their part,” Sergeant Howell commented.

“Maybe they’re not as smart as we think,” Captain Max replied.

“Or maybe they’re a lot smarter than we realize,” Jones said.

Captain Max looked at Jones in surprise. “Why would you say that?”

“The children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light,” Jones replied. “This isn’t over, sir. We may win this battle, but winning the war will be very difficult and very costly. I fear that they are very much more clever than we are.”

“I sincerely hope not,” Reverend Knight replied quietly. “At this point we are the only hope that Tau Ceti has.”

Amy Stryker was alone, standing in a nameless room on her nameless world. She knew it would make her feel better if she gave her planet a name, but she refused to do so. I’m not going to fall in love with this place, she decided. I hate it here. I hate being away from my family and I hate being away from Atzi. I’m going to leave this horrible place the first moment I can.

The teenage girl stood in the dark room and watched as the scattered red and blue dots merged into a single force. By now the giant army of bots had almost caught up with the invasion fleet and was on the border of the Artilect’s territory. Andy is playing this well, she thought to herself. His ships are retreating slow enough to allow the swarms to catch up, but just fast enough to stay out of range. It won’t be long now.

Amy looked at the distance on the map between the swarms and the giant armada that the Artilect had hidden in space and began counting down. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six…

In the book of Job we find this interesting passage:

Job 1:6: “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.”

The story of Job is a very popular one and these verses are quite well-known. However, many people don’t stop to consider what this passage is actually saying. There is a surprising fact hidden in these verses that gets overlooked time and time again: Satan has access to Heaven.

This is so obvious that it almost doesn’t need an explanation. The verses state that there came a day when the angels (which are here called the “sons of God” for reasons I’ve explained elsewhere) came to present themselves before the Lord. In verse 7 Satan says that he had been on the Earth, which implies that he wasn’t on Earth anymore. We know that God dwells in Heaven, so if Satan wasn’t on Earth and he was standing before God, then it’s pretty safe to say that he was in Heaven.

Also, notice that these verses seem to describe something that happened on a regular basis. We see this scene repeat itself in Job 2:1: once again Satan made a trip to Heaven to present himself to God. If Satan is making regular trips to Heaven then that can only mean that Satan has access to Heaven.

Some would say that this is not the case and that Satan was cast out of Heaven long ago. In order to support this idea they quote these verses from Revelation:

Revelation 12:7: “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”

Here we find the account of a war that took place in heaven. Satan lost this war and was cast out of Heaven. However, there is a very important question to ask: just when did this battle take place? Did it happen before human history began, as some claim, or is it still in our future?

First of all, notice that this war is recorded in the twelfth chapter of Revelation – a little more than halfway through the book. It is very important to realize that Revelation takes place in chronological order, which we can see from Revelation 1:19. There Jesus gave this commandment to John:

Revelation 1:19: “Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;”

This is a basic outline that explains the structure of the entire book. After this verse Jesus dictated seven letters to seven churches, which represented the things “which are”. In chapter 4 (after all the letters had been written) the scene changes, and John is caught up into Heaven to see the things “which must be hereafter”:

Revelation 4:1: “After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter.”

After this a great many things take place – all of which would happen at some point in the future. The seven seals were opened (Revelation 6), the 144,000 Jews were sealed (Revelation 7), the seven trumpets sounded (Revelation 8), and the two witnesses were killed (Revelation 11). All of these things are depicted in chronological order: first the first seal is opened, then the second one, and so forth.

The war in heaven takes place between chapter 11, where the two witnesses are killed, and chapter 13, where the Mark of the Beast is instituted. As of the time John wrote this book it was still in the future, for Revelation 4:1 clearly says that the things John was about to see had not yet taken place.

What this means is that the war in heaven must take place in the middle of the Tribulation. In other words, it hasn’t happened yet. This is made even more clear if you read the rest of the passage:

Revelation 12:9: “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.”

After the devil is cast out of heaven in verse 9 a voice proclaims that “the accuser of our brethren is cast down”. Satan had been accusing believers “day and night”, just as he had done in the book of Job. Now, however, his ability to do this was stripped from him and he was cast down to the earth. Verse 12 says that he was filled with “great wrath” because he had only a short time left.

What strikes me about this passage is verse 11, where it says that the people Satan was accusing “overcame him by the blood of the Lamb”. These people were clearly martyrs, because it says “they loved not their lives unto the death”. This creates a real problem for those who believe that the war in Heaven happened before mankind was created. Think about it: if that was the case then Satan was bringing accusations against people who hadn’t even been born yet! In fact, he was accusing a race that hadn’t been created yet, let alone fallen into sin! On top of that, verse 11 is in the past tense, speaking of people who had been martyred because they believed in Jesus. If the war in heaven took place before mankind was created then this makes no sense at all, because no one had yet been martyred for believing in Jesus! Besides, if Satan’s ability to bring accusations to God was revoked before mankind was formed then what was he doing making accusations against Job?

These verses simply make no sense at all if they are describing something that took place before mankind sinned in the Garden of Eden. However, they make a great deal of sense if they are talking about a future event that takes place in the middle of the Tribulation. We know that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us:

Romans 8:26: “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”

If Satan is indeed accusing us day and night then it is a tremendous comfort to know that there is someone else there who is speaking on our behalf. (For the record, the word “Satan” actually means “adversary”; it is more of a descriptive title than a name.)

This does bring up another question. What about this verse? Jesus had something very interesting to say in the book of Luke:

Luke 10:18: “And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.”

Doesn’t this imply that the war in heaven had already happened as of the time Jesus walked the earth? Not quite. In this passage Jesus said that He saw Satan fall from heaven. However, in Revelation 12:9 it doesn’t say that Satan fell; it says that he was cast out. I think Jesus is referring to the time Lucifer chose to try to exalt himself above God and fell into sin, becoming the devil, our adversary. Jesus watched that happen. This would be consistent with what we find in Job.

So what does all of this mean? It means that it’s quite likely that Job was not the only person that Satan has brought accusations against. Revelation tells us that he accuses the brethren day and night, using his access to Heaven to try to get God to bring disaster upon believers. However, midway through the Tribulation war will erupt in heaven, and Satan and the rest of his fallen angels will be cast down to earth, their access permanently revoked. His days of accusing the brethren will be over, and he will be full of wrath because he’ll know that he only has a little more than 3 years left before Jesus returns and binds him for a thousand years. This knowledge fills him with rage, and he pours out his anger upon those who are still alive.

His eviction from heaven marks the beginning of the end for Satan. The three years he is given on Earth are not enough to stop the return of Jesus, and when Jesus returns He will bind Satan for a thousand years and usher in an unprecedented age of peace. A thousand years later Satan will be released and gather an army, only to see the entire army destroyed by fire when it approaches Jerusalem. The devil is then cast into the lake of fire, where he is tormented day and night forever and ever.

The bottom line is that Satan does currently have access to Heaven, but that will not last forever. His days of accusing the brethren are limited and will soon come to an end.

Ever since the Artilect had destroyed the bots that attacked Quetzalli the swarms had returned to their endless struggle. As Elder Lane had said, however, the fight was not a real one. The council of Xanthe had created the swarms for the express purpose of wiping out the Ranger colonies, and after they accomplished their job the council had no more use for them. However, an unexpected development arose that forced the council to maintain them for millennia: a sizable portion of their population wanted to leave their pods and return to the physical world.

Some people said that the synthetic worlds were defective. They complained that while they looked realistic, they weren’t actually real. Each citizen had been given their own synthetic world and they had the power to change it in any way they desired. At first this was seen as a magnificent gift, but over time people began to realize that if the world could be arbitrarily changed at your whims, nothing really mattered – there were no actual consequences that could not be undone. Life became unsatisfying, and a growing percentage of the population yearned to return to the surface.

Their leaders, however, felt that this was simply the uneducated opinion of a few people who simply didn’t know any better. In order to pacify them they had to come up with a reason that would force everyone to stay in their pods forever. So, instead of destroying the swarms after the war, the council had them continually waging war against each other. The leaders then apologetically told their people that, as much as they regretted this, it would simply not be possible to leave the pods. The swarms were too great a danger, and without the ability to take down the Wall their former lives were impossible to maintain. Their only chance for survival was to stay in the pods until the swarms were gone – and the council made sure that that never happened.

So, one by one, the holdouts lost hope and resigned themselves to their new, empty lives. After a while they found that it no longer bothered them; in fact, the thought of living in the physical world eventually became unthinkable.
At this point the council could have destroyed the swarms but they chose not to. Elder Lane pointed out that it did no harm to keep them going, and the bots acted as a shield against a threat that they were too terrified to name. Even now, mankind was still afraid of the dark.

The commands that Elder Lane sent the bots were unlike any that they had received since the days they were created. Lane was concerned that the opponent he was fighting really did control the resources of millions of star systems, and he had no confidence that his attack would succeed. So he ordered his swarms to go forth and multiply.

Immediately the swarms halted their war and scattered, taking up residence on all of the planets in what was once Ranger territory. Then, slowly, the swarms took over these empty worlds. Their goal was to plunder all of the resources that they could obtain in order to produce a fantastically large army. Then they would go to war.

“It’s very strange,” Sergeant Howell remarked. “I’ve never seen them act this way before.”

Howell was standing in the defense complex that was located at the core of Tonina, staring at a large holographic display in the center of the room. Richard Stryker was there, along with the Sentinel and the Artilect. The display was currently projecting a map of all of Ranger space. A series of red and blue dots covered the Ranger planets, moving energetically and rapidly growing in number.

“What do the colors mean again?” Richard asked.

“Well, they used to represent warring factions that I color-coded so I could tell them apart. The red side fought against the blue side. However, the two sides have apparently made peace because they’ve joined together to take over these worlds.”

Richard frowned. “Did anyone live on those planets?”

“No,” the Sentinel said. “I have been to many of those worlds personally. They were destroyed and abandoned long ago.”

“Then what are the swarms doing?” Richard asked.

“They are mining the worlds,” the Artilect replied. “They are consuming them in order to produce larger swarms. It would appear that they are attempting to swell their numbers so that they can mount an invasion.”

At that moment Amy and Amanda Stryker appeared. Amanda appeared in person, and her sister Amy appeared as a hologram. “Sorry we’re late,” Amy replied. “I didn’t know we had a meeting scheduled for today.”

“We didn’t,” Amanda said. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you! This is an unscheduled meeting.”

“Well, we’re here now,” Amy said. “What have I missed?”

The Sentinel spoke up. “It would appear that the swarms are preparing to go to war.”

The girl’s eyes widened. “You mean they’re going to invade Tau Ceti?” Amy asked.

“It makes sense,” Amanda replied. “Steve has made all kinds of trips there, taking down Walls and putting up new ones. That was bound to have attracted somebody’s attention sooner or later. When did all this start happening?”

“Right after I returned from Xanthe,” the Sentinel replied.

“Well there you go,” Amanda said. “If we didn’t have their attention before I guess we’ve got it now! Do you think that Xanthe is in danger?”

The Artilect was quiet for a while. “I do not believe so,” he said at last. “Their original Wall was quite primitive and yet it was able to protect them for thousands of years. The Wall that my son erected is a great deal more advanced. If they could not penetrate the old one then the bots will not be able to penetrate the new one either.”

“I guess that’s true,” Sergeant Howell replied. “Unless something else is going on that we don’t know about.”

“Well, yeah,” Amy said. “But how can we make plans around things that we don’t know about?”

“So what are we going to do?” Amanda asked.

Sergeant Howell turned to the Artilect. “Is your armada ready?”

“Not yet,” the Artilect replied. “I have assembled a sizable force and was on schedule to have it completed in two more days, but the situation has now changed. The swarms were originally in a relatively smaller location and I had planned accordingly. However, they are now scattered over a much larger area and it will therefore take a much larger fleet to entrap them all at once. Even at an increased rate of production it will take another nine days to assemble enough resources to saturate the entire infected area.”

“Nine days!” Amy exclaimed. “We don’t have nine days!”

“We might,” Richard said. “After all, do we really know how long it’s going to take the swarms to finish their work?”

“We do,” the Artilect said. “I have calculated their rate of planetary consumption. Based on their current activity I estimate it will take them another 39 hours to finish their work.”

“Oh,” Richard said. “So I guess we don’t have nine days.”

“But we don’t know what happens next,” Sergeant Howell argued. “The bots may do nothing, or they might start fighting each other again. They also might search for more planets to consume. Since they’ve never done this before there’s no way to predict their next move.”

“But what if they attack Tau Ceti?” Amy asked. “What if they can find some way to get through the Wall?”

“Or what if they attack Earth?” Amanda asked.

Sergeant Howell frowned. “They’ve never done that before.”

“But as you said, they’ve never done this before either,” Amy pointed out.

“Or what if Earth is behind the swarms somehow?” Amanda asked.

Richard spoke up. “It sounds like we don’t have enough information. We don’t know why their behavior has changed and we don’t know what they’re going to do next. And, from what I can tell, there’s no good way to find out. The survivors on Tau Ceti are as clueless as we are.”

“Or so they say,” Sergeant Howell replied.

Richard shook his head. “If Adrian Garza had known something then Reverend Knight would have found out. I’m positive that they don’t know anything.”

“But that doesn’t make sense!” Sergeant Howell insisted. “I just can’t believe that. How could they possibly be the only survivors of a war that has lasted for five thousand years without actually knowing anything about their enemy?”

“This isn’t helping,” Amy interrupted. “What are we going to do?”

Everyone turned to look at the Artilect. “Do you have a recommendation?” Richard asked.

“I could attack now, but I cannot guarantee success,” the Artilect replied. “My forces are adequate to protect the network but they are too thin to ensure that no bots escape. If we attack and fail then we take the risk that they might learn more about us and find a way to counter our weapons. I admit this is unlikely, but it is possible and it should be considered – especially since so many variables are unknown.”

“So you suggest we wait and see what the swarms do?” Sergeant Howell asked. “I admit the idea makes sense to me. It would give us a chance to see who their target is, and that might tell us more about them.”

“Or waiting could ensure that everyone on Xanthe dies,” Amy replied.

“I agree,” Amanda said. “I don’t think we can risk all of their lives like that. What happens if we’re wrong?”

“You do have a point,” Richard admitted. “For all we know the people on Xanthe are the last survivors of the human race. We really can’t take chances with that many lives. Steve, how many people did you say were still there?”

“384,726,” the Sentinel replied quietly.

“I guess we could send the fleet to protect Tau Ceti,” Sergeant Howell said reluctantly. “But that seems dangerous as well. Do we really want the battle to take place there?”

“Could we draw their attention?” Amy said. “Maybe get them to attack us instead?”

“Are you crazy?” Amanda asked. “You want them to attack us?”

“Why not?” Amy asked. “It’s not like they have a chance of winning. Besides, if we could coax them into attacking a certain area of our front line then perhaps we could force them into a small area, and then Andy could wipe them out.”

“That makes sense,” Sergeant Howell said. “I would support that strategy.”

Richard nodded. “I do too, but I still don’t think we should leave Tau Ceti undefended. Can we send at least part of the fleet there, but perhaps hide it in some way so that the swarms don’t discover it unless it’s needed?”

“That is possible,” the Artilect replied. “I could send a small portion of it to protect that system. Once it was in place I could send a few ships to attack the Ranger system nearest to our borders. The ships could then fall back and draw the swarms into our territory.”

“I think that will work,” Sergeant Howell said.

The Artilect looked at the twin girls. “The final decision rests with the two of you. What is your command? Do you find this course of action acceptable?”

The twin sisters looked at each other, and then Amanda looked at the Artilect. “Are you sure that there’s no way the swarms could win?”

“I am quite sure,” the Artilect replied.

“So you’re positive that there’s no danger to us at all?”

The Artilect smiled. “Yes, I am. Believe me, Amanda, if this plan put either of you in danger I would most certainly let you know. Protecting you and your sister is my highest priority.”

“Then I say let’s do it,” Amanda said.

“I agree,” Amy replied.

“Then it shall be done!” the Artilect said.

On Good Friday (which is the Friday before Easter) it is traditional for people to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. This is done because most Christians believe that on that day in history our Lord Jesus was crucified. However, was Jesus really crucified on a Friday? It may come as a surprise to many, but there is actually very strong evidence to indicate that Jesus did not die on a Friday.

Before we can demonstrate this it is important to understand that by the time Sunday morning came around Jesus had already risen from the dead. We can see this from a number of passages:

Matthew 28:1: “In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.
5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”

Here you can see that Mary Magdalene and Mary went to the tomb of Christ on the first day of the week, where they met an angel that told them that He was risen from the dead. This same story is repeated in Mark:

Mark 16:1: “And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had brought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?
4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.
5 And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment, and they were affrightened.
6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrightened: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.”

This passage gives us the additional detail that Salome was there, but other than that it tells the same story that Matthew does: a small group of women went to the Lord’s tomb early on Sunday morning and discovered that His tomb was empty. Christ, then, rose from the dead either early Sunday morning or late Saturday night. In either case, by the time Sunday morning rolled around His tomb was already vacant.

The reason this is important is because Jesus said that He would be dead for three days and three nights. This can be found in Matthew:

Matthew 12:38: “Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.
39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

(As an unrelated aside, the word translated “whale” in verse 40 is actually a generic word that simply refers to a great sea creature. The exact type of aquatic creature was not specified.)

Verse 40 clearly says that Jesus will be in the grave (“in the heart of the earth”) for three days and three nights. However, there are only two nights between Friday afternoon and Sunday morning (specifically, Friday night and Saturday night). If Jesus was “in the heart of the earth” for three days and three nights then He could not possibly have died on Friday. He must, therefore, have died on Thursday. This would allow three days (part of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday) and three nights (Thursday night, Friday night, and Saturday night).

As a side-note, some have argued that Christ actually died on a Wednesday. This would allow for three full Jewish days between His crucifixion and resurrection. Jewish days begin in the evening and continue until the next afternoon (as it says in Genesis 1:5, “and the evening and the morning were the first day”.) The days would be: Wednesday night to Thursday afternoon, Thursday night to Friday afternoon, and Friday night to Saturday afternoon, with the resurrection sometime Saturday night. This is also a distinct possibility.
 

The Mysterious Sabbath

One might ask, what about the Sabbath? The Bible says that Jesus was crucified on the day before the Sabbath. We can see this in a couple different passages:

Mark 15:37: “And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.
…
42 And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath…”

Mark clearly says that the day after Jesus was crucified was the Sabbath. Luke says the same thing:

Luke 23:46: “And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.
…
54 And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on.
55 And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid.
56 And they returned, and prepared spices, and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.”

So, if the day after Christ’s death was the Sabbath, and the Sabbath is Saturday, wouldn’t that mean that Christ must have died on a Friday?

The key to understanding this is that the seventh day of the week is not the only Sabbath on the Jewish calendar. In Leviticus 23 a whole list of holy days is defined, one of which is the seventh day of the week:

Leviticus 23:1: “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts.
3 Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings.”

In Leviticus 23:3 we see that the seventh day of the week is set aside to be a “holy convocation”, or what we call a Sabbath day. However, look at what verses 5 through 8 have to say:

Leviticus 23:4: “These are the feasts of the Lord, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.
5 In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Lord’s passover.
6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the Lord: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.
7 In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
8 But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.”

We are told that on the 14th day of the 1st month of the Jewish calendar is the Passover. On the 15th day of the 1st month (in other words, on the day after the Passover) is the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which lasts 7 days. The first day of that feast is set aside as a “holy convocation”. It is declared to be a Sabbath and no work can be on that day.

The reason this is important is because Jesus was offered as our Passover Lamb. In fact, at the Last Supper Jesus celebrated Passover with His disciples – right before He was taken to be crucified on the day of Passover. We can see this in Matthew:

Matthew 26:17: “Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover?
18 And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples.
19 And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover.
20 Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve.”

Keep in mind that Jewish days go from evening to afternoon. The Passover did not actually begin until that evening (compare Matthew 26:20 with Leviticus 23:5). Jesus was arrested that night and crucified the next day, but according to the Jewish calendar it was still the Passover as a new day did not begin until the following evening. As we’ve just established, Passover is followed by the Feast of Unleavened Bread – and the first day of that Feast is a Sabbath. No work can be done on that day. In Luke 23:56 when the Bible says that they rested “according to the commandment”, it is not referring to Exodus 20:8-10 (“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord they God: …”) but Leviticus 23:7!

What this means is that while the day after Jesus was crucified was a Sabbath, it was not the seventh day of the week. It was actually the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which was a day in which no work could be done.

In summary, the Bible says that Jesus was in the grave for three days and three nights. Since there are not three nights between Friday afternoon and Sunday morning, Christ could not have been crucified on a Friday. It is far more likely that He was crucified on either a Wednesday or Thursday. The Sabbath that followed His crucifixion was not the seventh day of the week but the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Elder Lane was in his pod for so long that Adrian Garza felt himself growing sleepy. As he fought to stay awake he marveled at how weak, frail, and tired he felt. When he was in his synthetic world he was a perfect physical specimen – strong, young, and highly agile. Here, however, gravity pulled at him and his joints ached. He felt horrible. He was able to stay awake for a while, but eventually he succumbed to sleep.

All at once he felt something shaking him roughly. “Adrian! Get up! Are you dead? What do you think you’re doing?”

Adrian’s eyes fluttered open, and he looked up at the person standing over him. When he saw it was Elder Lane he quickly shuffled to his feet. “My apologies, sir! I did not mean to doze off. I’m not used to being out here.”

“None of us are,” Elder Lane replied. “This isn’t where we belong, you know. The physical world is a terrible place of death and destruction. There’s a reason why we abandoned it all those years ago. This is no place for a man to be.”

“The outsiders would change that,” Adrian replied. “They want to take us away from the synthetic worlds so we can dwell in their cities. They think that our life here is a dead end.”

“Yes…I know,” Lane said. “Speaking of that, I have a message for you to relay to them. Please tell them that, sadly, we have no further information about the swarms. They are as big a mystery to us as they are to them. Furthermore, tell them that we will wait here while they engage them in combat. Please let them know that they have our sincerest thanks, and we’re looking forward to a positive result.”

Adrian nodded. “I will send them a message.”

Elder Lane turned to go, and then stopped. “Incidentally, Adrian, just how are you able to communicate with these aliens? Doesn’t the Wall block all outside communications?”

Adrian shrugged. “I don’t know, sir. Apparently it does not. All I know is that when the Sentinel brought me back here he installed some communications equipment in the same facility where we house our Wall generators. It’s quite easy to use and it seems to work very well. He told me I could use it whenever I needed to contact him.”

“Very good,” Elder Lane replied. “Thank you.”

The elder then climbed back into his pod. Adrian left the chamber and headed toward the elevator that would take him up to the surface.

Although Elder Lane had crawled back into his pod and shut the canopy, he did not activate it. Instead he lay still and listened. He knew it would take Adrian quite some time to get to the surface, send the message, and return to his pod, so he settled in for a long wait.

Unlike Adrian, he found it easy to stay awake. His nerves were on edge and he was fraught with panic. Those fools, Lane thought. They don’t understand what we’re up against! These aliens aren’t just another defenseless colony. They didn’t get through our Wall because it failed! They had no trouble bringing it down; it was like tissue paper to them. The swarms are useless against them. Useless! But what else is there? I have to try; it’s the only thing that can save us. If I fail these aliens will force us to leave our homes and will make us live in their cities – under their rule, of course. Instead of being masters of our own worlds we will be slaves to their whims, bound to whatever archaic and outdated laws that they care to impose. I will not serve them, and I refuse to allow us to become their slaves.

Time passed by very slowly. Elder Lane was not used to sitting still, doing nothing, and found it difficult to wait. It seemed like hours had gone by and still there was no sign of Adrian. He eventually started wondering if something had happened to him. What if he had already returned to his pod and Lane just hadn’t noticed? In fact, what if he had returned hours ago? He was about to get out of his pod and go looking for him when he suddenly heard footsteps approaching.

Elder Lane closed his eyes and held very still. In the distance he heard footsteps, then the sound of a pod opening. A moment later he heard it snap shut. He waited a few more minutes and then let out a sigh of relief. The aged man carefully opened up his pod and stepped outside it. He then strolled out of the chamber and over to the elevator, just as he had done many times before.

The sight of the surface had been a tremendous shock to Adrian, but Elder Lane took it in stride. As he left the ruined building and made his way down the broken streets of Star City he gave no heed to the destruction that surrounded him. Unlike the others, he had made regular trips to the surface during the past five thousand years. Since he was their leader the council had forced him to be the one to keep an eye on the swarms, in order to make sure that they were still operational and that no new threats had arisen. Lane hated doing it but someone had to make sure that no outsider was threatening their synthetic worlds. Even though all of the colonies had been ruthlessly destroyed long ago, there was still a tremendous fear of the unknown. No one ever explored the galaxy; no one knew what monsters might still be lurking in the shadows, unseen until it was too late. The swarms were their only line of defense, and they dared not neglect them.

This is exactly what I was afraid of, Elder Lane though, as he approached the ruined Central Defense Building. It finally happened. But what if this fails? What if the swarms fail? What do I do then?

At one time the defense building had been an imposing structure, designed to withstand almost any type of assault. The one foe it could not survive, however, was time. Through long centuries of neglect the building had decayed into utter ruin. The vast majority of its systems had crumbled into dust, and its rooms were filled with rubble. The elder was not concerned about any of this; there was only one system that they needed, and he took pains to make sure that the surviving robots kept it going.

It was a long walk through dimly-lit hallways to get to the heart of the structure. Many of the walls had collapsed, and portions of the ceiling had caved in as well, forcing him to take a convoluted route to get to the command room. He knew at some point that the rest of the structure would cave in and they would lose all control over the swarms at all, but he brushed that thought aside.

The lighting in the central command room was very dim. Most of the screens were in ruins and there was no longer any furniture. A thick layer of dust covered everything, and the air itself was thin and stale. However, in one corner of the room was a bank of functional computers. A rack of lights glowed feebly beneath layers of grime and dirt, and a solitary unbroken console was in front of it.

Elder Lane walked over to the console, brushed the dirt off, and pressed a button. He let out a sigh of relief when the screen came to life.

Now it’s time to go to war, he thought to himself. He studied the console intently and began typing out a series of commands.

Recently I was doing some research online and came across an article that someone wrote on the topic of visions. This person claimed that God had given him a series of visions that, among other things, offered glimpses into the future. He then started talking about the details of these visions and what they meant.

I’m sure it’s not difficult to find people online who claim to have had special revelation from God – be it about Heaven, or Hell, or the future, or the Second Coming, or whatever. Many people have claimed that God told them exactly when the Rapture was going to happen. Other people claim to have had special revelations about the afterlife. From what I have been told, if you want to know what Heaven is going to be like all you have to do is head down to your local Christian bookstore, where various authors are all-too-happy to fill you in on what they saw on their personal, guided tours.

I have to say I’m pretty skeptical of all this, for a whole lot of reasons. One thing I noticed long ago is that these personal accounts of Heaven are rarely consistent. What I mean is that the various accounts cannot be reconciled: it was as if each author had visited an entirely different place. For example, one book said that the gates of Heaven were each made out of a single giant pearl, while another said that the gates were composed of thousands of tiny pearls, while still another said that the gates weren’t made out of pearls at all but just had a pearlescent look to them. Well, which is it? If you sit down and read several different accounts back-to-back you’ll see exactly what I mean – they don’t agree with each other, and they offer conflicting details!

If they were truly all accounts of the same place then you would expect them to be quite similar, but they are not. As an analogy, it is something like questioning three different witnesses about a bank robbery, only to find that each witness offered a completely different description of the bank robber. If this happened in a court of law their accounts would be thrown out. Even if one of the descriptions was accurate, the fact that all three disagreed would make it impossible to tell who was telling the truth and who was not.

That brings us to another point. Many times the visions include details that directly contradict the Bible. For example, in one rather famous vision about Hell the person said that he saw demons there that were torturing lost souls. Now, I realize that this is a very popular idea that is deeply ingrained into our culture, but the idea that demons are in control of Hell comes from Dante’s Inferno, not the Bible. In fact, Hell was actually created as a place to torment demons:

Matthew 25:41: “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:”

In fact, the ultimate fate of the devil is to be tormented, not to be the chief tormenter of Hell:

Revelation 20:10: “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”

Demons are not in charge of Hell; in fact, they desperately want to avoid going there. At one point when Jesus cast some demons out of a person the demons begged Him not to do something:

Luke 8:31: “And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep.”

The phrase “the deep” is actually the word “abyss”. This is the same place mentioned in Revelation 20:1 where the devil will one day be bound for a thousand years. Demons do not want to go to Hell; they are afraid of it, and know that one day they will be tormented there forever and ever. They are not in charge of it, nor do they run the place. That is a pagan idea that is not found in the Bible – but it is a popular part of our culture.

If the person had actually had a genuine tour of the real Hell, I would have expected it to conform to what the Bible has to say – but instead it contradicted the Bible and replaced its description of Hell with the one that we find in popular culture. This strongly implies that the person’s vision did not come from God. The Lord is simply not going to contradict what He revealed in His Word.

That brings up another problem with these visions: they often end up being extra-biblical sources of spiritual revelation. After all, the whole appeal of these type of books is that they offer details that aren’t found in the Bible! They give the reader a chance to discover what the afterlife is really going to be like, or they prophecy about events that the Bible doesn’t mention, and so forth. These books offer themselves as “expansion packs” to the Bible – and that is exactly how cults get started. The Book of Mormon, after all, is a “special revelation” that Joseph Smith was given by an angel – a revelation that offered truths not found in the Bible. The same thing can be said of Islam. In each case, we’re being told that the Bible just isn’t enough: if you just read this book over here you’ll find out all sorts of new truths!

Yet the Bible claims to be all that we need – a complete work that has no need for expansions:

2 Timothy 3:15: “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

Do you see what these verses are saying? Not only are the Scriptures said to be the words of God (and not the words of men), and not only are they able to make you wise, but it says that they are able to make you perfect and give you everything you need for all good works. If the Bible has what you need to equip you to perform all good works, then that means it doesn’t have any gaps in it that would need to be covered by some new revelation (like the Book of Mormon).

These verses don’t say “All Scripture is given so that that the man of God may know some things, until one day additional revelations come along to fill in the gaps.” Lots of cults like to claim that the Bible is not enough, but the Bible says otherwise. It really does claim to be all that we need.

Of course, not all visions try to teach brand-new doctrines (although many of them do). There are some cases where people say that they simply went to Heaven, got a guided tour, and then came back. They don’t try to tell you that Christianity is all wrong or that there’s some new way to God that doesn’t involve Jesus. Instead they just offer glimpses of Heaven or Hell (or, in some cases, both). Let’s lay aside for the moment the visions that directly contradict the Bible. What about the others?

Well, I’m not going to say that visions of Heaven never happen. In fact, I can think of several cases in the Bible where they did happen. For example, the apostle Paul had just such a vision:

2 Corinthians 12:1: “It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.
2 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.
3 And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;)
4 How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.”

Here we see Paul talking about a time when he was caught up to Heaven. (Paul speaks in the third person for purposes of modesty and humility, but he is talking about something he personally experienced.) Notice, though, that Paul doesn’t actually reveal what he saw! All he says is that he heard “unspeakable words”. We don’t know what he actually experienced because he doesn’t tell us.

Another very famous person who had a vision of Heaven was the disciple John, who wrote the book of Revelation. In Revelation 4 we find an amazing description of the throne room of Heaven, but that’s about all the book has to say about the subject. The rest of the book talks about the Tribulation, and judgment, and the Millennial Kingdom, and the Eternal State, and other things.

Now, I will admit that it does talk about the New Jerusalem, but in Revelation that city does not arrive on the scene until after the Rapture, the Second Coming, the Millennial Kingdom, and the Great White Throne Judgment. If it doesn’t come into existence until after all of those events then it is far in our future! I realize it is very possible that the New Jerusalem is in Heaven right now, but I don’t know that for certain and it’s quite hard to prove it from Revelation 21. The city may exist right now or it might not have even been built yet; I really don’t know.

That, in fact, is the point I would like to make: there is a tremendous amount about Heaven that we just don’t know! What is the average day like there? Do people spend all their time in the Throne Room, praising God, or do they wander around doing other things? Do people eat? Do they have mansions, as Jesus mentioned in John 14:2, or was He talking about something else? Do people currently live in the New Jerusalem or is that reserved for the future?

There are some things we can know about Heaven, and I’ve already discussed those elsewhere. The amazing thing is that there is a tremendous amount of basic detail that we just don’t know. The reason I find this amazing is because Paul had a vision of paradise, and yet he didn’t tell us anything about it. John apparently spent quite a bit of time in Heaven and yet he only tells us about the Throne Room and the New Jerusalem. Jesus was the creator of Heaven and yet He spent more time talking about Hell than Heaven.

What I’m trying to point out is that God has had a lot of opportunities to fill in all of the missing details and yet He did not do so. Am I really supposed to believe that, even though God chose not to reveal the details of Heaven in the Bible, I can still learn all the answers through these other, highly contradictory visions? In other words, am I to believe that if I really want to know what Heaven is going to be like, what I should be studying is not the Bible but all these extra-Biblical visions and revelations? That is where the truth can be found?

Why is it, then, that these modern authors are permitted to describe Heaven in such rich detail, and yet Paul and John and Isaiah were largely kept silent? We know for sure that these men were actually there because we have God’s Word on the subject. Is it not strange that God would choose to reveal details about the afterlife through sources other than His Word – sources that cannot be verified or checked for accuracy? Does no one find that odd?

Once again, I am not saying that revelations of Heaven do not happen; they clearly do. What I do wonder, though, is whether we’ve become far too trusting when it comes to visions and revelations. Many people claim to have visions from God, and we simply accept their accounts without question. I think it’s time we took a step back and began taking a bit more of a critical look at all of these visions and revelations that are so popular today, to see if they really are of God.

Elder Lane was not at all pleased to see Adrian Garza. The leader of the Vault started screaming at him before he had even managed to get out of his pod. “How dare you snatch me out of my world! Who do you think you are, anyway? What gives you the right to disturb me?”

“My apologies,” Adrian replied. “I would never have dared to do such a thing but unfortunately circumstances required it. Sir, we have been contacted by a civilization from outside the Tau Ceti system.”

“That’s impossible!” Lane replied irritably. “You’re wasting my time. There are no civilizations outside Tau Ceti and there haven’t been for thousands of years. The swarms left no survivors.”

“There is one now,” Adrian said quietly. “In fact, they took me to one of their planets – a place they called Tonina. The claim to control millions of worlds and they plan to make war against the swarms. They believe they can defeat them.”

“What do you mean, they took you? Are you telling me they’ve been here, on Xanthe?”

“That is correct. In fact, they have made several trips to this system.”

“But that’s impossible! You’re out of your mind. We’re guarded by a Wall, remember? No one can penetrate it – nobody!”

“They can,” Adrian replied. “In fact, the Wall was not a barrier to them at all. Their science is thousands of years more advanced than our own. They can manipulate the physical world as easily as we can manipulate our synthetic worlds.”

Lane gasped. “That’s preposterous! Why – that’s nothing but a lot of nonsense. In fact, I’ll prove it to you!” He angrily walked over to the control panel by his pod and began pressing buttons. “I’ll get to the bottom of this! You don’t know what you’re talking about, you – whoever you are. Just wait and see.”

Minutes ticked by. Adrian stood a few feet away from him and watched as he worked at the console. Elder Lane’s anger gradually turned into surprise, and then concern. When he was done he had a look of intense worry on his face.

“What has been going on?” he asked, as he turned back to face Adrian. “Our generator is down – the Wall isn’t up anymore! In its place is another Wall that we are not generating. What happened?”

Adrian carefully explained his contact with the Sentinel and his trip to Tonina. Elder Lane had many questions, most of which Adrian could not answer. By the time Adrian finished Lane was in a state of pure panic.

“I don’t understand! I don’t understand it at all. Where could these people have come from? How could such a large civilization have gone unnoticed for such a long time? How could this have happened? Who is responsible for this?”

“They are very old,” Adrian said. “The man I talked to said he was born in the 18th century.”

“That’s impossible! But it must be true. It must be! Didn’t you say that they possessed Gifts? But the Gifts were just myths – and yet, they have them! I don’t understand. Something has happened. Something important has changed.”

“They are willing to meet with you,” Adrian said. “They would like to know what we think of their plan to destroy the swarms.”

“They can’t do it,” Lane said. “It’s not possible! No one can defeat the swarms.”

“They claim to have have defeated them before,” Adrian replied. “As I said, the man I talked to told me that the swarms had attacked them but their leader had defeated them. They now want to wipe them out entirely. In fact, the reason they want to talk with you is to find out what you know about the swarms.”

“They must not meet me!” Lane gasped. “No, that is quite impossible. You – you will be our go-between. Who are you, anyway?”

“Adrian Garza,” he replied.

Lane shook his head. “Whatever. You will talk to them for us, Adrian. That will be your job.”

“What should I tell them?”

“I – I don’t know yet. I don’t know. Nothing like this has ever happened before. I will have to consult with the rest of the council.”

Adrian nodded. “Do you want me to wait until you return?”

“Yes – yes, you do that,” Lane replied. He began climbing back into his pod. “I’ll come back when the council has made a decision. Just – tell the aliens to wait.”

The elder was soon back inside his pod, which closed over him. A minute later he was back in his synthetic world, leaving Adrian Garza alone.

Elder Lane will know what to do, Adrian thought. He will be able to save us.

It took several hours for Elder Lane to get in touch with the other two members of the council. The citizens of the Vaults rarely communicated with each other, preferring to live in the privacy of their own synthetic worlds. While there was a mechanism that allowed them to communicate, it was rarely used, and that made it very difficult to get someone’s attention. As frustrating as it was to reach them from inside the pods, Lane did not dare wake them up. He was terrified that if they met in the physical world the aliens might have some way to overhear them. This is safer, he thought to himself. So very much safer.

After much argument the three men agreed to meet on a neutral synthetic world. This angered Lane, but he understood. Each person had their own synthetic world and within that world they had absolute power to do as they wished. No one wanted to enter someone else’s world because then they would be at a disadvantage. However, if they met in a neutral location then no one would have an edge – or any special powers over the environment. It irked Lane a great deal but he knew that he would never be able to get the others to agree to anything else.

The meeting was not for a few more minutes so Lane decided to wait in his own world – not wishing to spend any more time than absolutely necessary outside of his domain. Lane was standing on the roof of his palace, which was located at the peak of a tall, barren mountain. Overhead was a vast red sky, filled with dark clouds. Thunder rumbled ominously. Lane had proclaimed himself king of this world and gave himself a physique to match: he was a giant, thirty feet tall and immensely strong, and he towered over the local synthetic population.

As he stood on the edge of the roof he could look out and see the sprawling city that occupied the valley below. Most of the natives lived in crude bamboo huts, but he had placed taskmasters over them and forced them to build giant steel monuments to his glory. The city was dotted with immense statues of himself, which he forced the population to revere. Those who did not were swiftly punished by bolts of lightning that Lane pulled down from the sky. Since he controlled his synthetic world it took only a single thought for him to manipulate it, a fact that he had come to take for granted. He took great pleasure in punishing his slaves, and the roof of his palace was littered with their skulls. The previous night he had thrown a party and forced many synthetics to come. When he grew tired of them he simply set them all on fire, and laughed as they burned. Somehow he never grew tired of that sight – and since his world was full of synthetics he never ran out of citizens to torment.

At the designated time he left his palace rooftop and transported himself to the neutral setting that the computer had generated. He was not surprised to see that he was the first one there. The meeting place was little more than a void. Below his feet was a flat piece of concrete, measuring a hundred feet on a side. There was no walls, floor, or ceiling. Aside from the concrete floor beneath him there was nothing at all but darkness in all directions. There aren’t even any chairs, Adrian thought irritably.

He waited for a few minutes but no one showed up. A half-hour later he was about to give up and leave when the other two members of the council finally materialized. To the left was Horace Grant. He appeared to be a tall, thin man with bright red hair and was wearing a white suit. To his right was Van Toby. He had taken on the form of a bodybuilder, and was every bit as tall as Grant – but instead of being thin he was quite burly. Van Toby had black hair and sharp green eyes.

“Where have you been?” Lane demanded. “You were supposed to be here a half-hour ago!”

“Patience, patience,” Van Toby replied. “You always were an impatient one, you know. It’s a wonder you were ever appointed Elder! You just don’t have the patience to wait for the finer things of life.”

“Patience!” Lane screamed. “This is no time for patience. You don’t have any idea what’s been going on! We are in the gravest of danger and all you can talk about is wasting time!”

“But we do know what is going on,” Grant replied. “You see, we have spent the past hour or so talking to Adrian Garza. It was quite an illuminating conversation, too! He had some intriguing information to share.”

“You talked with him?” Lane asked in surprise.

“Of course we did,” Van Toby said smoothly. “What did you expect – that we would simply take your word for it? Oh no, no no no. We know you far too well for that. You have a reputation, you know.”

“Indeed,” Grant affirmed. “You claimed that our way of life was in great jeopardy and that aliens from the outside were threatening to destroy us all. So, naturally, we decided to check your sources. A claim like that requires confirmation.”

“You fools!” Lane screamed. “You could have ruined everything! What if the aliens had been there? They have someone who has the gift of discernment! Do you know what will happen to us if they find out the truth about the swarms?”

“They will never find out,” Van Toby replied. “Adrian told us that they don’t know where they came from. Adrian doesn’t know either, so as long as they talk only to him then the secret is safe.”

“There is no cause for alarm,” Grant said. “I am surprised you are concerned. All we have to do is contact the swarms and have them go to war against these intruders. The swarms will take care of the rest.”

“They have never failed before,” Van Toby agreed. “They will not fail us now.”

“But they’ve already had contact with the swarms,” Lane replied. “They’re not afraid of them! The swarms tried to attack them and–”

“Lies,” Van Toby said dismissively. “All lies. The swarms cannot be defeated! You know that as well as I do. You surprise me, Lane. I cannot believe that you have actually fallen for their propaganda. You are clearly growing senile! These aliens are not some mighty civilization with godlike science; they’re simply a dying colony that got overlooked. The swarms will have no problems in wiping them out.”

“No problems at all,” Grant agreed.

Lane shook his head. “The two of you are dead wrong. Don’t you realize that these people were able to penetrate our Wall? No colony ever figured out how to do that! In fact, even we don’t know how to do that!”

Van Toby shook his head. “That was just a technical problem. Our equipment was old and poorly maintained. That problem is easily fixed.”

“Trust us,” Grant said. “After all, it has always worked before. The whole reason we created the swarms was to eliminate the realists – those who did not appreciate the transcendent beauty of our synthetic worlds. They were a threat and so we removed them. The synthetic world triumphed over the physical world back then, and it will do so again now. This will not be a problem.”

“Very well,” Lane said reluctantly. “I will instruct the swarms to go to war against these aliens. But what if they fail?”

“They will not fail,” Van Toby assured him. “You worry too much, you know. The ascendancy of the purely physical is over. These aliens are simply the last gasp of a failed idea.”

Here is an interesting question: just how much land did God give to the Israelites? We see in Genesis chapter 17 that God gave the land of Canaan to the Israelites:

Genesis 17:4: “As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.
6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.
7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after three in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”

This passage, however, does not define any boundaries. We can see in verse 8 that the land was given to Israel “for an everlasting possession”, which is a topic I have extensively explored elsewhere. But just how large a territory did this represent?

We can find the answer in Genesis 15:

Genesis 15:18: “In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:”

Here God answers the question in very explicit terms: the Israelites were given all the land that was east of the Nile and west of the Euphrates river. This is quite a lot of territory, and include parts of modern Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and the entire Sinai Peninsula. The promised territory is roughly 1500 miles wide.

To put this into perspective: modern Israel covers roughly 8000 square miles of territory at the moment. At its narrowest point the country is less than ten miles wide. The land God promised to give to Abraham, however, is 125 times larger!

How will they get this territory? God will give it to them. Currently this land is occupied by the enemies of Israel, who are plotting to destroy her from off the face of the Earth. In the near future they will form a large coalition and launch a major war against her, which was prophesied in Psalm 83. God will then judge the nations that attempted to destroy her and will give Israel their land.

Ultimately, however, Israel will probably not possess this entire territory until the Lord returns. I believe these will be the boundaries of Israel during the Messianic Kingdom, but that is a subject for another time.

In the Church today it is very common for pastors to teach that Christians are obligated to pay the tithe ordained in the Law of Moses. I have heard many people claim that this command is still binding to believers today:

Numbers 18:21: “And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation. …
24 But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as a heave offering unto the Lord, I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.”

Furthermore, it is taught that the curse of Malachi rests upon those that will not pay this tithe:

Malachi 3:8: “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”

However, is this really true? Are Christians commanded to tithe, and are believers cursed if they do not give their local church ten percent of their income? I think it is long overdue for these questions to be asked.

Before I answer them, however, let’s look a little more at the context of these passages. We need to understand what the tithe actually was before we can explore whether or not it applies today.
 

Background

In Numbers chapter 8 the Lord lays down a series of ordinances regarding the Levites. The Levites were given the job of taking care of the tabernacle:

Numbers 8:19: “And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of the congregation, and to make an atonement for the children of Israel: that there be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come nigh unto the sanctuary.”

The reason the Levites were given this job is because in the Old Testament, before Jesus came, the Israelites were not allowed to interact directly with God. This was because they (like everyone else) were sinful and unholy, and if they approached God in their unholiness they would die. In order to save their lives the Lord appointed the tribe of Levi to take care of the tabernacle. The Levites were then divided into two groups: Aaron and his sons were made priests and became responsible for offering the sacrifices, and the rest of the tribe was charged with taking care of the tabernacle (and later, the Temple). The Levites were the only ones authorized to serve in the tabernacle. The Lord was quite strict about this:

Numbers 18:22: “Neither must the children of Israel henceforth come nigh the tabernacle of the congregation, lest they bear sin, and die.
23 But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance.”

In other words if you were not a Levite you could not serve in the tabernacle, and the penalty for breaking this commandment was death. Your eligibility was determined by your ancestry. Later temples had an outer court that non-Levites could enter after they had purified themselves, but even then they could not enter the Temple itself. Even the high priest (the oldest son of Aaron of each generation) could only enter the Holy of Holies once a year to make atonement on behalf of the people, and before he enter a sacrifice was first required to cleanse away his own impurities (Heb. 9:7).

Even if you were a Levite the requirements for being involved in the service of the tabernacle were very strict. As Numbers 8 and Leviticus 21 explains, not only did the Levites have to be of the tribe of Levi, but they had to be of a certain age (starting at 25 and forcing mandatory requirement at age 50), have no physical handicaps (Lev. 21:17-21), and abide by certain purification laws. These were the people that interacted with God on behalf of the nation of Israel. Simply put, you had to do things God’s way and you had to do things precisely right or God would strike you dead. There was no leeway for error or personal flair. Nothing less than absolute holiness and perfection could enter His presence. (Incidentally, those requirements have never changed; the only reason we can enter God’s presence is because we are clothed in Jesus’ righteousness. His absolute perfection cleanses us of our sins and grants us entrance to Heaven. Those who try to enter on their own merits, or apart from Jesus, will find themselves damned. There simply is no other way.)

All of this brings up a question: if you are a Levite serving in the Temple then where does your income come from? When the land of Canaan was given to the Israelites the Levites were not given a portion of the land as an inheritance (Numbers 18:20). Instead they were to dwell in a series of cities throughout the land of Israel (Joshua 21). The tithe was given to them as their inheritance (Numbers 18:24). Since they were full-time priests and were given no land on which to grow crops, this tithe was their livelihood. The Levites depended completely upon it. When the people neglected to provide this tithe the Lord became angry, which can be seen in Malachi 3:9 (quoted at the beginning of this paper).

The system that God established in the Old Testament could be described like this: the Israelites were not holy enough to interact directly with God. In order to save their lives the Lord took one of the tribes of Israel and dedicated them to serving in the tabernacle on behalf of the people. Since they were dedicated to the Lord’s service God gave them no inheritance in the land; instead, the Israelites were to give the Levites one tenth of their crops (Lev. 27:30) and the Levites were to live off of that.

This situation changed dramatically when Jesus died on the cross and rose again. Jesus has replaced the Levites as our bridge to God. We no longer need a high priest to offer yearly pleas for us in the Holy of Holies, for Jesus has finished our salvation. Hebrews 9 and 10 explains this in great detail, and I will only quote a portion of it here:

Hebrews 9:11: “But Christ being come a high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. …
24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
25 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;
26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.”

Christians no longer need a class of Levites to interact with God on their behalf because Christ’s death has consecrated us as a nation of priests:

Hebrews 10:19: “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
20 By a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh;”

Revelation 1:5: “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the price of the kings of the earth. Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood,
6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

1 Peter 2:9: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that He should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light:”

It is very important to realize that there is no longer a tribe of Levi ministering to God on behalf of His people. Jesus has bridged the gap between man’s sinfulness and God’s holiness once and for all. Christians are a royal priesthood, able to boldly approach the throne of grace (Heb. 4:16). In the past this would have brought instant death but Jesus has changed that forever.

Pastors today minister to the body of Christ but they are not Levites. In order to become a Levite you had to be able to prove the purity of your lineage (that is, present documented evidence that all your forefathers were from the tribe of Levi), you had to be ordained in a certain way, and you had to meet certain physical characteristics. The Levites were pointing the way to what Christ would accomplish in His sacrifice, and that sacrifice has been made. Pastors today do not approach God once a year to atone for the sins of their congregations. They do not sacrifice animals on behalf of anybody. Their job is completely different from the Levites.

It is also worth noting that tithes were to be brought into the Temple. This can be seen in Malachi 3:10, in which the Lord says “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house”. In the Old Testament God did not dwell within His people. Instead the glory of God resided in the Holy of Holies in either the tabernacle or the Temple. When the high priest entered into the Holy of Holies once a year he was going before the actual presence of God to intercede on behalf of the nation. God Himself dwelt within the Temple in the Holy of Holies, which can be seen passages such as 1 Kings 8:10-11. The reason that Jews no longer offer sacrifices today is because they have no Temple. Modern Jews do not tithe either because tithes had to be given to the Levites and there are no Levites today.

As Christ predicted when talking to the woman at the well (John 4:21-23), Christians do not gather at a single Temple in order to approach the presence of God. This is because Christians are temples of the Living God, for God dwells within us, not inside a building in the Middle East:

1 Corinthians 3:16: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.”

Conclusions

It should be apparent by now that it is impossible for Christians today to tithe according to the Law of Moses. The tithe had to be offered to the Levites (Numbers 18:24), and there are no Levites today. Christ has fulfilled the sacrificial system and brought it to an end. Even if there were Levites still around it is not possible for Christians to bring tithes into the Temple because there is no Temple – Christ dwells within us, making our bodies the temple of the Lord (1 Corinthians 3:16).

This point is worth emphasizing because it is easily glazed over. It is impossible for Christians to offer the tithe that the Lord instituted in Numbers 18. It cannot be done. The only people that were allowed to receive the tithe were the Levites, not random Gentiles from your local community (or even random Jews, for that matter). The job of Levites was to offer sacrifices for the forgiveness of sins; pastors today do not do anything remotely like that. Pastors are not the same thing as Levites.

The curse and blessing of Malachi 3 simply cannot be applied to modern Christians. God was concerned about providing the Levites with a livelihood, but that group of people no longer exists. God no longer has a Temple in which goods can be stored and given to a priestly class. That entire system is gone. Even if Christians wanted to bring food into the Temple it isn’t possible because there is no Temple anymore. The death and resurrection of Jesus changed everything.

To put it as plainly as possible, Christians today cannot tithe as instructed in the Law of Moses. It is not possible. They can give a portion of their income to their local church, yes, but that is not tithing. Tithing involved giving to Levites and there are no Levites around. It involved bringing food into the Temple and there is no longer a Temple. Have you ever known anybody to give a tenth of their income to a Levite? The truth is that no one has tithed according to the Law of Moses for many centuries. You cannot simply swap out pastors for Levites and churches for the Temple. The New Testament simply does not allow this (which we’ll get into a bit later.)

Given this, are Christians required to give a tenth of their income to their local church? It should be clear at this point that giving a tenth of one’s income to the local church is not in any way similar to the tithe specified in the Law of Moses. Pastors are not Levites and the local church is not the temple. Is there a command stating that all Christians must give ten percent of their income to support their local body of believers? I believe the answer is no and that the New Testament model is quite different.

Some would argue that there are other examples of tithing apart from the Law of Moses. Take Jacob as an example:

Genesis 28:20: “And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, if God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God, and this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.”

This passage has been used to support tithing but I believe it actually does the opposite. If Christians are required to tithe then why is Jacob offering to tithe if he returns in peace? After all, if God already required Jacob to give a tenth then this whole vow is meaningless! This is only a gift if Jacob was not required to give it. Plus, how did Jacob give the offering to God? There were no priests in those days because Levi had not yet been born – much less Aaron or the other priests. Jacob, a shepherd, must have sacrificed one-tenth of his flocks on an altar. He did not give the animals to his local tabernacle. Are Christians to take their money into their backyard and burn it, as Jacob did? I’ve never heard anyone suggest that, but it’s worth noting that the animals that Jacob gave did not go to support the local priesthood – they were slaughtered and probably burned. (It’s worth noting that the tithe in Scripture was always a portion of crops or animals, not money; Lev 27:30-32 is a good example of this. There was a monetary tax called the temple tax but that was completely different from the tithe.)

What is entirely missed is that Jacob’s entire vow shows how little faith he really had in God. God has already given Jacob fabulous promises but instead of believing them Jacob tried to bribe God, saying that if God lived up to His end of the bargain Jacob would pay God back for it. Jacob’s tithe was intended to bribe God into fulfilling His promise. Is that really an example that Christians should follow?

Another example appears in Genesis 14:

Genesis 14:18: “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.”

After Abraham returned from conquering the armies that had attacked the king of Sodom he gave a tenth of the spoils to Melchizedek. Some would say that this proves that Christians are required to tithe, but it should be noted that Abraham gave tithes. If they were required then he would have paid them, which is quite different. A gift is not required – it is given freely. If it is required then it is payment of a debt, not a gift. Nowhere in this passage is it even suggested that Abraham was required to do what he did.

Some would support the idea of mandatory tithing through this verse in Matthew:

Matthew 23:23: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and arise and cumin, and have omitted the weighter matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.”

Jesus seems to be supporting the idea of tithing, but this actually makes sense. After all, at that time Jesus had not yet died and so the Mosaic law was still in force. Jesus had to perfectly fulfill the entire Mosaic Law, and He did. (It’s worth noting that Jesus also commanded the lepers He healed to show themselves to the priests; should those healed of skin cancer do that today before re-entering society?)

If Christians were really required to give a tenth of their income to the local church then one would expect that fact to be mentioned somewhere in the New Testament, but it’s not. Let me give a few examples. In Acts 4:32-5:11 the Bible talks about the financial support of the new church. Instead of tithing Christians gave everything they had:

Acts 4:34: “Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,
35 And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.”

Ananias and Sapphira sold a piece of property and gave part of the proceeds to the church, but lied and said they were giving the entire amount. The Lord killed them for their lying and hypocrisy, but it is interesting to notice what Peter said:

Acts 5:4: “Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? …”

Nowhere did Peter even hint that they owed a tithe on it to the church. This would have been a great place to mention that fact, if it is indeed doctrine, but the passage is silent.

Another passage that has been used to support tithing is this one:

1 Corinthians 16:1: “Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye.
2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.
3 And when I come, whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberality unto Jerusalem.”

It is important to notice that Paul is asking the Corinthian church to gather together a sum of money that he can send to destitute people in Jerusalem. This is not being collected for the support of the local church, nor is any amount or percentage specified. Paul is simply asking the Corinthians to get together and provide for the needs of their brothers and sisters in a distant country. This is not at all the same thing as being required to give ten percent of your income to the local church. Once again, if tithing was required this might have been a good place to mention it, but it wasn’t mentioned.

In 1 Corinthians 9 Paul talks at length about giving, including these famous verses:

1 Corinthians 9:9: “For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen?
10 Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. …
14 Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.”

Yet in this entire chapter Paul never mentions tithing! If Christians are required to give a tenth of their income to the church this would have been a fabulous place to mention it, but no verse makes that claim. Such a teaching is entirely absent from this rather lengthy discussion of giving – and, in fact, from all other discussions on giving in the New Testament.

The answer to this riddle can be found in 2 Corinthians 9, which says this:

2 Corinthians 9:6: “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully,
7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”

In the Old Testament, the Israelites were required to give a tenth of their crops and herds to the Levites. Anything that they gave above the tithe was a freewill offering, but the tithe was required. If the tithe was withheld God promised curses and famine, and if the tithe was given God promised blessings. The tithe was not a gift.

In the New Testament things are completely different. God simply wants us to give as we have purposed in our heart, out of love. There is no fixed amount specified, nor does it say that a tenth must be given to the local church before anything can be given to other causes. God wants us to have a heart to meet the needs around us and to give cheerfully out of love. The real issue is the heart, not percentages.

Today Christians are called to a much higher standard. Everything that we have belongs to God, and we are stewards, not owners, called to use what we have been given for the honor and glory of God. All of our wealth and energies and hopes and dreams are to be focused on the Lord’s kingdom. God doesn’t want a tenth of us; He wants all of us.

Christians should look at the financial resources they have been given and use them wisely for the Lord’s glory. This does not just encompass tithing, but everything that is done – paying bills, raising children, investing in education, buying groceries, and so forth. Christians are not divided people, with a secular side for dealing with the world and a religious side for serving God at church. Can God not be glorified when we pay our debts? When we raise our children? When we instruct others in wisdom? When we provide for those in need? When we bring the gospel to those who need it? God made the oceans, and the rivers, and the trees, and the fields, but too often Christians view life as being mostly secular with a few religious moments here and there. Being a Christian isn’t something you just do at church; it’s the way you live your life. It affects how you manage your money, what entertainment you choose, what you do with your free time, how your raise your children, and how you treat your neighbors. There is no such thing as the secular for a child of God. The Lord has laid a claim to every facet of life, and there is a time for everything.

God wants us to love and enjoy Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to be passionately devoted to following Him and loving our neighbors. That is what life is all about and that is all that life will ever be about for the rest of time. God does not want a tenth of us; He wants all of us, devoted completely to Him in every way.

It may be that some can give more and others can give less; in the parables some servants were given more talents to manage than others. God is not nearly as concerned about the amount as He is with the heart. That is what it is really all about.

When the Sentinel returned to Xanthe with Adrian Garza he did not immediately return to Vault 37. Instead he transported them both to the building that housed the planet’s only remaining Wall generators. At the moment the room was empty.

“Where are the robots?” the Sentinel asked. “I thought there would be someone here.”

Adrian shook his head. “I imagine they are elsewhere, working on repairing some other critical piece of machinery. They will only come to this room if something is broken. Since we are no longer sustaining the Wall this machinery is unused and, therefore, ignored.”

The Sentinel nodded. “If all goes well you should not need the Wall in the future. Once the swarms are gone it will no longer serve a purpose.”

“The Wall has been up for a long time,” Adrian replied. “It is hard to imagine that its days may be coming to an end. But, if I may ask, why are we here?”

“I need to give you a way to contact us,” the Sentinel explained. “This will take just a moment.”

The Sentinel looked around the room and saw a bank of dead computers in the far wall. With a wave of his hand the burnt-out units disappeared and were replaced by a small console. After it was in place he took Adrian over to it and showed him how it worked.

“This will connect you directly to me, no matter where I am,” the Sentinel explained. “I will then forward your message on to the appropriate parties, or come back to Xanthe, if necessary.”

“It seems simple enough,” Adrian agreed. “Do you want me to contact you after I’ve talked with our leader?”

“We would appreciate it,” the Sentinel replied. “Any information they might have on the swarms would be greatly valued.”

“Then I will speak to them,” Adrian replied.

“Thank you,” the Sentinel replied. “Can you get back to the Vault from here, or would you like for me to transport you directly there?”

Adrian hesitated. The thought of seeing the outside world filled him with a sense of unease. Here, in this room, there were no windows, but if he walked back to the Vault he would have to go through the physical world. The very thought of being outside frightened him. On Tonina he had not thought much about it, for it was an unknown place that may as well have been another synthetic world, but here on his home world…

“If you could transport me there I would appreciate it,” Adrian said at last. “I am not as young as I used to be, and I am not even sure I could find my way back.”

“I understand,” the Sentinel replied. A moment later the room around them disappeared and Adrian found himself standing back in the pod chamber of Vault 37.

“Is there anything else I can do for you?” the Sentinel asked.

“No, thank you,” Adrian replied. “I will be in touch with you as soon as I can.”

The Sentinel nodded, and then vanished, leaving Adrian alone.

Adrian stood there for a few moments, lost in thought. Am I really afraid to go outside? That is silly – I grew up outside, in the physical world. Why does it frighten me now? Have I decayed so much that the very thought of the physical world terrifies me? Or am I afraid of what my world has become since I last saw it?

That thought made him pause. What is my world like now? I know what it used to look like. In fact, I even have a copy of it in my own synthetic world, just the way it was before we abandoned it. But what is it like now? What has become of it after all this time?

Part of Adrian wanted to go back to the safety and familiarity of his pod, but he was surprised to find that he was unwilling to go. It had been so long since he had felt this way. In the synthetic worlds there was no genuine fear, for there was no real danger. There was also no real sense of mystery, for the world itself was arbitrary – you could make it whatever you wanted it to be. In an instant, with a single thought, you could discover whatever you wanted to know. But this was different. Adrian was faced with a genuine question, and he could not simply wave his hand and get the answer. If he wanted to know what had become of his home world he would have to go and see for himself.

Adrian finally made his way out of the immense chamber and over to the vault door. Once there he nervously pressed a button that caused the vault’s door to open. After the door slid to one side he saw that beyond it was a small chamber, and at the end of the chamber was an elevator. That must be how you get back to the surface, Adrian thought. It has been such a long time since I’ve been here. Has it really been five thousand years since I’ve stepped through those elevator doors?

The ancient man walked through the vault entrance and shuffled over to the elevator. As soon as he pushed the button to call it the elevator doors opened. Taking a deep breath, Adrian stepped inside and pressed the button that would take him back to the surface. As the elevator doors closed he saw that the vault door was closing as well.

It took a few moments for the elevator to reach the surface, which gave Adrian some time to think. Is this really the first time I have left the Vault? Surely it is not, and yet I cannot remember ever having done this before. In fact, I can just barely remember entering the Vault in the first place. How many of my memories of the past are real, and how many are simply dreams from my synthetic world? Do I still remember anything about my childhood, or has it all been lost to time?

A moment later the elevator stopped. Adrian’s heart jumped as he realized that he was about to see something that few of his race had ever seen. He was about to see his world as it existed now – not as a digital recreation, but the physical world itself.

The elevator doors opened. His eyes widened when he saw the ruined lobby. Adrian stepped out of the elevator and carefully made his way around the debris that was strewn all over the floor. Chunks of concrete, broken glass, and rocks littered the ground. Both of the front doors were broken, with only a few shards of rusted metal still hanging from their hinges. The large plate-glass windows were long gone. Now only holes remained – a reminder of what used to be.

Adrian tried to remember what this place used to be like, but his memory failed him. I know I’ve been here, he thought. I must have walked through this very room to get down to the Vault below, but I don’t remember it now. This place isn’t in my synthetic recreation. Why can’t I remember it?

He finally shook his head and stepped through the broken doorway. Outside he saw nothing but destruction as far as the eye could see. The street that ran in front of the building was gutted, and time had almost erased it from existence. There were skyscrapers in the distance but they were little more than ruined skeletons.

There were no signs of life anywhere. Adrian saw no weeds, no trees, and no grass. He half-expected to see vines crawling up the buildings, but there were no plants of any kind. A thick layer of dust coated everything. Overhead was a pale sky, but there were no clouds. A tired sun burned on the horizon, creating dim shadows that stretched across the parched ground.

This is not the way it used to be, Adrian thought sadly. This is not my home! I know what Star City is really like. It’s a glorious city – the crown jewel of the galaxy! No finer city was ever built. But this – this is a corpse, long forgotten and left to rot in the sun.

As he stood on the cracked street and looked around he began to realize that the city was utterly empty. There were no people moving about, nor were there vehicles. Everything was still and quiet. There was no wind, nor trace of a breeze. In his synthetic world there were always signs of life, but here there were none. This planet was deserted. In all of his years in the pod he had never experienced anything like this.

He suddenly had the feeling that he was entirely alone – the last survivor of his race. Panic struck him and he fought to keep it in check. This is silly, he thought. I’m not the only person here! Why, just under the surface there are thousands of people. I am not alone.

But you’re the only one that is actually alive, a voice whispered. The others are trapped in dreams, lost in what is not real. This city is real, Adrian. You and your people abandoned it and time brought it to ruin, but it can still be saved if you act now. However, if you continue to do nothing then it will be lost and this planet will become the tombstone of your race.

Adrian stood there for a long time, staring at the motionless city. As the magnitude of the city’s destruction sunk in he finally made a decision. No, he thought. I will not accept this. That ruin is not my home. We abandoned the physical world long ago, seeking a better life on a higher plane, and we have found it. In fact, this is exactly why we abandoned the purely physical in the first place: it is full of decay, death, and despair. The Preacher was wrong. The synthetic worlds are our salvation, not our destruction. If we leave our pods we will die, for here we are nothing but ancient men. Our only hope is to stay in the worlds that we have created, and not be distracted by the siren call of that which is merely physical.

“The Elder must know,” Adrian whispered. “He is our leader; he will know what to do. I will let him know what has transpired. The Council will know what to do.”

With that, the ancient man shuffled back into the building and took the elevator down to the Vault below.

It is not uncommon these days to hear the word “fundamentalist” used in a very negative way. Some people accuse certain Christians of being this, as if it were some kind of bad thing. Even some professed believers will mock the idea of being a “fundamentalist”.

This raises an important question: just what does it mean to be a fundamentalist? The term was actually defined in 1910 by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church. At the time a great many Biblical doctrines were being attacked, and the Assembly wanted to define the “fundamentals” of the Christian faith. They laid out these five points:

1. Belief in the inspiration of the Bible
2. Belief in the Virgin Birth
3. Belief in the substitutionary atonement (meaning we are saved because Jesus died in our place)
4. Belief in the resurrection of Jesus
5. Belief in the miracles of Jesus

People who believed in these five points were called “fundamentalists”. That is where the term comes from.

I have to ask: is belief in these five points really that radical? Is it a shocking thing for a Christian to believe that the Bible was inspired, or that Jesus was born of a virgin, or that His death on the cross paid for our sins? Is it “extreme” to believe that Jesus rose again, or performed the miracles that are recorded in the Bible?

Personally, I think that these “fundamentals” are some of Christianity’s most basic tenants! These are things that all Christians should believe. To mock someone for believing in these things is really no different than mocking them for being a Christian – and that is something no believer should ever do.

The crew of the Sparrow had once again traveled to the Artilect’s home world and were deep into a conference. Everyone was there, including Amy, although she appeared by means of an avatar. After the Sentinel took Adrian home the Artilect had immediately called the meeting in order to discuss what they had learned. As it had before, the Artilect recreated the beautiful surroundings of Amy’s world in order to give their meeting a setting of beauty and tranquility.

“You told him quite a lot about us,” Sergeant Howell was saying. “Are you sure that was wise?”

“I did not tell him as much as it seems,” Reverend Knight replied. “The things that I did tell him were necessary. He needed to know that there were only a few of us left; otherwise his people would have assumed that we could carry on the human race after their generation departed. They had to understand that the future of the Rangers depended upon them and them alone.”

“That’s a good point,” Richard said. “I was surprised at how old and frail he was. I can see why they’d be reluctant to come back. They can’t have much strength left.”

“They’ve been in those pods for thousands of years,” Captain Max pointed out. “Their bodies have atrophied. Frankly, I’m surprised that any of them are still alive! Is it even possible to restore their health?”

“It is,” the Artilect said. “I examined Adrian Garza’s physical structure while he was on Tonina and he has no biological abnormalities that I cannot repair. However, I cannot speak to his spiritual side. He may no longer have the will to live. That is a problem I cannot resolve.”

“I do not believe that is the case,” Reverend Knight said thoughtfully. “Once I showed him La Venta he started coming alive again. I think they’ve just been without hope for a long time. If we restore that hope – as I did with Adrian – then we may have a chance. I think he was genuinely intrigued at the possibility of living here. It fired his imagination.”

Sergeant Howell nodded. “As would be expected. Are you completely sure that he knew nothing of the swarms?”

“He did not try to deceive me. Everything he said was honest and complete. He told the Sentinel everything he knows. There was no hint of deception about him.”

Sergeant Howell sighed. “I understand. But – it just doesn’t make sense! How could they have not learned anything after all these years?”

Richard spoke up. “Five thousand years is a long time. It’s possible that the answers we are seeking have simply been lost forever. What if the swarms were created by some faction that died out long ago?”

“I guess that is a possibility,” Sergeant Howell reluctantly admitted.

“So what do we do now?” Amanda asked.

“We wait,” her father said. “Adrian is talking to his leaders right now. We’ll bide our time until we hear from them and then we’ll act accordingly.”

Amy spoke up. “What if they don’t want to come to the network?”

“That is possible,” Captain Max said. “They have been in their pods for a very long time. By now it’s probably the only world they know.”

“But they’ll die if they stay there!” Laura objected. “Their only hope is to leave them.”

“We can’t force them, dear,” Richard said. “If they don’t want to leave then I suppose that’s their choice. In that case we’ll clear the swarms and leave them alone. But I don’t think that will happen.”

“What do you think, Jones?” Captain Max said. “You haven’t said much. Do you really think that we’ve come all this way just to have them stay in their pods and die?”

Jones shook his head. “We’ve come to give them a choice,” he said quietly. “What they do with that choice is up to them. They may accept it or they may reject it. But that is why God brought us here.”

“I hope they accept it,” Laura said. “It would be such a waste if all of this was for nothing.”

Sergeant Howell turned to the Artilect. “How is the war effort going?”

“Very well,” the Artilect replied. “By the time we hear from Adrian again we will be ready to launch our attack.”

There was silence for a moment. “Is there anything else?” Richard asked.

Amy spoke up. “I’ll be glad when all of this is over.”

“Me too,” Amanda said.

“It won’t be much longer,” Richard said. “Just hang in there.”

As time has gone by I’ve noticed more and more people referring to humans as “just another animal”. What they mean by this is that the life of a human is no more important than the life of any other living creature. If killing a man is wrong, they argue, then so is killing a squirrel. Some people refer to Thanksgiving as “Turkey Murder Day” and speak of the “execution” of thousands of turkeys as if it was some sort of modern holocaust. They simply see no distinction between people and the rest of the animal kingdom. “We’re just animals,” they say.

While the world may not see a difference between people and porcupines, the Bible presents a very different view of creation. It teaches that mankind is entirely different from anything in the animal kingdom. This can be seen right from the first chapter in the Bible. In Genesis 1 we find the account of God’s creation of the animal kingdom:

Genesis 1:20: “And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
21 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.
22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.
25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.”

This passage recounts God’s creation of aquatic life, birds, insects, and land animals – but it does not mention mankind. Humans were formed in a separate act of creation:

Genesis 1:26: “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.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”

Here we learn several remarkable things. First, man and man alone was created in the image of God. No animals, birds, or insects can make this claim. There is something unique about us; we are like God in a way that separates us from all animal life. Second, God gave mankind dominion over all forms of life on Earth. Mankind was not “just another life form”; instead we were given authority over all other living creatures.

This authority even extends to the point of being allowed to eat animals. Some people argue that eating meat is an immoral act because it requires that an animal be killed. They say that people should be vegetarians because it is more humane. However, God is the one that gave mankind the right to eat meat. He did this right after the Flood:

Genesis 9:3: “Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.
4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.”

As we can see God placed just one restriction on this: men were not allowed to consume blood. (Incidentally, this verse is not related to blood transfusions in any way. Receiving a transfusion is not even remotely similar to “eating” it.) However, God does not condemn eating meat or criticize the practice in any way. Instead He explicitly tells people that it is our right to eat meat if we so choose. People that condemn others for eating meat are going beyond anything that God Himself commands.

Nor has God changed His mind on this issue. In the New Testament we find that Jesus Himself touched on this issue, and He did not believe that animals were every bit as valuable as people. In fact, He thought that the life of a human was far more valuable than the life of an animal. Look at what is recorded in Matthew:

Matthew 10:29: “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.”

Do you see what verse 31 says? Christ didn’t tell His disciples “The life of a bird is just as important as your own life”; instead He taught that men were more valuable than many sparrows. In His eyes the value of a person is far greater than the life of any animal! We can see this taught in many other places, not the least of which is the sacrificial system of the Old Testament in which countless animals were slaughtered – a system that was instituted by God Himself.

It is not that God doesn’t care about animals; He clearly does. As Matthew 10:29 says, God notices every sparrow that falls. When the entire world was destroyed by water the Lord had Noah build an ark and bring animals into it, thus saving countless species. Proverbs tells us that the righteous are concerned about the lives of their animals and take care of them. It is just that animals are not more valuable than people. It is not acceptable to murder people in order to save the lives of a few laboratory animals (and yes, there are groups that actually do that).

I could go on but I think I have made my point. Very simply, the Bible does not teach that people are just another kind of animal. After all, people were made in the image of God and animals were not. God gave mankind sovereignty over animals and the right to eat them. Even Jesus said that the life of a person was worth more than the lives of many animals.

I’m sure that some of you are thinking that this is obvious, but it’s not at all obvious to the world. They don’t seem to have a problem with putting human lives in danger if it spares the habitat of an endangered species, or of dooming hundreds of thousands of people to painful deaths rather than use a pesticide that might endanger some birds. If the life of an endangered snail is as valuable as the life of a person then why not put human lives in danger in order to save that snail? After all, there are billions of people; what does it matter if some of them have to be killed in order to save a rare insect?

To God it matters a great deal. People were made in His image, and endangering them to protect wildlife is a horrible thing to do. The world may not have a problem with people who think it’s wrong to cut down trees but right to kill the unborn, but to God that is an abomination. He will judge those who have endangered so many innocent lives, and when that day comes no amount of politically correct arguments is going to help.

I’ve finally taken some time to put together my thoughts on what the Bible has to say about Mormonism. You can find the paper here:

Mormonism (PDF file; 17 pages)