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Genesis 1:1-2:3; God Creates Our World, Part 5
by Karl Kemp We continue this study of Gen. 1:1-2:3 here in Part 5. We are under Gen. 1:1. I'LL INCLUDE SEVERAL EXCERPTS FROM "EXTENDED NOTE B" ("Excerpts Dealing with a Modification, or Two, of the Gap View of Creation; for One Thing, Genesis 1:1 Doesn't Speak of the Absolute Beginning" - I believe this is the correct viewpoint): EXCERPTS FROM WHAT ALLEN P. ROSS SAYS REGARDING GENESIS 1:1, 2 in the "Bible Knowledge Commentary - Old Testament" (Victor Books, 1985): "These verses have traditionally been understood as referring to the actual creation of matter, a Creation out of nothing and therefore part of day one. [[Ross agrees that God created matter in the beginning (cf., e.g. John 1:1-3; Heb. 11:3), but he doesn't believe that Gen. 1:1 is speaking of the absolute beginning of God's creative work. The creative work spoken of in Gen. 1:1 begins with the earth already existing and being in the chaotic state pictured in Gen. 1:2, a chaos that resulted from God's judgment of Satan's earlier kingdom.]] But the vocabulary and grammar of this section require a closer look. ... [The creation (recreation) doesn't actually begin until Gen. 1:3 when God says, "Let there be light."] ... The word 'bara' ('created') [which was used in Gen. 1:1] may express creation out of nothing, but it certainly cannot be limited to that (cf. Gen. 2:7). ... But Gen. 1:2 describes a chaos: there was waste and void, and 'darkness was over the surface of the deep.' ... It was a chaos of wasteness, emptiness, and darkness. Such conditions would not result from God's creative work (bara); rather, in the Bible they are symptomatic of sin and are coordinate with judgment. Moreover, God's Creation by decree begins in verse 3, and the elements found in verse 2 are corrected in Creation [recreation], beginning with light to dispel the darkness. ... Some [many Christians] have seen a middle stage of Creation here, that is, an unfinished work of Creation (v. 2) that was later developed (vv. 3-25) into the present form. But this cannot be sustained by the syntax or the vocabulary. Others have seen a 'gap' between the first two verses, allowing for the fall of Satan and entrance of sin into the world that caused the chaos. It is more likely that verse 1 refers to a relative beginning rather than the absolute beginning. [Ross refers to "Unger's Commentary on the Old Testament," which I'll quote from next.] The chapter would then be accounting for the Creation of the universe as man knows it, not the beginning of everything, and verses 1-2 would provide the introduction to it. The fall of Satan and entrance of sin into God's original Creation would precede this. ..." (page 28). EXCERPTS FROM WHAT MERRILL UNGER (Just Mentioned by Ross) SAYS UNDER GENESIS 1:1, 2 ("Unger's Commentary on the Old Testament," Vol. 1 [Moody Bible Institute, 1981]): "...there are cogent reasons to believe a relative rather than an absolute beginning is envisioned [in Gen. 1:1]. This view sets God's creative activity of the earth in a much later geological period in preparation for the latecomer, man. The meaning of 'in the beginning' depends on the context. ... The Hebrew verb bara ('to create') may mean 'ex nihilo [out of nothing],' but it may also mean 'to fashion or make of existing material.' Man, for example, was not created out of nothing, but out of the dust of the earth (1:26 [1:27]; 2:7). ... Verse 2...apparently...tells the earth's condition when God began to recreate it, and specifically to separate light from chaotic darkness. It 'was' a chaos of wasteness, emptiness, and darkness. God did not create it in this state (Job 38:4, 7, cf. Isa. 45:18). It was reduced to this condition because it was the theater where sin began in God's originally sinless universe in connection with the revolt of Lucifer (Satan) and his angels (Isa. 14:12-14; Ezek. 28:13, 15-17; Rev. 12:4). The chaos was the result of God's judgment upon the originally sinless earth. If Genesis 1:1-2 describes original creation, a theological problem arises. Where did Satan and sin originate (cf. 3:1-15)? There is no room in the seven days for the creation of angels, much less the angelic fall producing original sin and the fallen angels or demons. Also, a scientific problem arises. If Genesis 1 describes original creation, how can the account be reconciled with the earth's great antiquity and man's comparative late appearance on earth? Genesis 1, we conclude, describes the beginning of man's earth and the history of man upon it" (page 5). I'll also quote a little from what Unger says under Gen. 1:3-5. "...Sin began on the earth. God would deal fully and finally with it upon earth, in and through a new order of created beings [man] to live on the earth. ... ...His goal of an eventual sinless universe would be realized" (pages 5, 6). Regarding the "days" of Gen. 1:1-2:3, Unger doesn't decide between literal twenty-four hour days of re-creation, days of the divine "revelation" of re-creation to man, or days of extended geologic ages. I believe the second view is the correct view: God chose to give us this account of His re-creation of the earth using a twenty-four hour day format that would be familiar to us, including a day of rest, etc. after six days of work. Ross mentions these three but favors the first view. Many of the Christian scholars who hold the "title view" of Gen. 1:1 do not believe that God created the world in six literal twenty-four hour days. (The "title view" holds that Gen. 1:1 functions as a "title" for the creation account of Genesis chapter 1.) EXCERPTS FROM "CREATION AND BLESSING: A GUIDE TO THE STUDY AND EXPOSITION OF GENESIS" BY ALLEN P. ROSS (Baker Books, 1996, 1998): "It is clear from the contents of verse 2 that something is drastically wrong at the outset. Two clauses set down the circumstances as chaotic; the first states that the earth was 'waste and void' ([Hebrew "tohu wabohu," where "wa" means "and"), or 'formlessness and emptiness.' 'Void' ('bohu') is a relatively rare word, occurring only two other times in Scripture, in both cases joined with 'waste' ('tohu') to describe a judgment of God (Jer. 4:23; Isa. 34:11). [Sin and God's judgment of that sin had reduced a fruitful ordered state to a state of chaos and emptiness.] ... ...according to the second circumstantial clause [of Gen. 1:2], 'darkness' ([Hebrew] 'choshek') was upon the face of the deep. Darkness throughout the Bible represents evil and death.... ..." (pages 106, 107). "That which God calls into existence at the outset is light.... It is natural light, physical light; BUT IT IS MUCH MORE [my emphasis here, and throughout this paragraph]. THE BIBLE SHOWS AGAIN AND AGAIN THAT LIGHT AND DARKNESS SIGNIFY MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE REALMS, ESPECIALLY IN SPIRITUAL MATTERS OF GOOD AND EVIL. THROUGHOUT SCRIPTURE LIGHT IS THE REALM OF GOD AND THE RIGHTEOUS; DARKNESS IS THE DOMAIN OF THE EVIL ONE AND DEATH. LIGHT REPRESENTS THAT WHICH IS HOLY, PURE, TRUE, LIFE-GIVING, AND GLADDENING. [Light goes with divine order and the blessings of God; darkness goes with sin and God's judgment of sin.] ... After the creation of light God announced his evaluation: it was good. ... That which is good is conducive for and enhances life - SO LIGHT IS GOOD, NOT THE DARKNESS [my emphasis]. ...." Since darkness yet remained, God divided it from the light. From the beginning God's people would thus learn that God makes divisions ([Hebrew] "badal"). In Israel's law the Lord would make divisions between the holy and the profane (Lev. 10:10; 11:47).... The division of light from darkness in creation thus displays the will of God as a foretaste of the law' (page 108). EXCERPTS FROM KENNETH A. MATTHEWS ("Genesis 1-11:26" [Broadman & Holman, 2001], pages 140-143): I'll quote part of what Kenneth A. Matthews says regarding the "title view." (Matthews doesn't subscribe to this view.) "In the title view v. 1 is the summary heading of the whole account [Gen. 1:1-2:3], announcing the subject matter, and 1:2-2:3 presents the details. ((Matthews had a footnote: "Among commentators who hold this view are H. Gunkel, S. R. Driver, Cassuto, von Rad, Westermann, and Hamilton. Also see the defense by Waltke, 'The Creation Account in Genesis 1:1-3, Part III,' 216-228." Cassuto is a Jewish scholar. Hamilton and Waltke are evangelicals.)) ... ... [In other words, Gen. 1:1 speaks in summary form of God's work of creation spelled out in Gen. 1:3-2:3.] Verse 2 describes the earth in a negative state, a chaos of elements, which is opposed to creation (cf. Isa. 34:11; Jer. 4:23 [verses that speak of the conditions after God judges, and it is significant that both verses use "tohu" and "bohu," as does Gen. 1:2]).... ... Also, 'created' (bara) always designates a completed product; thus 'created' in v. 1 summarizes the whole process described in vv. 3-31. Moreover, it does not mean 'creatio ex nihilo' [creation out of nothing] by itself; therefore the prologue's summary statement that God 'created' the cosmos does not preclude that God used precreated matter (v. 2) in shaping the preexisting earth (vv. 3-31). ... [Significantly, there is no creative word of God mentioned in Genesis chapter 1 before His "Let there be light" in 1:3.] ...." EXCERPTS FROM JOHN H. WALTON ("Genesis" [Zondervan, 2001]): Walton lists two evidences that support the viewpoint that Gen. 1:1 introduces and summarizes the activity of the seven days: "(1) The book of Genesis typically operates literarily by introducing sections with a summary statement. Thus, for example, beginning in 2:4 and ten additional times throughout the book, a "toledoth" [[In Gen. 2:4 this plural Hebrew noun was translated "the generations" by the KJV; "the history" by the NKJV, and in the margin it says, "literally geneology"; and "the account" by the NASB and NIV]] statement introduces a section.... (2) Even more persuasive is that the account of the six days closes with the comment that 'the heavens and the earth' were completed (2:1). Thus Genesis uses literary introductions, and the six days accomplished the creation of heaven and earth. It can therefore be concluded that the text is not suggesting that anything was actually created in 1:1; rather, the verse is a literary introduction, a summary of what follows" (page 70). (Now we are ready to go on to Gen. 1:2.)]] (2) The earth was formless and void [[(This double bracket goes on for two long paragraphs.) The Hebrew noun behind "formless" is "tohu," and behind "void" is "bohu." From my point of view, rightly discerning the intended meaning (God's intended meaning) for these two Hebrew nouns is crucial for the correct interpretation of this verse and the creation account of Gen. 1:1-2:3. I believe that verse 2 pictures the desolate state of the earth after God judged a rebellion led by Satan. The judgment took place before Gen. 1:1. The margin of the NASB has, "or, a waste and emptiness." The NIV has, "without form and empty"; the Amplified Bible has, "without form and an empty waste." The BDB Hebrew Lexicon gives "formlessness, confusion, unreality, emptiness" as the meaning of "tohu." BDB translates "tohu" as "chaos" for Isa. 24:10: "city of chaos (of ruined city)"; quite a few translations have "city of chaos." (I had a footnote: Isaiah chapter 24 prophesies regarding God's end-time judgment of the world. Apparently "chaos" is what is left of the city after God's judgment. Isaiah chapter 24 is discussed in a verse-by-verse manner in my paper on selected passages from the book of Isaiah on my internet site.) "Bohu" is only used two other places in the Old Testament; in both verses it is combined with "tohu," as it is here in Gen. 1:2: Isa. 34:11 ((I had a footnote: Isaiah chapter 34 prophesies regarding God's end-time judgment of "Edom," with Edom being a symbol for the world. God's end-time judgment of the world is a very common theme in the book of Isaiah (see my paper on selected eschatological passages from the book of Isaiah on my internet site). I'll quote Isa. 34:11, "But pelican and hedgehog will possess it ["It"refers to Edom after being judged by God], And owl and raven will dwell in it; And He will stretch over it the line of desolation [The Hebrew behind "desolation is "tohu." The NIV translates "chaos" here.] And the plumb line of emptiness [The Hebrew behind "emptiness" is "bohu." The NIV translates "desolation" here.])) and Jer. 4:23. ((I had a footnote: Jeremiah 4:23 is in a context dealing with God's intense judgment of Judah through the Babylonians. It prophesied of the devastation that would result from this judgment in very intense terms, "I looked on the earth, and behold, it was formless and void [The Hebrew behind "formless" and "void" is "tohu" and "bohu." In the margin the NASB has a cross-reference to Gen. 1:2, and it offers another translation, "a waste and emptiness." The last words of Gen. 1:2 could be translated, "and behold, chaos and emptiness."]; And to the heavens, and they had no light [Compare the darkness mentioned in Gen. 1:2.]. It seems clear that Jer. 4:23 builds on Gen. 1:2.)) Both of these verses (Isa. 34:11; Jer. 4:23) use this combination of Hebrew nouns to speak of the chaos and emptiness that result from God's judgments, which confirms that this is a reasonable way to understand the meaning here in Gen. 1:2. And there are quite a few other substantial reasons to favor this interpretation for "tohu" and "bohu" here in Gen. 1:2, as discussed throughout this study of Genesis chapter 1 (including the Extended Notes), very much including the discussion of the rest of this verse and of verse 3 regarding the meaning of "darkness" and "light" and the discussion regarding the "separation" of the "light" (which was pronounced "good" in Gen. 1:4) from the "darkness."]], and darkness [[The "darkness" here is strongly contrasted with the "light" spoken of in verses 3-5; for one thing, darkness is the absence of light. We are undoubtedly supposed to think of literal physical darkness and light in these verses, but I believe the emphasis here (as it very often is for these words throughout the Bible) is on light and darkness as symbols (or we could say light and darkness in a spiritual sense). I suggest you read the 12 page study on the meaning of these words in Extended Note D in the Appendix of the original 273 page paper, "The Symbolic Use of the Words 'Light,' 'Darkness,' 'Night,' and 'Day' in the Bible." I'LL SUMMARIZE THE RESULTS OF EXTENDED NOTE D AND QUOTE QUITE A FEW OF THE MANY VERSES I QUOTED THERE, WITH SOME COMMENTS. (It is quite important to understand the symbolic/spiritual use of these words, especially the words LIGHT and DARKNESS.): The primary procedure I used for this study (for all the words being studied) was to read through the listing of these words in the "Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible" for the NASB looking for examples of symbolic uses. When a verse looked promising, I turned to the Bible to look for the meaning of the word in its context. I didn't spend as much time on this study as I could have, but I did spend quite a bit of time. I believe this Extended Note is quite important for the interpretation of Genesis chapter 1; furthermore, the words LIGHT and DARKNESS, when they are used in a symbolic sense as they very often are, are two of the more important words in the Bible. I may have missed a few verses where these words are used in a symbolic sense, and some may not agree with every single verse that I have listed as symbolic (most of the uses are so obvious that it would be hard to disagree), but this study is more than sufficient to acquaint the reader with the extensive and important symbolic uses of these words. I'll start with the word LIGHT, but some of the verses I'll quote under LIGHT also include the word DARKNESS, and a few of them include the words NIGHT and DAY in a symbolic/spiritual sense. For the most part I'll limit this study to the verses where the NASB translated the Hebrew noun "or" (which is the noun translated "light" in Gen. 1:3 [twice], 1:4 [twice], 1:5, and 1:18) as "light" and the verses where it translated the Greek noun "phos" as "light." This Hebrew noun is translated light 105 times in the Old Testament; this Greek noun is translated light 68 times in the New Testament. I knew that the word LIGHT is often used in a symbolic sense in the Bible, but I was somewhat surprised by the numbers I discovered in this study. For the Hebrew noun, which was used 99 times in the Old Testament (not counting the 6 uses found in Gen. 1:3-5, 18), I found 69 uses (about 70 percent of the uses) to be symbolic. The percentage was even higher for the Greek noun we are looking at here. Over 80 percent of the uses are symbolic. Such a high percentage helps demonstrate that it is quite reasonable to see a strong symbolic/spiritual component for the word LIGHT in Gen. 1:3-5. Psalm 27:1. "The LORD is my LIGHT and my salvation...." Psalm 44:3. "For by their own sword they did not possess the land; And their own arm did not save them; But Your right hand, and Your arm and the LIGHT of Your presence, for You favored them." Psalm 56:13. "For You have delivered my soul from death, Indeed my feet from stumbling, So that I may walk before God In the LIGHT of the living." The LIGHT of God goes with the life of God, especially spiritual life (cf., e.g., John 1:4, "In Him was life, and the life was the LIGHT of men"). Psalm 112:4. "LIGHT arises in the DARKNESS [the place of trials] for the upright; He is gracious and compassionate and righteous." The LIGHT here includes all the blessings of salvation that God pours out on "the upright/righteous." Psalm 119:105. "Your word is a LAMP to my feet And a LIGHT to my path." Isaiah 2:5. "Come, house of Jacob, and let us walk in the LIGHT of the LORD." Here the main idea is that God's people must repent and begin to walk in the truth and righteousness of "the LIGHT of the LORD," in accordance with His word. It was to be understood that repentance and righteousness would bring forth the blessings that accompany dwelling in the LIGHT. Isaiah 5:20. "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute DARKNESS for LIGHT and LIGHT for DARKNESS; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter." "Good," LIGHT, and "sweet" go together; they are opposite "evil," DARKNESS, and "bitter." The LIGHT here includes God's truth and righteousness; the DARKNESS includes sin and the absence of the truth. Isaiah 5:30. "And it [the nation God brings against Judah in judgment] will growl over it [Judah, the prey] in the day like the roaring of the sea. If one looks to the land, behold, there is DARKNESS and distress; Even [And] the LIGHT is darkened by its clouds [the clouds of the day of God's judgment]." The DARKNESS here symbolizes God's judgment. The LIGHT of God's peace and blessing will be darkened by the clouds of judgment. Isaiah 9:2. "The people who walk in DARKNESS Will see a great LIGHT; Those who live in a DARK land, The LIGHT [of God that brings truth, righteousness, and every blessing through salvation in Christ] will shine on them." Isaiah 13:10. "For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not flash forth their LIGHT; The sun WILL BE DARK [Hebrew verb] when it rises And the moon will not shed its LIGHT." This verse (with 13:6-13) speaks of God's end-time day of judgment, as do Joel 2:31; 3:15; Matt. 24:29; Acts 2:20; Rev. 6:12; and quite a few other verses. These verses have added significance for this study because the DARKNESS pictured in these verses has both a literal component and a far-more-important symbolic/spiritual component. Isaiah 45:7. "The One forming LIGHT and creating DARKNESS, Causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these." God does not create DARKNESS in the sense of creating sin, but He does create DARKNESS in the sense that He judges sin. The words "causing well-being and creating calamity" are used in Hebrew poetic parallelism with the words "forming LIGHT and creating DARKNESS." "Creating DARKNESS" is parallel in meaning with "creating calamity" (calamity that results from the judgment of God). I had a footnote: The Hebrew noun ("ra") translated "calamity" here is normally translated "evil." The KJV has "create evil" here. (This translation can be misunderstood to teach that God is the author of sin.) Throughout the Bible the good of God's blessings is contrasted with the evil of His judgments (not that He does evil when He judges), and His people are continuously exhorted to choose that which is right and good. It is true, of course, that God's judgments work for good if they help motivate people to repent. Isaiah 59:9b. "We hope for LIGHT, but behold DARKNESS, For brightness but we walk in gloom." They hope for the LIGHT of God's blessings, but they walk in the gloom of DARKNESS because of their sins. Their sins were spoken of in the preceding verses. Isaiah 60:1-3, 19, 20. "Arise, shine; for your LIGHT has come, And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. (2) For behold, DARKNESS will cover the earth And deep DARKNESS the peoples; But the LORD will rise upon you And His glory will appear upon you. (3) Nations will come to your LIGHT, And kings to the brightness of your rising. ... (19) No longer will you have the sun for LIGHT by day, Nor for brightness will the moon give you LIGHT; But you will have the LORD for an everlasting LIGHT, And your God for your glory. (20) Your sun will no longer set, Nor will your moon wane; For you will have the LORD for an everlasting LIGHT, And the days of your mourning will be over." These prophetic words will not be fulfilled in the ultimate sense until God's people are glorified and fully dwelling in the LIGHT of His presence through full salvation in Christ Jesus. Jeremiah 4:23. "I looked to the earth, and behold, it was formless and void [Hebrew "tohu" and "bohu," as in Gen. 1:2]; And to the heavens, and they had no LIGHT." This verse in Jeremiah undoubtedly builds on Gen. 1:2. In this context Jeremiah was prophesying regarding what it would be like in Judah after God had judged them through the Babylonians. The DARKNESS (absence of LIGHT) resulting from God's judgment in this verse has a strong symbolic/spiritual component. I'll quote Jer. 4:24-28, "I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking, And all the hills moved to and fro. [The words of this verse go with the intense shaking of God's judgments.] (25) I looked and behold there was no man, And all the birds of the heavens had fled [These words, along with the words of the next two verses, go with the earth being "formless (or chaotic) and void (or empty)"]. (26) I looked, and behold the fruitful land was a wilderness, And all its cities were pulled down Before the LORD, before His fierce anger. (27) For thus says the LORD, 'The whole land will be a desolation, Yet I will not execute a complete destruction. (28) For this the earth shall mourn And the heavens above be DARK [with a strong symbolic/spiritual component], Because I have spoken, I have purposed, And I will not change My mind, nor will I turn from it.' " John 1:4-9. "In Him was life [very much including spiritual life], and the life was the LIGHT of men. (5) The LIGHT shines in the DARKNESS [Significantly for this study, "the DARKNESS" among men started with the rebellion of Adam and Eve (which was continued by their offspring), who listened to the devil and turned from God and His LIGHT and life to the DARKNESS and death of Satan's kingdom and received God's promised judgment. The LIGHT includes all that man needs, including a right, life-flowing relationship with God in His truth, righteousness, holiness, and blessing. Even after man fell, the Son of God continued to make LIGHT available (through His shining) to fallen man, "The LIGHT shines in the darkness" (John 1:5).] and the DARKNESS did not comprehend it. [In the margin the NASB has, "or, overpower (it)." I understand the Greek verb used here ("katalambano") in the sense, "did not take hold of [the LIGHT]." Although the LIGHT was available, man (speaking of man in general) did not receive the LIGHT.] (6) There was a man sent from God, whose name was John [John the Baptist]. (7) He came as a witness, to testify about the LIGHT, so that all might believe through him. (8) He was not the LIGHT, but he came to testify about the LIGHT. (9) There was the true LIGHT, which coming into the world, enlightens every man." I can't live with the translation of the NASB for John 1:9. I believe the NIV is much better here, "The true LIGHT [speaking of the Logos, the Son of God] that gives LIGHT to [shines on] every man [John 1:4, 5 show what is meant by His giving light to/shining on every man: The shining of the LIGHT made LIGHT available to every man.] was coming into the world." He came into the world through the virgin birth and became a man, but He was much more that just a man; He never ceased being deity with the Father and the Spirit. John 1:10-14 help confirm that this is what His "coming into the world" means. John 3:19-21. "This is the judgment [condemnation], that the LIGHT has come into the world [The LIGHT, the Son of God, has come into the world. He came to save men from sin and DARKNESS, but the majority (including the majority of the Jews) rejected Him and stuck with the DARKNESS they loved.] and men loved the DARKNESS rather than the LIGHT, for their deeds were evil. [Their evil deeds showed where their hearts were. But the Bible also shows that some people (Jews and Gentiles) whose deeds were evil could and did repent.] (20) For everyone who does evil hates the LIGHT, and does not come to the LIGHT for fear that his deeds will be exposed. (21) But he who practices the truth comes to the LIGHT, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God." Those Jews who had a heart for God came running to the ministry of John the Baptist and then to the Lord Jesus Christ. They came to repent and receive salvation. These three verses are very important to help us understand sin and salvation from sin. The gospel is good news only for those who are willing to see and admit their sin and to submit to God's only plan to save man from sin and spiritual death. John 8:12. "Then Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'I am the LIGHT of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in DARKNESS, but will have the LIGHT of life.' " To walk in the darkness includes walking in the untruth (instead of the truth) and in sin and spiritual death. To walk in the "LIGHT of life" through following Christ by faith includes living in the life (spiritual life), truth, righteousness, salvation, divine order, and blessings of God. The LIGHT of God and the LIFE of God go together. John 12:46. "I have come as LIGHT into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in DARKNESS." We will continue these excerpts from Extended Note D, "The Symbolic Use of the Words 'Light,' 'Darkness,' 'Night,' and 'Day' in the Bible" in Part 6 of this paper. Copyright by Karl Kemp http://www.karlkempteachingministries.com Karl Kemp worked as an engineer in the space field throughout the 60s. He became a born-again Christian in 1964. He received an MA in Biblical Studies in 1972. He has been a Bible teacher for 45 years. See the website for more info on his books, papers, etc. Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |