|
Where Are You From? Originally.
by Jeff Todd Where Are You From? Originally. And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. - Genesis 8:4 Life as we know it started somewhere. We know from the Bible that it began with God and started with Adam and Eve. These two became fruitful and populated the Earth. Their original sin manifested itself in their future generations and their world became wicked. God saw this and didn't like it. He destroyed the Earth with a flood, and with one man and his family, He started something new. Enter: Noah and his family. Noah was a good man with a plan. God told him to build a boat for his family and pairs of animals to enter in and to populate the Earth once more. You know the story and I'm sure you have heard it many times. When the floods stopped, the water began to settle. The Bible says the boat rested on the mountains of Ararat. This is our starting point. This is where life, as we know it, originated from. Mount Ararat is a region located in the country of Turkey (Republic Of Turkey), which is in the mix of two continents (97% in Asia and 3% in Europe). The purpose of this information is not to give you a history lesson, but to help us realize where our ancestors are from. Thousands of years have passed since this historic event and it makes it easy to forget where we originate. But, knowing this fact will open our eyes in our studies of the Bible because when the scriptures speak, they are speaking directly to us. Now keep that thought in your mind for a moment. Let's talk about the Bible. The Bible is God's Word that consists of writings that go back nearly as far as 3500 years ago (possibly 1400 BC). That's a long time and a lot of things in life have changed - the Bible hasn't. Yes, there are different versions of the Bible - KJV, NIV, NKJV, etc. - but each should originate from the original source. The contributors of the Old Testament consisted of 30 or so authors and the writings spanned a thousand years. Moses is recognized as the chief contributor. The New Testament was written in a much shorter period between the first century AD (0 - 100 AD). It has been said that the Apostle Paul contributed to about half of the New Testament and Apostle John wrote four books. Here's where it gets cool. Paul was from Tarsus, which is known as southern Turkey today. Moses was born in Egypt and led the Israelites from captivity from Egypt to Israel. What does this all have in common? It appears that everything originates from Asia - Bible, religion, and life. And it seems to have more focus in the Israel area. If you read Genesis 11: 1-9, it mentions that the world at that time had one language. This was after the Great Flood and this was in one nation. These folks had a brilliant plan. They were going to build a city with a tower that reached the heavens. The purpose wasn't intended to be a tower of worship to God, but to make a name for themselves. This was called the Tower of Babel. The city was Babylon. God didn't like this tower and didn't appreciate the people building it, so He put a stop to it. He confused their language and scattered the people. I believe people are still being scattered today. That's why we have the different countries with their different languages. I believe the Tower Of Babel centered around Egypt and Israel. Let's go to present day: Based on research, early history began in Europe, Asia, and Africa. All of these continents are connected by land. Knowing this, it is easy to believe that life as we know it could originate from the Asia area. But what about the other continents that people live on? Did they originate from Asia? I live in the United States of America. The history of my country states that it was founded in 1492 AD by an immigrant name Christopher Columbus. He was from Europe. The economic competition was so heavy where he lived that it was time to branch out and expand the borders. And that's what he did. He brought Europeans and Asians to America. For the history buffs, it also said that the Vikings founded the Americas between 900 AD and 1000 AD. But, these folks originated from Asia, too. Antarctica was discovered between late 1700 AD and early 1800 AD. Australia is thought to be discovered by the Portuguese between 1521 AD and 1524 AD. Others also believe Antarctica could have been discovered in 1606 AD by the Europeans. What does all of this mean? Based on the discoveries of the remaining four continents, it has only been 1000 years. It is possible and almost guaranteed that we all originated from Asia. If we compile everything that we have learned to this point, we could easily say that our ancestors came from one place and the chances of everyone being related to another is great. I know this may not settle too good with some of you. But it could resolve a lot of issues going on in the world today. For starters, racism could be eliminated. The people that we dislike because of color would now be considered our brothers and sisters - genetically. Now, wouldn't that be weird? The next thing is that when we read the stories from the Bible, we will not only be reading about some cool people, but we would actually be reading about our ancestors; descendents from our family tree. The story of Daniel in the lion's den could be a tell of how our great uncle put his faith in God. The tale of Jonah in the fish's mouth would be a tale of good ol' Grandpa Jonah and how hard-headed he used to be. And when it talks of Israel, it could be talking about our hometown. It would put Bible reading into a whole new perspective. The only separating factor now would be a spiritual one - the most important. Do you know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior? Have you accepted His gift of Salvation and are you in God's family? This is an answer that only you can answer. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. - John 12:36a (KJV) I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. - John 8:12b (KJV) God bless you! Jeff Harbor Of Light Ministries Jeff Todd was born in Newnan, GA forty years ago. He is currently a minister and teacher of the Word through his ministry, Harbor Of Light Ministries. You can visit them on MySpace (add url plus harboroflightministries) Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |