The Earth is an amazing, fragile, and miraculous place. For example, the Earth is the correct distance from the Sun, has a protective electromagnetic field, atmosphere, it has water, and has intelligent life, the Earth and God’s creation should put us in awe every day. Because of these mysteries, and others, men throughout history have searched for answers for why we are here. Aristotle thought the earth had existed eternally. The Roman poet Lucretius, he was an intellectual and creator of the Greek atomists, believed the Earth’s formation was more recent, given that there were no records going back beyond the Trojan War. The Talmudic rabbis, Martin Luther and others used the biblical account to extrapolate back from known history and came up with an estimate for when the earth came into being. The most famous came in 1654, when Archbishop James Ussher of Ireland offered the date of 4004 B.C. Following decades of Scientific observation of the Earth, more modern interpretations began to overtake the previous thinking. In the 1660s Nicolas Steno formulated the modern concept of deposition of horizontal strata. He concluded when the layers of Earth are not horizontal, they must have been tilted following their deposition and noted that different strata contain different kinds of fossils. By the year 2019, we have learned a lot more about this planet coupled with incredible studies and discoveries that have changed the way that we see the world. A similar transformation may be occurring in the astrophysics field of science. In order to explain the origins of the universe without the existence of God, scientists propose the big ban theory, a theory that is supported by the rate of acceleration of the universe expanding. In order to explain what we are able to observe, researchers have proposed the existence of dark matter and dark energy to account for the apparent lack of matter in the material universe. Recently, dark energy, science’s murky potential explanation for why the universe is expanding at an accelerated rate, may not even exist. This is the claim of a new theory. [1]
References
- A. V. Astashenok, A. S. Tepliakov, “Some models of holographic dark energy on the Randall–Sundrum brane and observational data,” International Journal of Modern Physics D, 2019 https://doi.org/10.1142/S0218271819501761
Researchers have published a new study that offers an alternative explanation for why the universe is expanding, one that doesn’t violate the law of universal gravitation. Newton’s law of universal gravitation states that every point mass in the universe attracts every other point mass with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. (F = G * m1 * m2 / r^2) The expansion of the universe is a known phenomenon, and in recent years, it has been observed that the universe is expanding at an accelerated rate. This change in the rate of expansion presents both a problem and a mystery especially in light of Newton’s law of universal gravity. Scientists have proposed “Dark Energy” as an explanation for this occurring. The idea is the universe is filled with the ordinary matter that we see to form stars, planets, etc, and there is also something called dark matter and dark energy that fills the majority of the universe that explains this acceleration effect in light of the gravitational forces which would not cause the acceleration. The more we learn about the cosmos, the more mysterious it seems to become. This new study provides a different theory. The researchers propose something that is analogous to the Casimir effect that may be occurring in space causing the acceleration of the universe’s expansion. This suggests that the universe has a boundary, an edge that is expanding into something else (expanding into nothingness?). The researchers state the universe may have a three-dimensional “complex topology” that makes this process possible. One of the researchers who recently presented the research, explains:
“…there is essentially no ‘Dark Energy,’ but there is a manifestation of the boundaries of the Universe. You can draw an analogy with the Earth. After all, it also has no boundaries, but it is finite. The difference between the Earth and the Universe is that in the first case we are dealing with two-dimensional space, and in the second – with three-dimensional.”
What is the Casimir effect? (Wikipedia):
“In quantum field theory, the Casimir effect and the Casimir–Polder force are physical forces arising from a quantized field. (quantized means a field having distinct energy states, like those for n = 0, 1, 2, 3, etc eigen values arising from the wave equation in quantum theory) The Casimir effect is named after the Dutch physicist Hendrik Casimir who predicted it in 1948. The Casimir effect can be understood by the idea that the presence of conducting metals and dielectrics alters the vacuum expectation value of the energy of the second quantized electromagnetic field. Since the value of this energy depends on the shapes and positions of the conductors and dielectrics, the Casimir effect manifests itself as a force between such objects. Any medium supporting oscillations has an analogue of the Casimir effect. For example, beads on a string as well as plates submerged in turbulent water or gas illustrate the Casimir force. In modern theoretical physics, the Casimir effect plays an important role in the chiral bag model of the nucleon; and in applied physics, it is significant in some aspects of emerging microtechnologies and nanotechnologies.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casimir_effect
The Spiritual insights that we receive from this type of research is paralleled to the study of the unknown, it is related to the spiritual realm, and men throughout the centuries have sought to understand or to “have understanding” of what takes place whether there is life after death or not. The Hebrew word for “understanding” is “Binah” (בִּינָה). In Kabbalah, it is the second of the ten Sefirot, in Chassidic thought, the second stage of intellectual process. It is the path that leads to abstract thought and chokhmah (חָכְמָה, wisdom). Binah gives wisdom depth and breadth. King Solomon wrote in Mishley / Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. (NASB, י תְּחִלַּת חָכְמָה יִרְאַת יְהֹוָה וְדַעַת קְדֹשִׁים בִּינָה) Notice how Solomon describes Wisdom prior to understanding, and couples wisdom with fearing God, and knowledge with holiness. The Scriptures define the starting point of wisdom as not being found in speculation or abstract thought. Wisdom is found in knowing and seeking the God of Israel, that He is holy, righteous, good, and how He loves us. Yeshua stated that the Lord God our Father in heaven seeks for us to love and to do what is right (Mark 12:28-31). To find true wisdom is in our submitting our lives to God in obedience to His mitzvot (commandments). Solomon wrote that “we must listen to the wisdom of God with attentive ears and apply our hearts to understanding.” (Mishley / Proverbs 2:2) The idea here is true happiness comes from seeking or searching for God Himself (Mishley / Proverbs 2:4-5, 3:13). Binah (understanding) implies the ability to look at something and know what is going on, like distinguishing between what is real from what is not real (true or false). This is why we find so many parallelisms in wisdom (חָכְמָה) in obeying God’s Word, and understanding (בִּינָה) from having knowledge of the Holy One!
Solomon also wrote in Mishley / Proverbs 18:4 The words a man speaks are deep waters, a flowing stream, a fountain of wisdom. (NASB, ד מַיִם עֲמֻקִּים דִּבְרֵי פִי-אִישׁ נַחַל נֹבֵעַ מְקוֹר חָכְמָה) The idea here is that wisdom may be expressed by words. In Jewish mysticism, the letter mem (מ) is the first letter for the word for “water” (mayim) which is symbolic for the Torah being a “spring” of water. The idea is waters that come out of the ground as a spring, are supplied from an unknown source. The wisdom of God that rises up from the pages of the Scriptures, the source is God Almighty! This kind of wisdom may be spoken, and lived out in a man’s life. It is taught in Jewish Mysticism that the Torah proceeds from a source known as חכמה chokmah which means Wisdom. The letter mem has two forms, open and closed. The open form represents the revealed truth of God, and the closed form represents the concealed truth of God. (https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/137085/jewish/Mem.htm) The idea is Moshe represents the opened mem in revealing God’s Torah, and its meaning. The closed mem represents the Messiah as the revealer of mysteries. This is why Yeshua said what he did in Matthew 13:10-11 when the disciples came to him and asked “why do you speak to them in parables?” and he answered them by saying, “to you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.” The letter mem also begins the word מקום having both open and closed forms of the mem, meaning “place” thus this word is the revelation of the presence of God which contains both revelation and mystery. Note also what God said to Moshe on the mountain of Sinai in Parashat Ki Tisa (Shemot / Exodus 33:20) “no man can see My face and live.” Yet we read in Devarim / Deuteronomy 34:10 which states that Moshe spoke with God “face to face.” The binah (understanding) of this verse on “face to face” (פָּנִים אֶל־פָּנִים) is to that phrase being idiomatic indicating the personal relationship moshe had with God, meaning that he (Moshe) did not go to God via an intermediary, he spoke with Him directly. We are also told that the face of God was revealed to us in Yeshua the Messiah as Yeshua said, “No one has ever seen God; the only begotten God (μονογενὴς θεὸς), the One who is in the heart of the Father (ὁ ὢν εἰς τὸν κόλπον τοῦ πατρὸς), has made him known.” (John 1:18) We are told that Yeshua is the “image of the invisible God” (εἰκὼν τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ἀοράτου) who reveals the Father to us (John 14:9). The author of the book of Hebrews writes Yeshua is “the radiance of the glory of God and the representation of his essence (χαρακτὴρ τῆς ὑποστάσεως αὐτοῦ), the One who upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Hebrews 1:3). These things speak to the mystery or the creation, of those things that are outside of our knowledge, as the infinite God enters into the three-dimensional world of the finite. God has revealed Himself, and yet He is concealed, He has made known to us who He is, but yet we do not understand because He is outside of our comprehension. This is the power of God in bringing the One, the Messiah, who was willing to touch the leper to heal, and who was willing to die upon the cross, being King of kings, and Lord of lords, who is the everlasting, the Sovereign and Holy One of God who dwells in unapproachable light. (1 Timothy 6:15-16) Just as we see in the scientific research on dark energy, it is proposed as a way to explain what we observe in the universe, but we have yet to observe the dark energy itself. There is a mystery, the expansion of the universe, its acceleration, is unknown and men propose ideas why what we are observing is taking place. To know God face to face is a matter of mortality, when one dies, he or she will ultimately go before the Holy God, which is why it is written in the Scriptures that no man will see God and live. (Shemot / Exodus 33:19-20) When we do encounter God and His goodness and love, we must trust that what is beyond our understanding will nonetheless work out for good. This is why Paul wrote what he did saying that all things work together for good having faith in a good and loving God (Romans 8:28). Paul also wrote how these things are a mystery, and is the reason why we see through a glass darkly (1 Corinthians 13:12), the Lord God manifests Himself in our lives, we can see His influence, we can even feel His influence in our hearts, and yet we do not fully see. Like Moshe who stood in the cleft of the rock (see Parashat Ki Tisa) we too stand near to God in the cleft. The mountain top of Sinai, all that God had shown Moshe, all that He had revealed to him, yet, he remained in a cloud of not-knowing (Shemot / Exodus 33:22-23) under the covering of God’s hand. The word of God is given to us for the purpose of helping us to find refuge and strength in the midst of testing and persecution. Despite the difficult times in this life, we who keep faith are strengthened by God’s Spirit from within. Yeshua, God’s Messiah, is the one who truly satisfies in the midst of mystery. Just as the letter mem is representative of the springs of Torah, Yeshua satisfies the inner thirst giving us fullness of life, even, eternal life and ultimate satisfaction. Faith in Yeshua brings peace, joy, healing, and refreshment, and for those who he has called to be His own he says, “Whoever believes in me, as it is written in the Scripture, Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:38) Because of this, we choose to look not to the things that are seen, but to those things that are unseen, those things that are eternal. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead (Romans 1:20). Therefore, we are strangers and exiles on the earth, looking forward to the city that has foundations whose designer and builder is God. (Hebrews 11:10-13) Faith in God and in His Messiah Yeshua, trusts in the unseen good that God has planned for us. This faith also is the expectation of a future hope, that ultimately is in God Himself. Having faith causes one to refuse to allow this world to have the last word, but to believe, trust, and have a part in what is ultimately real, believing in the Creator God, the God of Israel and His love in the reality that he sent His Son Yeshua to die for us, so that we might have that hope that surpasses all understanding. Our faith sees the invisible, and of this we can be assured, that we are His and He loves and takes care of us until the very end!
