ON THE NATURE OF REALITY chapter 4

DUALITY DETERMINES REALITY

     Consider what happens when potential consciousness and potential objectivity link together. Suddenly, potential consciousness becomes active consciousness because it now possesses something of which to be conscious. Similarly, the potential object becomes an active object because its thereness (as well as all its other attributes) becomes established by, and separated from nothingness by, consciousness.
     Thus active consciousness in connection with active objectivity forms a duality which brings reality into existence. Reality can not exist outside this duality because outside this duality there is only a potentiality which remains equal to absolute nothingness so long as duality is absent.
     Consider an entire universe devoid of consciousness. Where are the objects of this universe and how do they move? What are the differences among the laws, energy and matter of this universe and their causes and effects on each other? Where is this universe anyway? Does it even exist? This universe many exist-in-itself but such an existence is no better than nonexistence. It has only potential real existence, if it exists at all.
One may counter that he can imagine such a universe. But he is too late. As soon as he imagines it, he has already used his consciousness to make it real, if only in imagination. If absolutely nothing can be determined about a consciousless universe from the outside, then is it not equally true that absolutely nothing can be determined about it from the inside?
     An evolutionist may object that the history of our universe can be traced prior to the emergence of consciousness. True. But what does the tracing? The history of our universe could never be a real history until determined so by duality, and a history without duality never becomes a real history because no more can be determined about a consciousless universe from inside of it than can be determined about it from outside of it.
     Suppose such a universe exists just beyond the reach of our most powerful telescopes? Since this universe can not be seen, what can be said about it? Absolutely nothing. Since this universe contains no consciousness on the inside of it, what can be said about it from the inside? Absolutely nothing. The universe is equal to absolutely nothing and that renders it completely impotent. Note that it is not the fact that nothing can be said about it that makes it equal to nothingness, but the fact that no differences or determinations can be made about it, and therefore nothing can be said about it.
     What could one say about quasars before telescopes found them? Nothing. What can one say about whatever exists or does not exist at the bottom of a black hole? Nothing, except speculative theories.
Consider the opposite extreme. A particle exists that can not be detected by any means whatsoever. It can not be detected by any instrument that has been, or ever will be invented by man. It has absolutely no effects on other particles that have effects on man. It has no direct or indirect effects on man whatsoever. Now two questions; what difference does it make whether this particle exists or not? None. Its existence is exactly equal to its nonexistence. The other question: if it makes no difference whatsoever whether or not a particle exists that can never be an object to consciousness, then what possible difference can it make whether anything exists or does not exist in a consciousless universe? If objects beyond the scope of consciousness can not affect consciousness, then surely objects without consciousness can not create consciousness.
     Now suppose a particle exists which has no direct or indirect effects on man in the present, but which can be detected in the future by some instrument not yet invented. As long as the particle remains undetected, its existence is equal to absolute nothingness. Yet, because the particle might be detected in the future by the right instrument, the particle possesses potential real existence. At the precise moment in the future that the particle is discovered, it attains real existence. If the right instrument is never invented, then the potential real existence of the particle remains forever equal to absolute nothingness.
     Many evolutionists aver that evolution proceeds from nonconsciousness to subconsciousness to partial consciousness; that is, from inert matter to one-celled animals to higher animals to intelligence. However, such a process is impossible. An unknown object can not be real except when it becomes an object to consciousness. As long as any object remains in nonconsciousness, then even its potential real existence remains constantly equal to absolute nothingness. No power exists, except consciousness, which can raise an object above its equality to absolute nothingness because all such possible powers would themselves be constantly equal to absolute nothingness.
     One may object that unknown objects can have effects on consciousness that are so faint as to be unrecognized by consciousness. This is true, but nevertheless, the reality of the unknown objects can never be more than equal to these unrecognized effects.  An unknown object may cause one to have ill health without that person being aware of the object, but unless he finds out more about this object, then its reality remains constantly equal to no more than its effects on his health. In other words, an unknown object that causes an ill effect on one’s health can only be known by the ill effects themselves. Should such an unknown object possess the potentiality of causing ill effects on health, and yet does not actually do so, and remains unknown in all other ways; then its potential real existence remains equal to absolute nothingness until such time as it begins to have ill effects on someone’s health.
     Any universe must contain duality to have reality. A universe of nothing but consciousness would contain nothing of which to be conscious and would, therefore, be void and completely unconscious. At best, such a universe would consist of consciousness-in-itself or potential consciousness. Similarly, a universe of no consciousness but with objects would possess no means to distinguish between the nothingness and the objects. At best, such a universe would consist of objectivity-in-itself, or potential objectivity. Duality is the only real substance.
     At this point, one may object that in an objective universe without consciousness, consciousness can arise by an evolutionary process in which organic elements, such as carbon and oxygen, are synthesized in the stars and then spread throughout the universe by supernovae, eventually forming life on some hospitable planets.
     However, considered deeply, what is an objective universe without consciousness? It must be one that is completely indifferent to differences. In fact, it must be completely indifferent to the difference between something and nothing. Such a universe is one that possesses no means whatsoever to distinguish between matter and energy, or even between space and matter. There could be no such action as one moment following another, or difference between motion and non-motion. There could be no difference between large and small, or even between inside and outside.
     With the faintest amount of consciousness applied to such a universe, probably no more could be determined about it than can be determined about an electron considered as a wave. With the least amount of consciousness applied, such a universe, at best, could be determined to be no more than standing waves in space.
     Consider the uncertainty principle. If an electron is measured as a particle, then its velocity can not be determined. If its velocity is measured, then its location becomes unknown. Perhaps the electron exists close to the limits of the powers of consciousness to separate the real from the unknown.
     A consciousless universe can not evolve consciousness because consciousness is absolutely indispensable to the reality of any universe, being the only power which can establish duality which makes determinations.    A consciousless universe may be potentially known, but as long as it remains unknown, it also remains unreal and impotent. Unreality equals impotence because of the absolute absence of determinations.
A consciousless universe can become real only if it becomes the object of a consciousness. It can never evolve such a consciousness because such a process would involve determinations which only duality can make.
     Duality separates objects from space and from each other. Duality determines the passage of time, and motion from non-motion. Only duality can set the laws that govern a universe and determine its mathematical constancies. Duality is that necessary determiner that makes any universe real.
     No system can properly operate if indispensable parts are absent. A consciousless universe can have no real function because it has been swallowed by nothingness. Absolute nothingness has rendered it completely impotent. All of its causes and effects affect only nothingness. At best, a consciousless universe can be described as having only  potential objective reality.
     True reality must, of necessity, be a known reality. Even if objects-in-themselves had a kind of reality, what good would it be? Every event in a consciousless universe becomes totally wasted on nothingness. Only a revealed universe can be appreciated and acted upon. The total waste of a consciousless universe is the precise reason that it can never bring consciousness into being. Evolution is impossible. Any consciousless universe is constantly wasted on absolute nothingness. Absolute nothingness holds all power in any consciousless universe.

WHO WILL BUILD THE THIRD TEMPLE? part three

Here read Psalms 127:1
While this verse, no doubt, constitutes a statement about the continuous failures of mankind to accomplish anything of eternal value; it could also be considered a prophecy about an actual future house that the Lord will build.

Again and again in scripture, God allows man to try first to accomplish something of eternal value and when he fails; God takes over and succeeds. Where Adam sinned, the Lord Jesus Christ took over and led a sinless life. Where Israel failed to keep the law and establish a righteous nation, Jesus created a righteous people by purchasing and sanctifying His church with His own blood. Many other examples of this pattern occur in scripture.

This pattern also applies to the building of the first and second temples. Man built them both and man destroyed them both. These temples symbolized man's failure to establish a righteous nation on the earth. Taking this into account, then it stands to reason that God should succeed in building an eternal temple that would stand as a symbol of the success of His Son in establishing a righteous people through His death, burial and resurrection.

Here read John 19:30 Hebrews 1:1-3 Ephesians 2:8-9
Jesus' success in establishing a righteous nation where man failed also applies to each individual member of His church. No man can save himself, or even cooperate with God in his own salvation. Any attempt to do so always ends in complete failure.

Through His death, burial and resurrection, Jesus alone accomplished man's salvation. His blood has been provided to wash away every person's sins. His burial has been provided to take away each person's sins. His resurrection has been provided to justify repentant sinners and to give them His very own eternal life. He also sits at the right hand of the Father to intercede for penitent sinners. Any sinner who hears, or reads, or remembers the gospel and who realizes that he is completely lost and cannot save himself; and who humbles himself to God and puts his complete trust in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ on his behalf, will experience the miracle of being born again.
Here read John 3:3

Here read Ezekiel 37:26-28
Beginning at verse 15, Ezekiel prophesies that God will gather the children of Israel from the heathen where they have been scattered, and that He will reestablish the nation of Israel. This prophecy was wonderfully fulfilled on May 15, 1948.

At some time in the future, God will establish an "everlasting covenant" with Israel and "David my servant" will be their king. "David my servant" is another Old Testament name for the Messiah.

God promises to cleanse them of their sins, to sanctify them, and to establish them as a nation forever. Since only the blood of Jesus can cleanse from sin, and only the Holy Spirit can sanctify anyone; then this "everlasting covenant" must be the same as the New Testament one provided by the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God also promises Israel that He will "set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore," and that this sanctuary will be a testament to the heathen that God has sanctified Israel. This promise can only mean that God, in the form of the Messiah the Lord Jesus Christ, will personally build the third temple of God in Jerusalem.

Here read Amos 9:11
Amos's prophecy obviously has a double meaning. The first one is that God will reestablish the nation of Israel.

The second meaning seems to indicate, by the verbs that are used such as "raise" and "build," that God will personally build the third temple to replace the first two that fell due to man's failures.

WHO WILL BUILD THE THIRD TEMPLE? part two

In addition, God put a prophecy in the mouths of the crowd which represented the attitude of all mankind when they said: "His blood be on us, and on our children." The crowd simply meant that they would take the responsibility for Jesus' death because they wanted to be rid of Him. However, God's double, and exact, meaning of their unintended prophecy was that Jesus' shed blood would be made available to all men so that those who repent and believe in Christ will be washed clean of all their sins and reconciled to God.

Here read II Corinthians 5:18-19
All of humanity stands with that crowd either rejecting the Lord Jesus or accepting His blood, by faith, to wash away their sins.

Here read John 11:49-53
Another example of a double prophecy was the one uttered by Caiaphas the high priest. In Caiaphas' mind, his prophecy was simply a political one having to do with the relationship of the Jewish nation to their Roman masters. Caiaphas thought that the Jewish leaders could use Jesus' crucifixion at the hands of the Romans as a political tool to help unite the Jewish people, at home and abroad, in greater opposition to Roman control.

But the exact meaning of the prophecy that God put in his mouth was a spiritual one. This spiritual meaning was revealed in Caiaphas' use of the phrases "one man should die for the people" and "whole nation perish not." His use of these phrases revealed God's influence over what he said. Note that he did not say "one man should die for Judah" or "our nation perish not," which would have been the pure political meaning.

Instead, the exact spiritual meaning of what he said was that Jesus would die for all people: "whole nation" meaning all people. This meaning was further clarified in verses 51 and 52 when Caiaphas prophesied that Jesus would not just die for the Jewish nation but that: "He should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad." This phrase reveals the exact spiritual meaning of that which Jesus did. Jesus died on the cross and was raised again for all people everywhere so that the gospel , through the power of the Holy Spirit, would spread throughout the whole world so that those who believe would be united into His church which He purchased with His own blood.

These evidences attest to the fact that the false witnesses, in the second part of what they said, really meant that Jesus would build the third temple even though they had no idea of what they were saying.

In addition, some of the Old Testament prophets also prophesied that Jesus would build the third temple.

Here read Zechariah 6:9-15.
In this passage of scripture, God causes Zechariah to act out a prophecy. Zechariah instructs certain men to make a crown of silver and gold, and to set it on the head of Joshua who was the high priest at that time.

Then Zechariah instructs those present at this event to speak to the high priest as though he were THE BRANCH. THE BRANCH is one of the Old Testament names for the Messiah. One of the things they said was: "he shall build the temple of the Lord." They then go on to prophesy that this Messiah will one day rule as king and priest. This prophecy can only refer to the age of the Messiah when He shall come to reign over the whole world, and also to the third temple which Jesus, the Messiah, shall build.

Furthermore, verse 15 refers to those that are "far off;" meaning that people from every part of the world will come and "build in the temple of the Lord." Note that this does not say that they will build the temple, but that they will "build in the temple." Apparently, worshipers will come from all over the world to build something inside the temple that will honor the Messiah who will be the ruler of the world.

WHO WILL BUILD THE THIRD TEMPLE? part one

Read John 2:18-21 Matthew 26:60-61 Zechariah 6:9-15
II Thessalonians 2:4 Acts 15:13-18 Psalms 127:1 Amos 9:11
KJV

Nowhere does scripture prophesy that the Jews will build the third temple of God. Biblical commentators often aver that before Jesus returns to the earth, the Jews must rebuild the third temple. This view does not accord with an exact reading of the Word of God. KJV.

In every place where the third temple is mentioned, the Bible (KJV) relates that Jesus Himself will build the third temple in Jerusalem. In John 2:18-21, Jesus prophesies that man will destroy the second temple, but that Jesus will raise it up in three days. Now it is certainly true that the closest fulfillment of this prophecy occurred with Jesus' resurrection, since He alone was the temple of the Holy Spirit at that time. However, prophecy often has a double meaning. Prophecy often has a near and a far fulfillment. The near fulfillment was about Jesus' resurrection, but the far fulfillment was that Jesus would actually rebuild the third temple.

Here read Matthew 26:60-61
The false witnesses lied when they misquoted Jesus as saying that He would destroy the second temple. Jesus had actually said that man would destroy the second temple.
The false witnesses inadvertently told the truth when they said that Jesus would build the third temple in three days. This is what Jesus had actually said. Unknowingly, the false witnesses were referring to Jesus' resurrection even though they probably knew nothing about it. However, in their minds, they were referring to the building of the actual third temple since they were witnessing as to what Jesus had said.

Satan is a master of a form of lying called a half-truth. Satan put this half-truth into the mouths of the false witnesses in order to attempt to justify the cruel men who would crucify Jesus.

However, God pre-empted Satan's attempt by using the truthful second part of the false witnesses' statement as an inadvertent prophecy on their part that Jesus would build the third temple. In other words, they thought they were lying but God had put a truth in their mouths. Several times in the events surrounding Jesus' arrest and crucifixion, God used even the wicked men who crucified Him as unintentional prophets who spoke the truth about Jesus even though they had no idea what they were actually saying.

Here read Matthew 27:25 John 3:17 II Corinthians 5:14-15
Acts 4:25-28
God used exact meaning where the first part of Matthew 27:25 states: "Then answered all the people." It does not say "then answered the crowd," or any words to that effect. God's meaning is exact. The crowd represented the attitude of all humanity towards Jesus. Because all men are born sinners, then all men have a natural aversion to communion with God.

Here read Romans 5:9-12 Romans 3:23
These facts make all men who were ever born responsible for the rejection and crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ.

ON THE NATURE OF REALITY chapter 3

OBJECTIVITY-IN-ITSELF

     Consider an object-in-itself; that is, an object in a void, completely separated from all consciousness. Where is this object? At what time does it exist? This object possesses no thereness or whenness. In the absence of consciousness, it possesses no means of definition, not even the difference between it and nothing. The object definitely exists within itself but what good is that? When its thereness, whenness, and all other attributes are subtracted; all of which can only be delimited by consciousness, then what does the object have left but nothing? At best, the object has only potential objectivity. The object may have existence, but it has no real existence.
     One may object that existence-in-itself is all the object needs to have real existence. However, until such time and place that the object impacts on consciousness, what possible difference can it make whether the object exists or not? The object is wasted on nothingness. No object can be a real object until it becomes an object of consciousness.
     Does a table continue to exist when everyone leaves a room? The table certainly continues to exist since it is still there when everyone returns to the room (assuming no one removes the table and replaces it with a duplicate). However, when everyone goes out of the room, then all of the attributes of the table exist only in the minds of those who remember it. Even the time and place of the table is merely something remembered. In-itself, the table continues to exist in the room, but the reality of the table exists only in the minds of those who think about it.
     Consider the existence of a hypothetical object somewhere in the world. Now suppose it possessed unique attributes which no one has ever seen. If someone were to find this object, that person would be shocked to see it.
     Now suppose this object will never be found. What can one say about it? Nothing. No one even knows where it might be. One can not even say whether or not it even exists at all.
Therefore, if this object exists, it has only existence-in-itself, or potential real existence; that is, reality, at whatever time it comes into the focus of a mind.
     At this point, one may object that because one can trace the changes in an object which happen whether one is aware of them or not,  this proves that objects are real independent of their being observed. One can return to the room where the table was to find that it had burned. Since only a real table can burn, then in the interval, the table had to be real. Also, one can trace, by scientific investigation, the exact chemical changes that happened to the table while it burned, and since it burned unobserved, then the table had to have been real when it burned.
       Of course, it is true that a table can burn unobserved, but until such time as these changes  are observed, they remain equal to absolute nothingness. In other words, if the table is never observed to have burned, and if its burning never affects consciousness in any other way, then what difference does it make whether it burned or not? Its burning is equal to its not burning. The table and all of its changes are equal to absolute nothingness as long as such changes have no effect on consciousness. Only when change affects consciousness does it become real change.
     Suppose our universe, with all of its exact changes, had happened just the way we observe it to have happened, but with no consciousness to observe it. What possible difference would it make whether our universe ever existed, or when it existed, or what changes it went through? Without consciousness, our universe would be equal to absolute nothingness.
For these reasons, evolutionists have made a fundamental error when they assert that exact, traceable changes in our universe led to the evolution of life, that is, consciousness. This process is impossible because even exact changes in a consciousness universe are continuously being wasted by, and swallowed by, absolute nothingness. In order for any universe to be a real universe, consciousness must be there to begin with.
     If a consciousness can only be equal to a void if it is not conscious of something, then surely the opposite must also be true. Any object of which no consciousness is conscious must also be equal to a void. At least, consciousness possesses an inner potency, or potentiality, to be conscious of something. Any object of which no consciousness is conscious possesses no such inner potency. It is completely inert. It possesses no known, inner power to determine anything about itself, no thereness, no motion or rest, no form, no time; that is, absolutely nothing. Any object not focused on by consciousness can only be equal to absolute nothingness. An object equal to absolute nothingness possesses only potential real existence.
The evolutionist’s argument that consciousness evolved from exact, deterministic actions of inert matter and energy seems strange. The argument seems to be that consciousness, which possesses the only known power of determinism, evolved from that which possesses no known power of determinism. In the first place, the argument is unscientific because it postulates a potency in inert matter which is neither observable nor repeatable. Second, the argument is self-contradictory because it makes that which is impotent more powerful than that which is potent.
     Whenever a person sees (or hears, or feels) a previously unknown object, it then gains real existence in sensory perception, but its real existence is limited to what one sees or hears. If one imagines a previously unknown object, it gains real existence, but only in the imagination.
     One could have imagined that the other side of the moon would appear pretty much the same as the side that can be seen, but before astronauts saw it, this could be done only in the imagination. Before the other side of the moon became exactly fixed by means of sensory perception, most of its reality existed only in the imagination. Before, only its time and place were known to be real. If the other side of the moon were never seen, then forever, as far as finite minds are concerned, its detailed reality would remain limited to time, place and imagination. Without time, place or imagination, its reality would equal absolutely nothing.
Any object which is not fixed by sensory perception, or which cannot even be imagined or felt, remains equal to absolute nothingness. It possesses only potential real existence. Until such time as any object or idea comes into the focus of a consciousness, then that idea or object remains equal to absolute nothingness.
     Any object or idea is real only when focused on by consciousness, and consciousness is real only when it focuses on an object or idea. Thus duality is the only reality.

ON THE NATURE OF REALITY chapter 2

                                                        CONSCIOUSNESS-IN-ITSELF

     Consider consciousness-in-itself; that is, consciousness in a void. Such a consciousness could be conscious of only nothing, and not even nothing. Such a consciousness would be absolutely unconscious.
With absolutely nothing present to such a consciousness, at best, it can only be described as potential consciousness. The most that can be said about a potential consciousness is that it is completely empty. It is as empty as the void that contains it. Thus, it is equal to the void.
     Consider the hypothetical idea that a potential consciousness exists. Suppose that, somehow, it gained the potency to concentrate on an object presented to it. Immediately, one can see that, to the same extent that it has concentrated on the object, the consciousness has separated itself from the void.
     Jean Paul Sartre said, "All consciousness is consciousness of something". When a potential consciousness focuses on an object, then that consciousness and its object become more than a void. The consciousness is doing what it is supposed to do; that is being conscious of something. At the moment a potential consciousness concentrates on any object or idea, the consciousness changes from a potential consciousness to an active consciousness. It becomes real consciousness.

SOME MATERIALISTS' MYTHS

                                                                                           by warrendhawkins
The materialist's philosophy and religion which has held the ascendency in academia since the middle of the 19th century has produced its own myths just as have all religions.

True Christianity has no myths because it is not based on religion but on faith in the revealed Word of God. In other words, Christians believe that God cannot lie to His people.

Materialism is the philosophy and religion that holds that only matter and energy are real and that God does not exist.

Religion has always been either a belief in nature gods or no god at all. These two belief systems are actually closely allied. The animists thought that they could gain wealth or power by worshipping the forces of nature which their gods represented. In other words, their religion was close to the philosopy of materialism. Usually, the atheists went along with the animists' religion out of fear of rejection or pure superstition.

In either case, materialism contains no spiritual content whatsoever. Christianity has Spirit because it is based on a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Atheistic materialism gained acceptance with the advent of the scientific method because the materialists thought that they could use the scientific method to prove eventually that God does not exist.

The first myth of the materialists is called the theory of evolution. This myth is based on the philosophy of Charles Darwin. This philosophy maintains that life created itself and progressed to all its varied forms by the natural forces of beneficial mutation and natural selection. In other words, this philosophy maintains that God is not needed, and therefore, does not exist. The natural forces of this philosophy are actually quite similar to the nature gods of the animists' religion.

Most of the first scientists were Christians. The theory of evolution ignored the findings of the Christian, Louis Pastuer, who discovered that only life can generate life, and that spontaneous generation is impossible. It also ignored the long-held observation that one kind can only reproduce its own kind. In other words, dogs can only produce dogs, and cats can only produce cats and so forth.

Today, the evolutionists ignore the findings of modern geneticists.
Through the scientific method, the modern geneticists have discovered that there exists a third necessary element to the creation and maintenance of life, in addition to matter and energy. This third element is called specific information. Specific information is like language or a computer code. The cells of all living things are loaded with specific information. Life cannot exist without it. Many geneticists believe that this specific information is actually a computer code far more complex than any ever invented by man. One thing is for certain, specific information cannot be produced by any force except an intelligent mind. In other words, true science has found that God exists.

The materialists political myth is that through socialism man can create his own paradise on earth, and that therefore, man does not need for God to bring His kingdom to earth. Time and again, history has proven socialism to be a failure in every country where it has ever been tried.

Another scientific myth of materialism is called global warming. The propagation of this myth is simply an attempt to shift most of the wealth of the world from the control of the capitalists to those who are controlled by the socialists. In other words, it is simply a scheme by the socialists to gain control of the wealth of the world. Most true scientists know that global warming is based on manipulated or flawed data.

There are other myths of the materialists, but these should suffice to show that they have their myths just as does any other religion.

Those who want to know the truth should read the Word of God. Jesus said in John 14:6: "I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me."