Problems with Interpreting the Flood - Part 4 - Partial Revelation
One of the problems with biblical interpretation is the apparent assumption that what the Bible says is all there is to know. “The Bible says it. I believe it. That settles it.” is a common mantra… and I agree with it, as far as it goes. The problem is that we do not always realize what is with which we agree. The Bible makes it seem like the Earth is at the center of the universe. Well, it isn’t. However, it is at the center of God’s plan for the universe. So, Christians then and now still believe the Bible, and yet believe different things. It makes arguing against unbeliever rather difficult, but that aside, we need only acknowledge that as we walk in faith, we are only doing the best we can. There will occasionally be revelations about something God meant in scripture that no one ever realized before… yet God meant it all along. We aren’t to feel threatened by such events, but welcome them.
One of my favorite example is the discovery of zircon crystals. Search this blog for my early posts on them. They basically prove that the world had an ocean formed by out gassing 4.5 billion years ago… the creation of the deep that was documented in Genesis 1:2, 2:4-6. However, these crystals were only discovered in the 1980’s, and were only used to suggest an ancient ocean shortly before the year 2000. For me, personally, it did not throw a monkey wrench into anything. On the contrary, for me, the clouds were starting to part, and Genesis began making a lot more sense. So yes, I believe what the Bible says… but it took thousands of years for anyone (me) to realize that Genesis 1:2, 2:4-6 was pointing at a scientific event 4.5 billion years ago.
Consider Daniel 12:4
4 But you, Daniel, close up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge.
In other words, Daniel was not to reveal certain truths that God showed him. Later in the chapter…
8 I heard, but I did not understand. So I asked, “My lord, what will the outcome of all this be?”
9 He replied, “Go your way, Daniel, because the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end. 10 Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand.
And so we can see that certain truths are not to be understood until the end times. The thought has occasionally occurred to me that perhaps some of the connections I have documented on this blog fall under this heading of words sealed up until the end time, understood by the wise. But then, I hate to flatter myself. On the other hand, I document them here in case they are true, in case they are scriptural truths that God meant all along, but no one ever had the scientific evidence to expose.
Recall when Moses asked Jesus in his tent to show Moses His glory. Jesus showed him His glory from behind on the Mount Sinai… partial revelation. Then, Jesus showed Himself to Moses in His entirety on the Mount of Transfiguration… complete revelation.
Jesus shared with Abraham part of His plan to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, letting on that He would spare the city the sake of a few righteous people… partial revelation. He later revealed that no one was found righteous but Lot, so He rescued Lot and God the Father destroyed the city… complete revelation.
Partial revelation is throughout the scripture. Moving David to prepare a temple for God… partial revelation; revealing that David had too much blood on his hands… complete revelation.
So revisit again the beginning of Genesis 5. See that discontinuity between mankind and Adam? That is partial revelation. Remember our study on “yom” - the Hebrew Word for “day”? We use it to mean 24 hours, but it only means from sundown to sundown, and that is the word for Day used in Genesis 1… partial revelation. How about the word “Let”? Partial revelation. And it goes on. Genesis is written from the perspective of a man (i.e., Moses) who had a lifetime of partial revelations from God in regards to Creation and The Flood. You can see it in his writing, where there are gaps, lack of detail, and historical understanding of words that he never actually wrote. We must therefore be open to the possibility of God revealing to us the rest of what there is. Am I saying that I’ve arrived? Or that I am that vehicle? Well, it sounds like I’m saying it, but I am not trying to. I am merely pointing out that in my openness to seeing what there is to see in scripture and science, that it has opened me to possibilities that need to be shared… at the very least so that some godly person out there can set me straight if I am wrong… or provide confirmation if I am right. I cannot say which it will be, but that’s the trip that I am on.
My bottom line in this post to try and open your mind. As start to go through the account of the flood in more detail, pay attention to what is said, and what is not… and be prepared to ask why. Certain omissions may surprise you; certain inclusions may be just as surprising. I am trying to use scripture and science to set up the foundation for realizing the oddities within the scripture that will explain and answer the roots of disagreement between otherwise well-meaning Christians, who really should just agree that what the scripture says, it means, and that settles it. But for many, that does not settle it, and that is why this blog exists.