November 2006 - Volume 2 Issue 6

In this issue...
-- The history and impact of the book, The Genesis Flood – Part IV
-- Hear Dr. Whitcomb speak this month
-- Third Annual Day with Whitcomb Ministries another success
-- Save the date for the Fourth Annual Day with Whitcomb Ministries

The history and impact of the book, The Genesis Flood – Part IV
Note: The following article is based on Dr. Whitcomb’s presentation at the Answers in Genesis 2005 Creation Mega-Conference, which was held in July of last year in Lynchburg, Va. We are grateful to AiG for allowing us to reprint it here. This message is also now available on DVD from Answers in Genesis. For ordering information, visit www.AnswersBookstore.com. Also, please remember that this message was delivered before the death of Dr. Henry Morris on Feb. 25 of this year.

The Pharisees, of course, believed in a literal creation week and a universal Flood. They also accepted the entire Old Testament as inspired of God. This was essential as a foundation for faith, as our Lord repeatedly taught (e.g., Matthew 5:18; 22:29; John 5:46); but it was not sufficient to please God! Our Lord said to them: "Search the Scriptures [i.e., the Old Testament]; for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of Me. And ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life" (John 5:39-40). Many Pharisees could quote the entire Hebrew Bible, but were blind to the Light of the World (John 8:12-20).

Our Lord said: "Whosoever shall be ashamed of Me and of My words, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when He shall come in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels" (Luke 9:26; cf. Mark 8:38). How, then, can we help people who are walking in the darkness of materialistic evolutionism by ignoring the Lord Jesus Christ Himself? Discussions and debates concerning Intelligent Design can (in God's providence) temporarily catch the attention of unbelieving minds. But saving faith can only come through the acceptance of the "quick and powerful" Word of God (Hebrews 4:12) and its witness to the finished work of Christ upon the cross and His bodily resurrection from the dead (cf. Romans 10:9-10; Acts 17:30-34).

The apostle Peter did not say that we are always to "be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh (us) a reason of the hope that is in (us)" through intellectually sophisticated, rationalistic argumentation. He introduces his statement with words which are frequently ignored in apologetic systems: "But sanctify (i.e., set apart, honor, reverence) the Lord God in your hearts" (1 Peter 3:15). It is God's Words, not our words, which can change unbelievers into believers. Saving faith, which every person desperately needs, "cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Romans 10:17). This is the only "wedge" that can separate evolutionists from the blindness of sin and bring them to a full knowledge of Christ, the Creator of the world and the Savior of men -- just as this inspired, inerrant and infallible "wedge," authored by the Third Person of the Triune Godhead, did for this former evolutionist 62 years ago.

Thus, while Dr. Hugh Ross and his followers have attempted to shrivel the mountain-covering, year-long deluge to a local catastrophe in Mesopotamia, the Intelligent Design scientists and philosophers officially ignore not only the Genesis record of the flood, but also the entire book of Genesis and the 65 God-inspired books which follow it. (See Ken Ham, "AIGs Commentary on the ID Movement" [Aug. 28, 2002]; Carl Wieland, "AIG's Views on the Intelligent Design Movement" [Aug. 30, 2002]; and Terry Mortenson, "Philosophical Naturalism and the Age of the Earth: Are They Related?" [The Master's Seminary Journal 15:1 (Spring 2004, pp. 71-92)]. Answers in Genesis provides a wealth of information about these topics on its website, www.answersingenesis.org.)

Truly, God's people around the world must make a huge decision concerning the origin of the world: either we take God at His Word because of Who He is, as the God who never lies nor deceives His people; or else, we must surrender our minds to the ever-changing opinions of finite and sinful men who are saying more loudly than ever before: "Where is the promise of His coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." But God gives us His infinite and eternal perspective on such thinking: "This they willingly are ignorant of, that...the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished" (2 Peter 3:4-6). Our Lord Jesus Christ confirmed to us that in "the days of Noah... before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away" (Matthew 24:37-39). Stop to think: our Lord said that a man named "Noah" survived "the flood" by entering "the ark" when "the flood came, and took them all away." But are these words true? Yes, because "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away" (Matthew 24:35). By the grace of God, may we build our lives and our destinies upon Him whose words will abide forever.

Hear Dr. Whitcomb speak this month
Pray for Dr. Whitcomb and Whitcomb Ministries through this holiday season and the start of the New Year. Below are the places where you can hear him teach in the upcoming weeks.

On Sunday, December 31, Dr. Whitcomb will preach at the Grace Baptist Church of Chattanooga, Tenn. For more information on this service, call Pastor Steve Euler at 423-892-4869.

*On Saturday, January 6, and Sunday, January 7, Dr. Whitcomb will speak at the First Baptist Church of Lady Lake, Fla. For more information on these meetings, call Dr. Paul Harsh II at 352-753-4477.

From Tuesday, January 9, to Friday, January 12, Dr. Whitcomb will lecture on Genesis 1-11 at the Word of Life Bible Institute of Hudson, Fla. For more information on these courses, call 727-857-9746, or visit www.wol.org/biblei. (Note: The audio of the lectures for these classes is available at www.sermonaudio.com/whitcomb.)

From Friday, January 19, to Sunday, January 21, Dr. Whitcomb will speak at the Fellowship Baptist Church of Bradenton, Fla. For more information, call Pastor Gerald Safstrom at 941-758-3066.

From Friday, January 26, to Sunday, January 28, Dr. Whitcomb will speak at the Community Bible Church in St. Augustine, Fla. For more information, call Pastor John Ringo at 904-797-3875.

For additional details about these events, please visit our web pages at www.whitcombministries.org and www.sermonaudio.com/whitcomb.

(*Answers in Genesis-sponsored event. For more information on these conferences, visit www.answersingenesis.org/events.)

Third Annual Day with Whitcomb Ministries another success
Whitcomb Ministries offers thanks and praise to God for the results of the Third Annual Day with Whitcomb Ministries, held Saturday, Nov. 11, in Menomonee Falls, Wis.

The theme of this year’s conference was “A Young Earth: The Christian’s Absolute Beginning,” with guest keynote speaker Carl Kerby of Answers in Genesis, whose messages were extremely well received by the more than 200 people who were in attendance.

Sherry Trainer once again provided special music for our conference, and Elizabeth Pabón and RuthAnn Ledgerwood added wonderfully to the day as our guest musicians.

Look for a complete wrap-up in the January issue of the “Monograph.”

Save the date for the Fourth Annual Day with Whitcomb Ministries
We know that it is still a way off – but please do not schedule anything for Saturday, Nov. 10, 2007. That will be the date for the Fourth Annual Day with Whitcomb Ministries, another major Bible conference to be held in the Greater Milwaukee Area.

The theme for that conference will be, “The Bible: The Christian’s Essential Foundation,” and our guest keynote speaker will Dr. Renald Showers, nationally known Bible teacher from the Friends of Israel.

Lord willing, this will be a major apologetics conference for the Greater Milwaukee Area. We hope you will plan to be with us. Please watch this space, and our web pages, for much more information.