Hi all,
When I was a boy my dad and I would sometimes step outside at night and he would describe for me the constellations, their names, shapes, and how they move in the seasons as the earth moves through space. The Big and Little Dippers, Cassiopeia easily found by the W of her stars, Orion and his belt of 3 stars, and so on. 
 
I became fascinated. He bought me a telescope and I would spend hours looking at the moon and planets. And then I grew up. Dad left the family, the telescope associated with our time together became a depressing reminder of happier times, and life moved on. I moved on. 
 
Once I became a Christian I became curious how the wise men could tell a king had been born in Israel by looking at the stars. I wondered why the Lord referred to the zodiac when talking with Job, as if He and Job knew they meant something related to salvation. 
 
I wondered why references were continually made of the stars, like Genesis 15 when the Lord took Abram into space ("brought him forth abroad" in the KJV means 'took him into the sky or space') and tells him to count the stars because that is how many his offspring will be. I wondered why prophecy about Israel included "A star will arise out of Jacob" (Num 24:17) and why The Revelation 12 talks of 1/3 of the stars rebelling and being cast down to the earth after their rebellion against God. 
 
I reasoned that since God created all things, the stars must have a purpose, they must SAY something. They must reflect a message, for Genesis 1:14 says, "Let them be for signs, seasons, days, and years." There had to be a true astronomy that recognized the signs in the stars while also studying the science of the universe. 
 
But it was years before I ran across the 1882 research done by Lutheran minister Joseph Seiss, who wrote the book 'The Gospel in the Stars'. Nearly everything written in modern times about the original signs God gave man for the zodiac is based on his research and ancient scholars before him, even to the Middle Ages. 
 
Knowing that fallen man perverts every gift of God, it should be no surprise there are people who think the seasons of the constellations guide a person's life, rather than looking to the Creator of those stars who guides a person's life. But just because there is the counterfeit does not mean we should shy away from the true. Indeed, the presence of the counterfeit proves the existence of the true whether we are talking about counterfeit money, a work of art copied by a forger, or the zodiac. God said the stars are for signs, so let us begin:
 
The 12 signs of the zodiac
The main signs are 12, and each of the 12 have 3 accompanying smaller constellations called 'decans' (deck-uns). These 3 decans further explain the meaning of the main constellation. The signs come into their respective seasons according to the invisible path of the sun across the sky, called the 'ecliptic'. As the constellations cross the invisible line of the sun's path, they come into that season, thus through a year all 12 signs have had their season. 
 
The gospel message in the zodiac is divided into 3 groups consisting of 4 constellations each. The first group of 4 have to do with the nature of Messiah, sin, and the enemy. The 2nd group has to do with new life, the church, and God's Spirit poured out. And the last group with the return of the King and believers secure in heaven with Him. These, plus each one's decans as an overview, with details to follow over the next 3 weeks: 
 
The first group: Messiah, sin, the enemy
Virgo the virgin. The 3 decans are Coma, the infant birthed by the virgin, Centaurus the dual natured one, and Arcturus or Bootes, the Great Shepherd and harvester, holding a rod and a sickle. 
 
Libra, the scales. The scales are downward tilting, meaning they are not balanced in man's favor. The 3 decans of Libra are the Cross, seen in the Southern Hemisphere (The Southern Cross), Lupus the victim of the dual natured Centaur, pierced to death. And Corona the Crown, called the Northern Crown, complimenting the southern cross.
 
Scorpio the scorpion. The decans are the Serpent, Ophiuchus, who wrestles with the Serpent and his bitten on the heel while with his other foot he crushes the head of the Scorpion. And Hercules, wounded in the heel.
 
Sagittarius, the dual natured archer who's bow and arrow are pointed directly at the heart of Scorpio. The decans are Lyra, an eagle holding a lyre/harp, Ara the altar turned upside down, and Draco the dragon, upside down and writhing in pain. 
 
The 2nd group; New life, resurrection, the church
Capricorn, the dual natured one slain. Part goat, part fish. It's decans are Sagitta, the arrow fired by an unknown hand which killed Capricorn, Aquila the eagle pierced and falling, and Delphinus the dolphin, full of life jumping out of the sea in new life.
 
Aquarius, the picture of a seated man pouring from a large vessel a stream of water of life. Its decans are the Southern Fish, which is drinking in the water from above, Pegasus the white horse, very alive, with wings quickly flying to bring life and good news, and Cygnus the swan, flying quickly, whose stars make the sign of the cross. 
 
Pisces, the 2 fish, one headed toward the North Pole the other along the path of the sun. The 2 fish are held together by one of its decans, The decans are The Band, a single ribbon tying the 2 fish together. Cepheus the crowned king, seated, scepter in one hand and the ribbons in the other. And Andromeda, a woman in chains with one of its stars named 'persecution'.
 
Aries, the ram lying peacefully watching over everything. It's decans are Cassiopeia, a woman on a throne. Cetus the sea monster who has the band/ribbons of The Band tied to its neck, under the control of Pisces. And the last is Perseus, a strong man with a sword in his right hand, with winged feet carrying away the head of a monster that has snakes coming out of its severed head. 
 
The 3rd group, the return of the King
Taurus the bull, with the 7 stars of the Pleiades on his shoulder, horns down, charging forth. His 3 decans are: Orion, the glorious prince, a sword sheathed to his side, his foot on the head of the serpent (or the hare). Eridanus, the river of judgement. And Auriga, the shepherd, carrying a mother goat with 2 little goats in his left arm, with a band or reins in his right. 
 
Gemini, originally not twins, but husband and wife. It's 3 decans are Lepus the Hare, in some nations it is a snake, under the foot of Orion. The others are the 2 dogs, Canis Major and Canis Minor, originally wolves, killers of the hare. 
 
Cancer, the crab in modern usage. Seen as one who molts in growth throughout its life, also seen as a being at rest, at peace, a star name means 'the gathering' or 'the gathered'. Much more on this later from its ancient symbol and meaning. It's 3 decans are what we call the Big Dipper and Little Dipper, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. Originally a sheep-fold, corrals for sheep not bears, one big and one little, always associated with Arcturus the Shepherd and keeper of the flock. Argo the ship, showing movement and travel for those on board...so much more to this!
 
Leo, the pouncing lion. (The lion of the tribe of Judah) Its 3 decans are Hydra, the snake fleeing, underfoot of both the Lion and Cancer the crab. Crater, the bowl of wrath which is resting on the Serpent. Corvus the Raven or Crow, which is seen on the back of the Serpent picking at it as a bird eats a snake. 
 
We can imagine Adam, Seth, and Enoch in their respective times walking with the Lord as He laid out for them the signs in the sky, prophesying of the salvation to come and the final judgement of the enemy. I've sketched out just enough to hint at the full story, but it is the star names that truly define the meanings of each of the constellations. 
 
Those star names assigned so long ago, have to a large extent remained unchanged through the centuries, though the Greeks in particular perverted many of the signs. But the star names remain largely unchanged. When we examine the ancient Arabic and Egyptian/Middle East star names the story of salvation truly unfolds. 
 
I'm writing this in a way that can be easily printed out and studied over in a group or individually, more information than inspiration, for I think the information itself provides the inspiration! We will cover the stars names of the first 4 next week, and you will be amazed! Until then, blessings,
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org and email me at cwowi@aol.com

Hi all,
​
We will complete this fun series thinking about dinosaurs and lots more. I ended last week talking about 2 judgments by flood, and how anything that was alive (if there had been an earlier creation) in the waters in the first flood could have survived to Adam's time, then survived Noah's flood to our time. That would explain why the Coelacanth fish is found in fossils but is still alive in our oceans today. It would explain ancient types of fish like the alligator gar, hagfish, sturgeon, star fish, and sharks, today live side by side with higher forms of fish with fins and scales. 
 
There are also ancient forms of insects found in fossils like roaches, dragonflies, silverfish and grasshoppers. Scientists say the ancient forms were generally larger due to a higher oxygen content on the earth at the time....and that is interesting for many reasons. 
 
The ancient world
Remember when Adam and Eve were created the earth was covered by clouds but sunlight was visible: Genesis 2:5-6 says it had not rained in those days, but a mist went up from the earth and watered everything.  The atmosphere had enough water that it would later rain 40 days and nights without stop. Adam & Eve were naked yet comfortable, meaning the world-wide temperature would have been around 76-80 F (25-27C). 
 
Ancient land life was created perfectly in a perfect environment, far more perfect than today's earth, for the earth back then even gave its fruit and vegetables in abundance without work on man's part. Sin had not yet been unleashed on the planet. It was a perfect environment with the greenhouse effect warming the whole planet, perfect food supply and Genesis 1:29-30 says man and animal were vegetarians with no fear of each other. 
 
What goes around comes around again
Josephus, the Jewish historian who wrote a history of the Jews for Rome, said in the days of Adam and Eve the animals could talk. I personally believe that was his understanding of what we today call 'words of knowledge' and 'words of wisdom'. I believe Adam and Eve moved by the Spirit to know what the animals were thinking and 'saying' in their thoughts, and would have governed by God's wisdom about all the plants and animals under their care. 
 
Hebrews 6:5 also refers to the gifts of the Spirit as 'the powers of the age to come'. When we rule with the Lord we will do so by the Spirit, able to rightly administer God's ways on the earth - remember Zechariah 14 and Matthew 25 both reveal it will be an enforced righteousness and not everyone will want that. Though Satan will be bound, free will remains intact, and many will not want righteousness in all transactions to be enforced. 
 
Big people, big animals, big plants
How big would Adam and Eve have been given perfect nutrition, no sin (at least for awhile), and God's life saturating everything from His brand new creation? An example would be pre-WW2 and post-WW2 Japan. The average height of a Japanese man in WW2 was 5' 3 1/2" tall (1.6m), but subsequent generations, exposed to a variety of foods and health care, have grown 1-2cm (.75inch) per decade since. I wonder if Adam and Eve might have been huge people.  
 
In the plant, insect, and fish world is it any wonder fossils record plants, insects and many ancient fish far larger than their modern relatives? Megalodon being a good example of a giant shark species. Most fish, amphibians and reptiles are what's called, 'indeterminate growers', meaning they never stop growing, limited only by food and environment. 
 
And that brings me to reptiles who as I just stated, never stop growing. If man lived 900+ years back then, and today Nile crocodiles and Australian salt water crocodiles grow in 50 years to over 20 feet (6m), how big in a near perfect environment with perfect food supply would a 500 or 750 year old crocodile grow to be? If a Komodo dragon now grows to 10 feet (3m) in less than 30 years, how big would it grow in 300, 600 or 900 years? What about that little lizard you see running around your garden that grows 6" (15cm) long in a few months; how big would he get in 500 years? If that little garden snake startles you now, how big would it be in 500 years of hanging around your garden? It's a good thing man and animals were vegetarians and not afraid on one another back then!
 
Dinosaurs?
In Genesis 1:21 the King James Version says God created great whales. The Hebrew translated 'whales' is 'tannin'. That word is translated every time in the Old Testament as 'serpent' or 'dragon'. verse 21 actually says God created 'large dragons' or 'large serpents' (reptiles). 
 
For instance, in Exodus 7:7-12 'tannin' is used to describe the staff of Moses being thrown down and turned into a 'serpent'. The text tells us the Egyptian sorcerers did the same with their staffs, but Moses' 'serpent' swallowed up their serpents. Moses' staff did not become a Humpback whale, neither did the sorcerer's staffs become whales swallowed by Moses' whale. Serpent or dragon is the correct translation of Genesis 1:21, not 'whales'. 
 
Genesis 1:21 indicates God made 'large dragons' in the time of man. Where did they go? Only the smaller reptiles would have been taken on Noah's ark, and others could have survived floating on debris during the rather brief duration of Noah's flood. But today with our heat/cold cycles and limited food, not to mention the spread of sin burdening the earth, they don't live long enough for us to find out! But it explains why an intact dinosaur carcass was found in India in 2017 and soft tissue in a T-rex bone was found in 2015. 
 
When Noah's flood came the water envelope that had been keeping the earth's temperature universally warm, collapsed. The polar regions would have experienced an immediate large drop in temperature, which may explain why wooly mammoths have been found in the permafrost with food still in their stomachs, their bodies flash frozen by a cataclysmic event. For the first time ever, Noah saw a rainbow as the modern blue sky with full sun appeared, and it was God's sign of covenant never to flood the earth again. 
 
Our modern world with polar ice caps, hurricanes and tornados and such all came about when the atmospheric envelope collapsed. Together with sin, perhaps direct solar radiation has shortened the life spans of every living creature from what it was in those perfect and near-perfect days. What fun to consider, what fun to learn about. And yet a new age and new world await believers, our best days are yet ahead! Blessings, new subject next week, until then,
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org and email me at cwowi@aol.com

Hi all,
 
Are we alone? How old is the universe?
Years ago I really wanted to know how old is the universe and are we alone? Is it 14 billion years or just a few thousand years? I had read many books from Christians who debated the age of the earth and universe, leaving me with no definitive answer. So I set my heart to sit outside each night to look at the stars and pray, asking the Father.
 
It took nearly 2 weeks of nightly going outside around 9pm (21.00) for 30 to 60 minutes at a time, laying back on a lounge chair praying and thinking and talking to the Father, and staring at the stars. My mind would wander and then I'd reign in my thoughts to worship or pray again, then wander off and then bring them back again. 
 
I'd settle in to just look at the stars, the satellites passing quickly overhead, the lights from a passing airliner and wondering where they were going...and back to the Father: "Are we alone? You know I'm not going anywhere. I'll keep this up as long as I can, I figure until the seasons change and it gets below freezing." (I'm honest with Him since He knows my heart anyway, so what's the point in making empty threats, lol). 
 
To day one
Finally, about 2 weeks into my routine the Father spoke as I lay on my back staring up at a star filled night:
 
"What you see out there (He said with emphasis) in the universe is creation to day one (up to day one). All you see before you is what was done up to day one. Then I stopped and turned my creative attention to the earth to complete it. But there will come a time when I will once again turn my creative attention to the rest of the universe to complete it. But what you see out there now, is creation to day one." 
 
I lay there for a minute thinking. All those stars, all those galaxies, are just "to (up to) day one". Incomplete, primitive, the most basic building blocks of the universe in place, but on hold awaiting a time when He will turn His attention back to them. 
 
Wow. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." of Genesis 1:1 sets the order, that the stars came first, then the planets - science agrees. But 'in the beginning' was before day 1 starts as we read Genesis, for the focus in that first verse is the stars, then leads to the earth, then continues the focus on earth's creation. How long was 'in the beginning God created the heavens and earth' before He turned His attention to earth to complete it?
 
(I still love the stars, I even have a teaching series on the 'Gospel in the Stars' for the signs of the zodiac in ancient times told the story of salvation, from Virgo the virgin who gives birth to a son, to Leo the lion of the tribe of Judah showing the return of Messiah, to Gemini who were originally a groom and his bride, and so on).
 
That He said it was 'to day one' tells me there is a huge time gap between the creation of the stars and earth and the 'day one' starting earth's completion. There could be billions of earth years between the creation of the universe and God starting His focus on earth to complete it. We don't know, the rest is speculation.
 
The 'ages to come' in which He will continue to show us His love and kindness mentioned in Ephesians 2:7, have to do with His plans for us and the rest of the universe. 
 
Starlight and Time, by Dr. Russell Humphreys
His book is available in Kindle format as well as paperback, and for me, generally solved the question of how old the universe and earth are. His main point is that Einstein said time would go faster the further it got from a gravity source. This was proven correct with the placement of 2 identical atomic clocks, one in Greenwich, England near sea level, and one in Boulder, Colorado, more than a mile (1.6km) above sea level. The clock further away from the core of the earth which is the source of earth's gravity, runs 5 microseconds (.000005) faster than the one at sea level. 
 
This proves Einstein correct, time moves more quickly the further from a gravity source. According to Dr. Humphreys' calculations, that means (because Genesis was written from the perspective of earth) the stars would be about 14 billion years old while the earth would be a few thousands of years old. Both ages are correct, it is time that changes with distance from a gravity source, which is the earth's gravity in this context. Interesting to consider... 
 
2 floods
Genesis opens with the earth as a water planet in darkness, stating the earth was 'formless and void and darkness was on the face of the deep'. That is a dark water planet. But how did it get that way? 
 
The phrase in Hebrew stating the earth was, "formless and void" is used only 1 other place in scripture, which is Jeremiah 4:23. There he speaks of the judgment on Judah, saying the earth was 'formless and void' and dark in judgement. It would seem therefore the earth in Genesis 1 became formless and void due to judgment by flood. 
 
When I read Peter saying the next destruction of the planet will be by fire*, I can't help wondering if the first judgment was the Genesis 1 flood, then Noah's flood was the 2nd, and the 3rd time will be by fire? *II Peter 3:7
 
Some food for thought, we won't really know the answer this side of heaven
If that is the case it suggests it happened when Lucifer was thrown out of heaven, stripped of his authority and responsibilities, and cast down to earth. The spiritual war in heaven had a physical manifestation on the planet; his world being judged by a world-wide flood.   
 
A planet flooded in judgement as Genesis opens would not only explain why Satan had already fallen from heaven when he later speaks to Adam and Eve in the Garden, it would explain why he was thrown down to earth in the first place, as opposed to say, sending him to Mars or Jupiter. 
 
Ezekiel 28:13-19 and Isaiah 14:12-17 state Lucifer had authority and made the world as a wilderness and destroyed the cities, among other destructions he did upon the earth. Most take that to mean in our day Satan is active on the planet, but what if it is speaking of an earlier creation that was flooded over in judgment? 
 
What if there was a creation long before Adam and Eve, modern man, that a good Lucifer ruled? Maybe he ruled the earth as a good king until he wanted more? He wanted to control heaven and took the battle there as The Revelation 12:7-10 states, and was stripped of his authority and thrown back down to earth. Maybe that is why he has been trying to rule the planet in his fallen condition ever since?
 
What is clear is that there have been 2 floods on the earth that we are told about. If that first flood was in judgment similar to the later flood that came in Noah's time, it means there was ancient life on the planet before the modern man and woman of Adam and Eve and before modern life forms like mammals and higher plants. 
 
That would explain so much about ancient sea life coexisting with modern sea life, fish found in fossils also discovered alive today, and so much more. And that's where we will pick it up next, and also cover the question of dinosaurs. Until then, blessings,
 
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org and email me at cwowi@aol.com

Hi all,
I promised to cover macro-evolution and micro-evolution at the close of last week's 'Thoughts'. It starts with this: 
 
He has to provide the ability to obey
Coming from one mom and dad means Adam and Eve had within themselves all the genetic material for all the races, all the hair colors and textures, facial features and skin colors we see around us today. Within our mom and dad were Caucasians, Orientals, Africans and everyone in between. In fact 'Adam' means 'red' or 'red, rosy, ruddy'. 
 
When God commanded to go forth and multiply and fill the earth, He had to provide the ability within every plant and animal including man, to do that. That means micro-evolution. Not one species becoming another species which is macro-evolution, but one species branching out and genetically adapting to the environment. 
 
Darwin's Finches
Darwin marveled at the different types of beaks among the same species of finch found on various islands. One species had short, stout beaks for opening hard seeds, on another island a species with elongated beaks for catching insects on the fly, and so on. Mistaken for macro-evolution, they provide a great example of micro-evolution as each living thing had within themselves the genetic ability to obey the Prime Directive from their Creator, and adapt genetically. 
 
Also, because animal bodies and human bodies are both made from the earth, it explains why a gorilla shares 98% of our DNA, a cat shares about 85% a cow 80%, even a chicken has 60%. All our bodies came from the earth, so it is logical that in terms of DNA, we share similarities. But oh those differences! All have the ability within their genetics to 'go forth and multiply and fill the earth' - because when God commands, He provides the provision. 
 
Rabbit trail
The 'world population clock' estimates there are 7.8 billion people alive on the earth today, I've seen estimates that over all time, about 113 billion people have lived and died. You may ask how a heaven described as about 1500 miles square (2414 km) can hold the billions who make it to heaven. 
 
The answer is provided by Jesus who said the kingdom of heaven is like a seed. A seed is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. It can only be understood through quantum physics, but because quantum physics was the method the Lord used to make everything, we can find examples in nature: How many apple trees are within 1 apple seed? Potentially unlimited. How many apples can come from one single seed? That seed or that apple is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. The author of Hebrews 11:4-10 alludes to this, saying Levi was in the loins of Abraham when Abraham tithed to Melchizedek, though Levi would not even be born for at least 250 years.  
 
Similarly each of us is larger on the inside than we are on the outside - however large the part of your life is that is visible, deep in the unseen realm of your heart you have dreams and hopes unfulfilled, talents, skills, hobbies, things that you in your heart would like to do, things awaiting the next ages to come to pass - all those combine to make you larger on the inside than you are on the outside. 
 
Having been to heaven I can tell you it is like that. If you remember your schooling, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet make up the colors of the rainbow, but combine to produce a single ray of white light. So too within each of those separate colors is a whole world within that wavelength. Heaven is like that, multi-dimensional, yet each dimension one and combined with the others. Yes, it can hold billions of people on the inside while on the outside only appearing to be 1500 miles square (2414 km). 
 
I would say it this way. On the outside, marriage seems very limiting, but in fact marriage in the Lord is larger on the inside than it is on the outside - all things of God are like that. There is more freedom on the inside than outward appearance shows. A person who is single can relate to a best friend or close relative. On the outside you are just friends, or maybe your mom or brother you are best friends with. But within those relationships are worlds of history, memories, plans, secrets, respect and love, making that relationship far larger on the inside than on the outside. 
 
I'll put it another way: 99.99999% of our body is empty space. That is the space between all the molecules that make up a human body - the space between the molecules comprises 99.9% of our body. We only appear solid because the molecules are so closely packed, but do not actually touch each other. You've seen pictures of electrons revolving around the nucleus in the same way the earth orbits the sun. Consider all the space in between the sun and the earth - it is the same with an electron going around its nucleus, on a microscopic level. 
 
That space between them is huge. On a quantum physics level, if we lost all the empty space in our bodies our body would be the size of a speck of dust. The whole 7.8 billion of us would be the size of a sugar cube - heaven has much more space on the inside that it appears on the outside. (https://www.sciencealert.com/99-9999999-of-your-body-is-empty-space)
 
Back to the main trail
Adam and Eve would have had several hundred children over the course of their roughly 900 years, and they would have all been the various races we see on earth today, genetically distantly related. Think of it this way: Technically my wife is my sister, but we are not genetically directly related. But how far back can you carry that? 
 
What if Adam and Eve had 500 children? How many 'red and yellow black and white' would there have been? They would all be precious in His sight and genetically distant. Even now we see the occasional birth of a different color baby than the parents. In the July 11, 2010 edition of the NY Post they show a picture of a black couple in Nigeria holding their white newborn baby, in what was stated to be a literal 1 in a million event. Even now all these centuries later, there remains enough genetic diversity for this to happen - and you can research similar events in India and elsewhere.
 
Noah's 3 sons and their wives repopulated the earth, so there was enough genetic diversity in their hundreds of years of making babies that each cousin would not have been genetically closely related to each other. Going back to Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel, the diversity would have been even more. So while we might say the boys married their sisters, genetically speaking, they didn't, and they could have been decades apart in age - they lived so long, what if some 500 year old man married a 400 year old woman, robbing the cradle, lol. But genetically different and distant. 
 
The same for all the animals and the species descended from them. That means from 'mom and dad' wolf, came genetically, the Pekinese and Great Dane, the Dachshund and the Golden Retriever. Not genetically directly related. All dogs came from a 'mom and dad' who had the genetics within them to fulfill God's command to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth. Man has been manipulating God's built in micro-evolution through selective breeding ever since. That goes for crops and plants as well. There was an original 'mom and dad' tulip, but now look at the varieties! Thank you Lord for building that DNA ability within the command to go forth and multiply and fill the earth. 
 
Once God stopped creating, mathematically it means plant and animal species could only decrease in numbers. One report estimates the earth has lost 99% of its species, with over 500 species lost forever in the last 100 years, 160 species lost in the last 10 years alone. That supports the fact God stopped creating so long ago, and it has been downhill ever since. How alive was the earth at its peak! Can you imagine if the earth once again was filled with 100% of what He created back then? Amazing to consider. 
 
Perhaps this series has gotten you thinking, or answered questions you've had; the point being to affirm our faith in the Lord no matter how He created the us. Next week...are we alone in the universe? Until then, blessings,
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org and email me at cwowi@aol.com