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From The Upcoming New Book:
Treasures of Darkness
CHAPTER 3
Dark Matter... Dark Energy...
The Substance Of God?
by Ken Raggio
I have a craving to understand how God's Spirit affects the material world. You may think I am crazy, and that I should just calm down and leave things like that alone.
But I am reminded again of the scripture, "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter," (Proverbs 25:2).
I am certain that God exists in a very scientific way. Scientists would relegate God to the realm of the imagined, but I do not for one second believe that God is imaginary. I believe that God is infinitely more substantive than anything we see in nature.
The Substance of God?
God is substance. The dictionary says that substance is that of which a thing consists. God definitely consists, so He must consist of something. We call it spirit, but nobody really knows what spirit is.
Does God or spirit actually consist of anything? I believe that He does. I believe that the essence of God is infinitely more glorious than the complexity of the human body, or the balance of nature, or the vast universe itself. God is infinitely more complex than the material universe we can see. There is infinitely more substance to God than there is to the material worlds. We simply cannot see Him. We cannot see spirit. We cannot register spirit on our scientific instruments. But we should not be so foolish as to say that He does not exist.
God exists.
Even if you don't believe that right now, I implore you to take an exploratory expedition with me into the things of the divine. Reserve your judgment of the matter until you have weighed the evidence.
Even though God is invisible and so far indiscoverable through scientific experimental processes, that does not at all prove that God does not consist of the greatest, most universal substance of all.
Scientists have estimated that all the atomic matter in the universe occupies less than 4% of the universe. Contemplate that fact. Less than four percent of the universe is "knowable" by today's scientific standards.
Meanwhile, they believe that 23% of the universe consists of what is called "dark matter," as yet not understood or fully discoverable, and the remaining 73% of the universe consists of what is called "dark energy," different from light, but a force of its own, not yet understood or fully defined.
It is my belief that the substance of God permeates the entire universe, and then extends infinitely beyond it.
Astronomers posit that the universe is about 13.7 billion years old, and is about 14 billion light-years from center to circumference, and constantly expanding at a rapid pace. So, at last glance, the universe was observed to be over 28 billion light-years across. Multiply 28 billion light-years times 5.88 TRILLION MILES per light-year. THAT is the estimated width of the universe.
Then, they admit that man does not know anything beyond that region.
I suppose that science would, if it could, claim unquestioned sovereignty over the definition of what things exist and what things do not exist. Scientists have certainly gone to great lengths to exclude God from the list of real things that exist. By its very nature, science denies God, since He is by-and-large hidden from it. Nevertheless, God exists, and eventually, all mankind will see and know Him, whether in or out of His good favor.
Atoms and Atomic Matter
As early as 1477 AD, the word atom was used in an unscientific context to refer to the building-block of the universe. From 1678, the term "atomic" was a philosophical term referring to "uncut" or indivisible substances at the core of nature. Any discussion of atoms prior to the 19th century was grossly inexact.
In 1805, a British scientist named Dalton began to use the term "atom" in reference to the smallest form of an element. By 1811, scientists began to believe that all matter was constructed of atoms, although no one had ever seen, or explicitly defined, what an atom was.
The atom came to be defined as the smallest form in which an element exists. For example, in a cloud of hydrogen gas, the hydrogen atom is the smallest version of that element. We now know that one hydrogen atom consists of one proton (a positively charged particle) and one electron (a negatively charged particle). Anything less than that ceases to be hydrogen.
The first speculation about the possibility of atomic energy surfaced in 1906. Consequently, the science-fiction writer, H.G. Wells first used the term atomic bomb in 1914, and thought that such a thing would "continue to explode indefinitely."
Then, in 1945, the atomic bomb became a reality. Following the achievements of the so-called Manhattan Project, experimental bombs were tested in the Bikini Atoll Islands in the South Pacific Ocean, as well as in the deserts of Nevada. They were eventually used in wartime by the United States against the cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, Japan during World War II.
Sub-Atomic Matter
Not until the year 1903 was there any recorded discussion of the possibility of anything smaller than an atom. The term sub-atomic came into use, referring to things smaller than an atom. Eventually, it was discovered that while the original components of an atom - protons, neutrons and electrons - did in fact exist, there were even smaller particles than those.
Scientists have now observed and postulated about many kinds of particles.
Isaac Newton was one of the first great physicists. He is the one who discovered gravity. Classical physics springs from Newton's earliest observations. Albert Einstein revolutionized human understanding of the laws of nature with his "General Theories of Relativity" wherein he postulated about space and time and what he called "quantum" physics.
Quantum Physics
The word "quantum" means "how much." Scientists want to know "how much" exists in the sub-atomic universe -- the sizes and weights and electrical charges of the most infinitesimally small particles, etc.
The classical model of the atom -- a nucleus at the center, surrounded by electrons rapidly encircling it -- has become outmoded. The diagram of an atom that modern adults are acquainted with is an elementary, but ultimately inaccurate model. The atom is far more complex than once imagined.
The obvious complexity of these topics only serves to justify a claim that the God who created everything everywhere is at least equally complex!
The fact that God is invisible tends to make us think of God as an imaginary force, undefinable and elusive. But I insist that we should not think of God in such terms.
Cellular Complexity
If you could somehow intellectually embrace the complexity of the human body with its 50-100 TRILLION living cells, with EACH CELL containing the equivalent of 600,000 pages of encoded messages, then you might be able to imagine a God whose existence spans the entire universe, yet possesses infinite wisdom, knowledge, and power at a sub-atomic, quantum level.
Let me restate that in other words. If a human body is, for all practical purposes, infinitely complex, why should we not be able to believe that the Great Creator of all things is also infinitely complex -- both on the macro-scale, the grand scale, and also on the micro-scale, the sub-atomic, quantum scale.
Once again, let me restate that. God does not have to be BIG to be everything He is.
God is still God in the infinite inner space.
Let me illustrate with the example of stem cells in the human body.
Stem Cells
A newly conceived embryo in a human womb contains stem cells that will ultimately become an entire human adult. A kidney stem cell will form a kidney. A heart stem cell will form a heart. A pancreas stem cell will evolve into a fully-formed pancreas. And so forth.
So from the very moment of conception, although the fetus is truly minuscule, it nevertheless has all the potential of a complete human, while under development.
God exists at the Atomic Level. God exists at the Cellular Level.
Since the Bible claims that God inhabits "all in all," we suppose that means that God is everywhere. Fifty gazillion miles to the west, and fifty gazillion miles to the east, and to the north, and south, and all points in between, forever and ever to infinity - THAT is God!
Yet, by comparison, the entire galaxy in which the Solar System exists is but a speck in God's infinite universe. Again, the entire earth on which we live is but a tiny speck of dust within our galaxy. Again, one human being, among nearly seven billion humans on earth, is still another tiny speck in this tiny earth in this tiny galaxy.
Can it really be true?
Is it really possible that an infinite God actually, truly KNOWS all things, even you and I, and as the Bible claims, "is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart"?
Yes, a zillion times, yes! Even though God is indeed vast, He is also fully potent at any single point in the universe.
Let me illustrate.
A Brush With The Infinite
The famous Halley's Comet makes its elliptical orbit through the solar system, passing the earth every seventy-six years. Every generation of humankind has, at least once, witnessed Halley's Comet with the naked eye. Even though this comet appears to have a perpetual relationship with the earth, it is fleeting and relatively uneventful.
If you can imagine a similar comparison of a man with God. How can a human being, who is infinitesimally small by comparison to God, actually have a cognizant relationship with a God who is infinitely vast? Are we merely having an uneventful brush with God, like Halley's virtually-uneventful brush with earth?
No. There is an enormous difference! Most importantly, God possesses infinite power and wisdom even in the most finite dimensions. I will illustrate.
"One Drop" Of God
If you only had one "drop" of God, you would still have all of God you need, because all the power of God is resident in only one "particle" of God. Can I prove this statement? Let me try.
Just like a lightning rod attracts static electricity from the earth's atmosphere, and thus captures a local lightning strike, so did Moses' rod attract enough of the power of God in one location to cause the entire Red Sea to roll open wide. As Moses stretched out the rod over the sea, the power of God accumulated on-site, and all the laws of nature and physics were disabled while an infinite God made water do things it had never done in all of time (as far as we know).
In the same way, Moses' rod compelled a boulder to gush forth a river of water. And not the least of the miracles was the wooden rod being transformed into a slithering serpent.
That was not the first time God miraculously transformed an inanimate object into a living creature. That is the exact miracle He did in the beginning when He formed a man from the dust of the earth, and turned the inanimate figure into a living human being.
God in a Stick. God in a Rock.
Ask yourself these questions: How did God turn a dirt and clay statue into a man? How did God transform a lifeless form of dirt into a skeleton with muscles, nerves, blood vessels, lungs, heart, liver, stomach, spleen, colon, eyes, ears, hands, etc.?
I can answer that question for you. One cell at a time. God literally converted raw dirt into living cells. He was working from the quantum, sub-atomic level to convert a molecule of dirt into a molecule of liver. A molecule of dirt into a molecule of lung.
God's infinite ability to create demonstrates His infinite knowledge, power and wisdom at the invisible, quantum level. We do not see God when He works. We do not hear Him, or feel Him, or touch Him. But He is just as present as the scuba diver who welds on the hull of the ship unseen below the water's surface.
The new scientific field of nanotechnology has shown us that atoms and molecules can be manipulated. Microrobotic devices are being experimented with that can manufacture new materials in a process called "molecular assembly." If scientists can develop these near-miraculous processes, then why is it so difficult to imagine that Almighty God has, for all eternity, worked by His Spirit consciously in the sub-atomic dimension, building everything that we now know - and MORE that we do not know!
It is not difficult for me to imagine God viewing an atom from a perspective so small that the atom itself is gigantic. Neither is it difficult for me to imagine that God, by His infinitely miniscule spirit, can construct and deconstruct matter by design just as easily as a construction engineer sets up a construction site, with scaffolding and booms and lifts.
It is not out of the realm of possibility that God consciously and thoughtfully created every single atom in the universe.
One Atom On A Football Field
It is said that if the nucleus of an atom was enlarged to the size of a grapefruit, and placed on the 50-yard-line of a football field, the orbiting electrons would each be the size of a fly sitting on the goal post. All the rest is "empty" space. That depicts matter.
But it is that "empty" space in which God dwells. And God is not "empty" space. God consists of something inside that empty space that we have never been able to see. And whatever that substance is, it is intelligent, it is powerful, and it is creative. It is the God of that empty space that controls the essence of that atom. But far more than that, it is the God of that empty space that controls the entire universe - including you and me!
I submit to you that there is an entire unseen, divine universe in that "empty" space.
The Parallel Universe
In reality, God's reality is more real than our reality. Our reality appears to consist of atoms and molecules, plants and animals, clouds and rivers, and physical things. God's reality exists in a parallel universe that is infinitely more real than ours.
The prophet Elisha was granted a special privilege of seeing into the parallel universe for a moment. He saw the angels of God, with heavenly chariots and horses, standing on a hillside as Israel's enemies prepared for war. Unknown to the Syrians, God was preparing to fight against them from the unseen, parallel universe. Syria was destined to be defeated by an army they could not even see, hear, smell, or touch. They never knew what hit them.
When the prophet John was exiled on the Isle of Patmos, he was "in the Spirit on the Lord's day" and suddenly found himself in Heaven. Physically, he never left the Island of Patmos, but was miraculously transported into another dimension where Heaven IMMEDIATELY surrounded him. John did not have to travel 28 billion light-years beyond the natural universe to finally arrive in Heaven. It did not take John hours, days or months to travel to Heaven. Immediately, he passed from one dimension into the other where he saw streets, mansions, angels, a river, a sea, thrones, crowns, heard music and saw light.
God's dimension is just as real as ours, but actually more so.
This earth and this heaven will one day be completely dissolved, according to the scriptures. But the Kingdom of God will never pass away. The earth and the firmaments will melt with a fervent heat (2 Peter 3:10-12), but God's universe is indestructible. There will never be an atomic destruction of God's universe. God's universe is spiritual.
In the material world we live in, atomic construction or atomic destruction occur via fusion and fission. The particles of atoms are either fused together or they are split apart by fission. It is an extremely volatile and dangerous environment.
But in God's creative worlds, things do not happen by explosions and catastrophes. They happen by brilliant, intentional design and assembly.
While a human engineer studies for eight years to get a PhD that will enable him to build a dam, or a building, or a sophisticated device, Almighty God possesses infinite knowledge of how everything in both our universe and His are constructed.
That is how God was able to assemble atoms from a pitch black void which had not one single particle of matter.
Modern science's "Big Bang Theory" hinges upon the pre-existence of atoms. You cannot have an explosion without matter. So the matter had to come from somewhere. I say there is NO WAY matter could have existed without God's infinite wisdom, knowledge and power to create SOMETHING from NOTHING.
The First Law of Thermodynamics states that energy can be converted into matter, or that matter can be converted into energy, but neither can be completely destroyed. However, that is only true as long as God ordains it to be. As soon as God is finished with the universe as we know it, He has the key to completely disassemble all matter. God knows how the atom was first constructed (because He assembled it Himself), and He most certainly knows how to completely disassemble an atom, and annihilate it completely.
Remember, this is the same God who, dwelling in infinite darkness, said, "Let there be light," and instantly, there was light.
An Amoeba
It is said that an amoeba is the smallest living creature. That one miniscule blob can eat, digest, excrete, respire, move and replicate. Even though tens of millions of biologists and medical scientists ply their trades daily around the world, not one single living cell has ever yet been artificially created from nothing by a man. Although the amoeba is on one hand exceedingly simple, it is yet exceedingly complex.
I submit that the amoeba is NOT the smallest living organism in the universe. I believe that while God is infinitely vast, He is also infinitely small. Just as every single cell in a human body contains the entire DNA code for everything that human consists of, I believe that Almighty God exists in the spiritual equivalent of cells in a sub-atomic form. Just as one human cell contains all the potential of an entire human body, even so, one indiscernible speck of God contains all the power of heaven and earth in one quantum packet. If you only made contact with one tiny speck of God, you would be able to access all the wisdom of the universe in that solitary speck. Maybe I am wrong, but I do not think so.
Mankind is made in the image of God. Genetic scientists can now identify a person easily with only one DNA sample. With only a swab of saliva, one sperm cell, one hair follicle, or one flake of skin, a positive identification can be made. Every physical component of a human is pre-programmed in one solitary chromosome.
Connectivity
Hindu Cardiologist Deepak Chopra attempted to describe cellular intelligence in his book, "Ageless Body, Timeless Mind." He described an experiment that was conducted on a human subject utilizing a simple lie-detector machine. Lie-detectors measure "galvanic responses" in human tissue. Things like heart rate, respiration, even perspiration all give indicators that a living form is responding to an external stimulation.
Chopra detailed a case where a man was wired by technicians to measure his galvanic responses to various stimuli. At the same time, a swab of saliva from the same man's mouth was placed on a glass slide and taken to another location seven miles away. There it was attached to another galvanic response meter.
When the human subject was shown movies that stimulated him in some form - fear, arousal, panic, etc. - and thereby measured on the galvanic response equipment, the IDENTICAL measurements were registered in the laboratory seven miles away, on the saliva on the glass slide!
The fact that a man's saliva seven miles away was CONNECTED to the experiences the man was having is NOT significantly different from several Biblical experiences.
Let me illustrate.
Divine Connections
Jesus Christ often touched people and healed them. There was some kind of "miraculous" transference of power from His body to His subjects that mysteriously performed stupendous physical changes within the bodies of the subjects.
For example, Jesus mixed his spittle with clay from the ground, and applied it to a blind man's eyes. The man's eyesight was completely and inexplicably restored. How did that miraculous energy transfer from Jesus to the man?
Jesus touched a leper, and the leper's skin was immediately transformed from diseased and deteriorating to perfectly healthy and strong. How did that happen? Some mysterious, invisible and divine force was at work.
Jesus' Word commanded the man with the withered hand to stretch forth his hand. When the man attempted to do what he was previously unable to do, he was instantly healed as he made the effort. Muscles, tendons, nerves, and bones were instantly reformed, reshaped, repaired and made perfectly functional, as though nothing had ever been malformed.
SOMETHING powerful in Jesus moved INTO the bodies of his subjects.
But more importantly, it often happened without any physical contact!
The Roman Centurion came, asking Jesus to heal his servant. Jesus offered to go with him to his home to heal the servant, but the Centurion objected, asserting that he knew that Jesus did not need to be physically present for the healing to occur. Jesus recognized the Centurion's amazing perception of His abilities, and did exactly that - spoke a word of healing. Later that day, when the Centurion arrived back at his home, he learned that his servant had been healed at the very same time that Jesus had spoken the Word to him earlier that day.
That was a mysterious transference of Jesus' power from one location to another. It did not occur by wire transmission, through an electrical cable or telephone cable. Jesus' healing power did not travel by microwaves, shortwaves, radio waves or any of the other electromagnetic means of transmission that we are familiar with today.
On another occasion, Jesus' healing power was transferred through His garment. A woman who suffered for twelve years with an issue of blood touched the hem of His garment, and Jesus perceived that virtue had passed from His body to hers. She was instantly healed.
On other curious occasions, people were healed under the influence of the Apostles. On some occasions, the mere shadow of Peter passing by caused the sick to be healed.
"God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them," Acts 19:11-12.
Darkness. God Works In Darkness.
You cannot see Him, hear Him, touch, taste or smell Him. But He is there. And He is infinitely more real than the automobile you ride in.
Next time you begin to panic because you are afraid that God is not with you, just remember. He IS there, working silently and invisibly in the dark. Trust Him.
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Ken Raggio
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