6) The argument from the existence of evil- Satan exists and he is evil, therefore, God exists and He is good.
A question asked by Christians before their martyrdom and also asked by many hurting believers is this: "if God is a God of love and He is all-powerful and all-wise, how can He possibly allow so much suffering in His creation and among those He has created? Does not the existence of evil prove that God really is not all-loving or all-powerful because, if He were, He would somehow get rid of evil and make this world a much better place to live?" There is a problem in our logic that falsely concludes that because evil exists, God cannot be all-powerful or all-loving. So, let us talk about this.
There are two kinds of evil in this world:
1) natural evil (tragedy occurring in natural events) and
2) moral evil (evil done by man).
Natural evil includes such natural calamities as tornadoes, earthquakes, fires, floods, disease, deformed children at birth, etc. Why does God allow things like that to happen to you? It might be because He is allowing the devil to test you, your faith, and your integrity. The general rule is that God always allows natural law to take place. There is an exception to this rule, however. He can work a miracle to suspend natural law when He wants to. Here are a couple of scriptures that might help us understand why:
"Then spake (prayed) Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel"
(Joshua 10:12-14).
Your prayer to Him and your deep faith in Him may influence God to suspend natural law in your case.
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto My Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in My name, I will do it"
(John 14:12-14).
"O taste and see that the Lord is good- blessed is the man that trusteth in Him..."
(Psalm 34:8).
God is all-powerful and all-loving to you and I in spite of the fact that evil exists.
Moral evil is connected to mankind's free will. Each individual can choose to be righteous or unrighteous. Man's inhumanity to man comes from someone or some group making the wrong choice(s). A true Christian, who is being persecuted, may ask God why He is allowing evil men to make him or her suffer. That is a part of the paradox of mankind's free will in connection with God's will that is hard to understand from our point of view, but God promises to each persecutor that he or she will eventually reap what they have sown
(Galatians 6:7). Sometimes, we may think that God is treating us unfairly, but God's word never says that He is bound to treat us fairly. Life is unfair from our point of view. Also, there is no teaching anywhere in the bible that states that when a man tries to please God, he is guaranteed immunity from evil by divine intervention. Job in the Old Testament and the passion of Christ (His suffering) help us understand this truth. Sometimes a person may be won to Christ by our suffering and death- that is the paradox of suffering. However, God does promise us that nothing can separate us from God's love
(Romans 8:38-39), and His grace is sufficient for us, no matter what may come our way
(Romans 5:1-11).
One time there was an old woman sitting in her rocking chair crocheting a piece of cloth. Her young grandson was sitting on the floor some distance in front of her. He said, "grandma, why are you tying a bunch of knots together with that thread? It looks horrible". He was looking at it from his point of view. She said, "come over here and look at it from my point of view". When he looked at it from her point of view it was a beautiful design that he really liked. You and I are like that little boy. All we can see are the knots and tangles of God's plan from our point of view. It may seem unfair from our point of view. But, when God shows it to us from His point of view, it is a beautiful masterpiece of design and very valuable.
Paul, the Apostle, penned these words:
"And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong"
(2 Corinthians 12:7-10).
7) The argument from design- the universe has a wonderful design to it. Also the human body has a wonderful design to it. Whenever there is such a unique design, there has to be a Designer and God is that Designer. Let us take a look at a few examples of design.
God's Design of His Universe
Look up into the sky on some clear night. What do you see? You see a panorama of stars. Farther out, there are galaxies harboring billions of stars. You see our moon and part of our solar system all working in perfect harmony. This well-organized system runs flawlessly, just like a perfectly designed watch. We can see our sun during the day time. The sun is like a giant nuclear engine because it converts eight million tons of matter into energy every single second, and has an interior temperature of more than twenty million degrees Celsius.
The bible says
"the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth His handiwork"
(Psalm 19:1).
Now, let us go from the outermost to the innermost- from the large to the small, so to speak. Let's look at the atom, the tiny building-block of the universe. It came into being after God created it. When we examine the structure of an atom, we see that every atom has a nucleus in which there are certain numbers of protons and neutrons. In addition to these, there are electrons which move around the nucleus in a constant orbit with great speed. Electrons and protons of an atom are equal in number, because positively charged protons and negatively charged electrons always balance each other. If one of these numbers were different, there would be no atom, since its electromagnetic balance would be disturbed. An atom's nucleus, the protons and the neutrons in it, and the electrons around it are always in motion. These revolve both around themselves and each other without fault at fast speeds. What a wonderful creation it is. God created each little atom to do His bidding.
Then God decided to put atoms together. Atoms were used by God, first, to create things without life on our earth such as land, fire, water, and air. This took Him about two and one half days. Then on the latter part of the third day He mixed the atoms of substance with the life of existence
(Genesis 1:13). Only God could have mixed atoms with life. Only God can create life because Satan does not have that power. So, trees and vegetation were created on the third day. God put atoms together to make up His universe with its stars, our moon, and our sun on the fourth day
(Genesis 1:19). God went back to mixing atoms with life again on the fifth day as He created fish and birds
(Genesis 1:23). Then God mixed atoms with life again one more time as He finished His creating by making the animals and modern mankind. The making of mankind in His own image (with mind, will, and emotions) was His supreme act of creation because inside of every person is a living spirit (or soul) that will live for eternity. The spirit is not made from atoms. He did that on the sixth day of creation
(Genesis 1:31).
God's Design of the Earth's Atmosphere
How did God originally design the earth's atmosphere? Here is what the bible says:
"And God said, let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day"
(Genesis 1:6-8).
The second day of creation ended.
Let us take a closer look at what our Lord did. God divided the waters that were under the firmament from the waters that were above the firmament in the sky. God smothered the surface of the earth in water vapor near the beginning of His creative work. There was water above the earth and water on the surface of the earth. The earth had a temperate, mild, humid atmosphere. As a result there was more oxygen and less carbon dioxide for mankind and animals to breathe. How do we know that? Paleontologists have observed that the fossils of plants and animals were much larger in those days than they are today. One example is the large dragonfly that had a wingspan of more than twelve inches. That holds true for many plants, animals, insects, and aquatic creatures. We read in the bible that some folks of modern mankind, even after the fall of Adam and Eve into sin, were giants. Some folks lived long lives of nine hundred years or so
(Genesis 9:29). Why? What was different then in comparison with today? The bible tells us that there was no rain in those days
(Genesis 2:5-6). Instead, a heavy mist came from the ground in the morning and watered the earth. This has been called a water (hydro) canopy by some folks. The hydro canopy that covered the earth kept the heat evenly distributed so there were no extremes of cold and ice nor extreme heat at the equator. This effected the weather patterns on this earth that had an impact on the living conditions of mankind. It is hard to imagine a world without hurricanes, tornadoes, and dangerous high winds.
The hydro-canopy filtered out harmful radiation, such as the ultraviolet rays from the sun. That allowed plants, animals, and mankind to live longer lives. The amount of ultraviolet rays coming from the sun today enables plants to grow quickly, but it also shortens their life span. Modern experiments about this have been done. One physicist grew a tomato plant in an environment where ultraviolet rays were filtered out while he increased the carbon dioxide content. It took him a couple of years but eventually the plant grew quite tall and produced over 900 tomatoes. In five years it had produced 4,000 tomatoes.
How did the hydro-canopy effect the oxygen content on earth? It increased atmospheric pressure and intensified the pressurized oxygen content in the air. The weight of the hydro-canopy has been estimated to have been more than 2.18 times its weight today. Therefore, oxygen content would have been about 32 percent as compared to 21 percent today. What benefit was that? Increased oxygen in the blood could increase the mental abilities of mankind. As well, oxygen is necessary for healing so a person could heal more rapidly from injuries and lacerations to his or her body. I imagine that all who lived on this earth in those days enjoyed increased physical and mental stamina, as well as long life. God's purpose of the hydro-canopy was to protect and promote abundant life on earth at that time.
Is there any guess as to how this might have been accomplished? Yes. One theory is that, instead of liquid, the water above the earth was comprised of solid sheets of ice. That was possible since water can exist in both a liquid and solid state. Highly compressed water at supercold temperatures can cause the hydrogen in the water to become nearly solid forming a protective shield high in the atmosphere. If that be the case, then how come it isn't there today? Everything changed along with Noah's flood. It is thought that God changed the tilt of the earth's axis and removed it's protective hydro-canopy covering. One reason He did that was to shorten the life span of mankind. One might say that the sin of mankind has effected the earth. Mankind abused God's goodness and grace
(Genesis 6:3). Sin always has consequences. It appears that, as a result, God's life enhancing blessings of those days are gone because He has taken them away. The rain came down and the floods came up as a result of mankind's war against God. Mankind lost that battle
(Genesis 6:11-13 & 7:11-12). In my opinion, mankind lost his canopy above and reservoir of water on the earth. Our world today has very little resemblance to the earth before the flood when the firmament remained as God created it on the second day.
Will you elaborate a little more on that, please? Yes. Let me put it this way:
The word for "firmament" in Hebrew is raqiya. It is believed that this firmament was like a solid arch that supported the waters above. I want to share with you the Basic English translation of these verses. It reads:
"And God said, let there be a solid arch stretching over the waters, parting the waters from the waters and God made the arch for a division between the waters which were under the arch and those which were over it: and it was so. And God gave the arch the name of Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day"
(Genesis 1:6-8).
The earth has changed since its re-creation by God. It appears that God shifted the earth on its axis. When that happened, there were major climatic changes. That is probably why there have been been found remains of tropical plants and warm blooded animals in frozen areas of our planet. As well, it is believed that there is less oxygen today than once was.
Can we ever go back to the way it used to be (before Noah's flood)? Only the good Lord can bring back His original creation again and I believe He will do that in our future, but only after troubling times. Mankind has a hard time in NOT learning from his past failures. There will come a time when, once again, mankind will declare war against God on a global scale
(Luke 17:26-27, 21:25-26). But, before that time, the rapture of the church will take place
(1 Thessalonians 4:17). Then mankind's war against God will have global consequences. After 7 years, God will win that war also. Then there will be blessings for God's people as Christ reigns over this world as King of Kings and Lord of Lords from Jerusalem. Christ may very well re-create another hydro canopy in the earths atmosphere as He did in the beginning as He reigns for 1,000 years in this world during His Millennial Reign
(Isaiah 30:26). Good times will return once again and folks will be happy. And God will eventually do with this earth as He has planned:
"For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind"
(Isaiah 65:17).
"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And He that sat upon the throne said, behold, I make all things new. And He said unto me, write: for these words are true and faithful"
(Revelation 21:1-5).
God's Design of the Human Body
Now, let us take a look at the human body. The human body is very intelligently designed. There are 60,000 miles of blood vessels in the human body. Nerve impulses travel through the nervous system at 1,050 feet per second- the speed of sound. The human body creates 25 million cells per second.
Let us look at the brain of mankind. It is the most complex creation yet discovered in the universe. It contains some 100 billion nerve cells— about as many as the number of stars in our galaxy. Each of those cells branch off into thousands of connections with other cells. Scientists say that a human brain could contain all the information in all the world’s libraries and that its storage capacity may, in fact, be unfathomable. Despite decades of studying this "wonderfully made" creation, scientists admit that they may never fully understand how it works. It is one of God's great gifts. Because of the way our brains are designed, we can reach out and become what we want to become and plan and achieve great things, if we work hard enough for it.
The peripheral nervous system of the human body consists of the nerves that carry impulses to and from the central nervous system. These pathways are made up of neurons that are nerve cell bodies and their axons and dendrites as well as the points at which one neuron communicates with the next that is called the synapse junction. These nerve impulses travel through the human body at a speed of over 200 meters (1,000 feet) per second. Did God create the peripheral nervous system? You bet He did.
The human heart is a large bodily organ that pumps blood. It is a four-chambered double pump that is the center of the circulatory system. In humans it is situated in the chest cavity. The average adult beat is about 70-72 beats per minute at rest. The rate increases temporarily during exercise, emotional excitement, and fever but decreases during sleep. How much blood can be pumped by the human heart? During a lifetime of 70 years, it will beat about 21 billion times and pump a total of 132 million liters (35 million gallons) or more of blood through the human body. The human heart produces 40 million beats per year. God created this organ to function in just that way.
The human eye is a marvelous creation with a pupil, iris, and lens. The tiny retina contains about 130 million rod-shaped cells. These detect light intensity and transmit impulses to the visual cortex of the brain by means of nerve fibers, while nearly six million cone-shaped cells respond specifically to color variation. The eyes are kept clear by ducts producing just the right amount of fluid with which the eyelids clean both eyes simultaneously. What an awesome creation the human eye is.
God's Design of Some Animals
Let us take a look at the Golden Orb spider in the animal kingdom. The silk that this spider manufacturers for it's web is five times stronger than steel, and is twice as strong as the material that is used to make bulletproof vests. In fact, due to its amazing strength and elasticity, it has been estimated, on our level, that one could trap a jumbo jet airplane with a large web of this spider silk that is the thickness of a pencil. God is a tremendous creator.
And there are many, many other examples of God's creative work not mentioned here. These designs of His are awesome and prove His existence.
Now, let me say something here about the lie of macro evolution. The evolutionists want you to believe that you came from the goo to the zoo to you. The only problem with their godless philosophy is that they cannot prove it. They cannot create life from nothing and they cannot join life together with atoms to make something come alive. Well, what about the dinosaurs and all of those weird creatures that existed back 70 million years or so. Didn't they evolve? No. God created them in prehistoric times because that is what He wanted to do. He had some interesting creations back then and this shows me that He has been in the creation business for a long time. But, no creation is as perfect as modern mankind. You are a wonderful and unique creation- created in the image of God and very valuable to Him.
The Bread Of Life never goes stale |
My Search for the Meaning of Life
Have you ever wondered what life is? Before I was saved, I wondered. Here is a brief summary of my search and what I discovered. You may be asking the same questions that I did at the time. Why am I here on this earth? Why do I have to suffer? What is the purpose for my existence? I think that it is good that you are analyzing life. I did the same thing. I had a lot of questions but few answers that satisfied me. All of these were mysteries to me that I wanted answers to.
My biggest mystery was that I didn't know what life was. I was alive. I could think. But there was something about life that eluded me. What was life? I was a hunter and killed animals to eat. Was departed life the meaning of death? If so, that still left me with more questions than answers. I had life inside of my body but I couldn't see it, hear it, smell it, feel it, or taste it. I could feel my emotions but I couldn't feel the life inside of my body. It was then I realized that this life has a reality of it's own apart from my senses.
A lot of human philosophers in the past and present, and a lot of religious teachers in the past and in the present, have attempted explanations of the meaning of life. I have read volumes of their opinions and most of the time I would get intellectually lost in their written treatises. If you look inside of yourself you have to say I am alive. You are trying to understand your own soul that is alive within you. It's pretty tough, isn't it!
Well, when I was a young man I attempted to understand my own life force and view my own soul, but I gave up in frustration. Why? I had a material body that was trying to understand something that was not material. My life was not material so it was nebulous to my material understanding. So, what did I do? I just went on my life's way like everyone else was doing. I talked to a lot of educated people and found out that most were just as confused about life's purpose as I was. Some had adopted this philosophy or that philosophy but none of that satisfied me personally.
I attended a secular college and my anthropology professor presented macro evolution from a purely humanistic view point. At the time I didn't have anything else better to believe in so I took his word for it that he was teaching me the truth. After all, they are supposed to teach you the truth in college, aren't they? So, I looked inside of myself and viewed my own invisible soul as having a material beginning. That seemed to be a contradiction of logic to me, but I shrugged my shoulders, accepted it to some degree, and went on my life's way.
When I ran into problems with my life I tried to solve them through logic. But, this didn't always work because some of life's problems seemed too big for me to tackle. What I wanted was peace in my heart. You can't see or handle peace. It is as invisible as life is. It seemed that nothing I did materially was going to satisfy this thirst I had for peace. That sad fact introduced another contradiction in my life- why did I want to keep a life inside of myself that was devoid of peace? Well, I didn't really want to, but I didn't want to kill myself, either. So I lived a life without peace, thinking that there was never going to be a way that would give me peace.
In my first 21 years on this planet I had delved into the material to satisfy the spiritual. It didn't work. It won't work that way. It didn't work for me and it won't work for you. You have to get into the spiritual to satisfy the spiritual inside of you. But Satan has all kinds of spiritual traps and land mines set around for you to step on as soon as you begin this journey into the spiritual. He is a spiritual being and now you are getting into his arena. God is also spiritual and Satan is afraid that you will discover God as you enter into this spiritual arena. You will discover that your life has been given to you by God. Your life is a gift from a "Life Being"
(John 14:6). Peace is also linked to God, Who also gives peace to any individual who asks for it
(John 14:27). And God gives other blessings.
I entered into this spiritual arena when I invited Jesus Christ to come and live inside of my
heart. As a spirit, he entered into my invisible spiritual life. He is the spiritual solution
to the spiritual life inside of me. You can read about how this took place when you
read my testimony.
Does that shock you that the answers to life are spiritual? Well, it shocked me. I had no idea that this was the case. It was the farthest thing from my mind at that time. While I was in the Navy, I had only gone to the bible study to learn about the bible so I could argue with others about it. To find reality in the spiritual was mind boggling. But that is what I found and I know that it is the truth. I found the answer to the mystery of life, I found peace in my heart, and I found a purpose for my existence. And I got all of my questions answered when I attended bible college.
Life is fragile...handle with prayer |
King Solomon penned a few words about him finding true reality in the spiritual:
"...He (God) has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor- it is the gift of God. I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken from it. God does it, that men should fear before Him"
(Ecclesiastes 3:11b-14) (Modern King James Version).
"Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the well. Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it. "Vanity of vanities", says the Preacher, "all is vanity". And moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yes, he pondered and sought out and set in order many proverbs. The Preacher sought to find acceptable words; and what was written was upright- words of truth. The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of scholars are like well-driven nails, given by one Shepherd. And further, my son, be admonished by these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is wearisome to the flesh. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every
secret thing, whether good or evil"
(Ecclesiastes 12:6-14) (Modern King James Version).
I encourage you to enter into the spiritual arena to find the spiritual answers that you seek. He who finds God finds a good thing. Wise men still seek Him. Spiritual salvation, peace in your heart, a conscious clear of guilt, and many blessings await you in God's arms. I started my spiritual journey when I was 21 years old and I can say in all honesty that I have no regrets about my decision to follow Christ.
So, how do you accept Christ and start this spiritual journey? How do you apply the spiritual water of life to your dry and thirsty soul?
Bible Firsts in Genesis
Here are some of the first things that transpired on this earth:
The first thing created was light (Genesis 1:3), according to the Gap Theory.
The first recorded words spoken by God to mankind: "be fruitful..." (Genesis 1:28).
The first lie was told by Satan: "you shall not surely die" (Genesis 3:4).
The first murderer was Cain (Genesis 4:8).
The first city was built by Enoch (Genesis 4:17).
The first recorded tentmaker was Jabal (Genesis 4:20).
The first musician was Jubal (Genesis 4:21).
The first mentioned worker in brass and iron was Tubal-cain (Genesis 4:22).
The first recorded man to die a natural death was Adam (Genesis 5:5).
The first mountain that was mentioned was Mount Aarat (Genesis 8:4).
The first biblical mention of weeping was by Hagar (Genesis 21:16).
The first recorded twins were Esau and Jacob (Genesis 25:23-26).
The number 7 as used in Genesis:
God used the number 7 in Genesis:
The expression "it was good" was mentioned 7 times in Genesis chapter 1. Everything that God has created and creates today is good.
There were 7 days of creation (Genesis 2:2-3; Exodus 20:8-11).
Enoch was the 7th generation from Adam (Jude 1:14).
7 of every clean animal was taken aboard Noah's ark (Genesis 7:2).
God "completed" the destruction of the world in Noah's time after a grace period of 7 days
(Genesis 7:2-10).
Jacob worked 7 years for Leah and 7 years for Rachel (Genesis 29:18-28).
Pharaoh dreamed of 7 lean and 7 fat cows (Genesis 41:17-21).
God used the number 7 in the rest of the bible:
The number seven appears to be God's favorite number. Why? Because of its frequent use by Him throughout this universe and in His Word. It is the number of divine completeness and perfection. Here are a few examples:
The 7th day of creation was the day that God rested. There are 7 days in a week, 7 notes in music, and 7 colors in a rainbow. The Old Testament Levitical system, many times, used a series of sevens:
Every 7th day was a sabbath day.
Every 7th year was a sabbatic year.
Every 7th sabbatic year was followed by a jubilee year.
Every 7th month was considered to be holy, having 3 feasts.
There were 7 weeks between Passover and Pentecost.
The Passover feast lasted 7 days (Deuteronomy 16:6-10).
After 7 years a person was released (from debt) (Deuteronomy 15:1).
The Feast of Tabernacles lasted 7 days (Deuteronomy 16:13-15).
King Hezekiah's offering consisted of 7 bulls, 7 rams, 7 lambs, and 7 he goats for a sin offering
(2 Chronicles 29:21).
At Pentecost 7 lambs were offered. A lamb without a spot or blemish was a type for Jesus Who was without sin. Also, 7 lambs were offered as a sacrifice at the Feast of Trumpets in the Old Testament
(Numbers 29:2).
Jericho was conquered after 7 priests with 7 war bugles, for 7 days, marched around its high walls. Then they blew their war bugles on the 7th day
(Joshua 6:4).
Syrian General Naaman had to dip himself 7 times in the Jordan River to get his healing
(2 Kings 5:14).
Elijah sent his servant 7 times to look for rain during the drought
(1 Kings 18:43).
Jesus gave 7 statements from the cross before He died:
*
1) "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34).
*
2) "Verily I say unto thee, to day shalt thou be with Me in paradise" (Luke 23:43).
*
3) "Woman, behold thy son!...behold thy mother!" (John 19:26-27).
*
4) "My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:46).
*
5) "I thirst" (John 19:28).
*
6) "It is finished" (John 19:30).
*
7) "Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit" (Luke 23:46).
There were 7 business agents in the early church (Acts 6:3-5).
In Genesis, the story of human life on this present earth begins with the 7 days of creation but, in Revelation, the story of human life on this present earth ends with the bible book of sevens.
And there are other examples not mentioned here. This number probably has a significance to God other than its numerical value but no one on this earth knows what it is.