The Quantum Internet
The Quantum Internet
Jesus says that whoever believes in him will have rivers of living water flow from deep inside him. So what is living water? What does living water do?
The book of Acts answers these questions by teaching us all about the Holy Spirit. But before we get into Acts, it’s important to remember that the Holy Spirit isn’t magical or even mystical, it’s technological. Like Arthur C. Clarke said, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
Let’s unpack this idea by breaking down the words “Holy” and “Spirit”. Those are English words. The original Greek words written by Peter, Paul, and John were “Haggia Pneuma”.
Haggia means “sacred” or “special”.
Pneuma means “breath” or “air”.
So Haggia Pneuma basically means the “Special Air”. To better understand what the “Special Air” is and does, try to imagine yourself explaining the modern wireless internet to a prehistoric caveman.
“So, uh, this little magic window isn’t magical. There are all kinds of words and sounds hidden inside a special part of the air we breathe. When you look around, you can’t see the Special Air that has information hidden inside it, but it’s there. It’s everywhere. This little magic window listens to the Special Air and turns the hidden words and sounds into YouTube videos.” 🤔
Well the Holy Spirit works the same way, but on a Quantum Mechanical level. The Holy Spirit is basically The Quantum Internet that connects some people on Earth directly to their manufacturer “in heaven”. 🤯
@cybernerds: I wrote some important code for Verizon’s wireless Internet back in 2002 that still processes billions of records from cell phone towers every day. Even after working on it, the wireless internet still feels like magic to me.
Do you know how much wireless data is passing through your body right now?
Try to imagine how many TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook videos everyone in your neighborhood is watching right now. Cell phone towers don’t know exactly where each phones is, so they have to broadcast all their wireless data to everyone within their 1-4 mile “cell”. So all that wireless data is traveling through your body right now, you just can’t detect it.
The wireless Internet is currently available on 85% of the Earth’s surface, but it’s only a tiny slice of the entire Electromagnetic Spectrum. The EM Spectrum also includes radio waves, Wi-Fi, aircraft communications, microwaves, infrared heat information, visible light, and ultraviolet radiation. Some of that “wireless data” is traveling through your body right now too, you just can’t detect it.
We live in a sea of electromagnetic radiation. The reason astronomers had to place the James Web Space Telescope one million miles away from Earth, with five separate electromagnetic heat shields, is to block all the noise from the Earth and the Sun. This allows astronomers to isolate the x-rays and gamma rays traveling to us from the farthest edges of the universe. Some of that “wireless data” is traveling through your body right now too, you just can’t detect it.
The “Holy Spirit” is just more wireless data that we can’t detect.
Here’s how Jesus explains the Holy Spirit to his disciples in John 14.
John 14: 8 “Lord,” said Philip, “show us the Father, and that’s enough for us.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been among you all this time without your knowing Me, Philip? The one who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words I speak to you I do not speak on My own. The Father who lives in Me does His works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me. Otherwise, believe because of the works themselves.
Verse 9 is way more interesting in Greek. It’s more like, “So long a time with you I am, and you don’t know me, Philip?”
That sentence would have blown Philip’s mind. Philip heard that sentence as Yahweh (God the Father) talking directly to him in first person. Jesus is unequivocally saying that he is the Avatar of God. It is either the most blasphemous statement any Jew could ever make, or the truth.
Let’s keep reading in verse 15.
15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. 17 He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive Him because it doesn’t see Him or know Him. But you do know Him, because He remains with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you.
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
19 “In a little while the world will see Me no longer, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live too. 20 In that day you will know that I am in My Father, you are in Me, and I am in you. 21 The one who has My commands and keeps them is the one who loves Me. And the one who loves Me will be loved by My Father. I also will love him and will reveal Myself to him.”
22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it You’re going to reveal Yourself to us and not to the world?”
Uh, great question…
23 Jesus answered, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 24 The one who doesn’t love Me will not keep My words. The word that you hear is not Mine but is from the Father who sent Me.
25 “I have spoken these things to you while I remain with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit—the Father will send Him in My name—will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.
“Counselor” is an English word, so it’s not in the original Greek text. Jesus used the word “Paraklētos”, which comes from para meaning “close beside” and kaléō meaning “to make a judgment call”. During Jesus’s time, paraklētos was the everyday term for an attorney or lawyer. So Jesus sees the Holy Spirit like a personal attorney who advises us on tough decisions and sometimes speaks for us in court.
The Gospel of the Holy Spirit
Let’s jump into the book of Acts. Acts was written by Luke, who begins by addressing the reader as “Theophilus”, just like he did in the Gospel of Luke. Theophilus literally means “God lover”. Acts begins just after the death and resurrection of Jesus, when the 11 remaining apostles reconvene in “the room upstairs” in Jerusalem. Here’s a video from Expedition Bible that will help illustrate the scene. (16 mins)
Acts 1: 12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called the Mount of Olives, which is near Jerusalem—a Sabbath day’s journey away. 13 When they arrived, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying:
Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James.
14 All these were continually united in prayer, along with the women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and His brothers.
Matthias Chosen
15 During these days Peter stood up among the brothers—the number of people who were together was about 120—and said: 16 “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled that the Holy Spirit through the mouth of David spoke in advance about Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. 17 For he was one of our number and was allotted a share in this ministry.” 18 Now this man acquired a field with his unrighteous wages. He fell headfirst and burst open in the middle, and all his insides spilled out. 19 This became known to all the residents of Jerusalem, so that in their own language that field is called Hakeldama (that is, Field of Blood). 20 “For it is written in the Book of Psalms:
Let his dwelling become desolate; let no one live in it; and Let someone else take his position.
21 “Therefore, from among the men who have accompanied us during the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us— 22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day He was taken up from us—from among these, it is necessary that one become a witness with us of His resurrection.”
23 So they proposed two: Joseph, called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. 24 Then they prayed, “You, Lord, know the hearts of all; show which of these two You have chosen 25 to take the place in this apostolic service that Judas left to go to his own place.” 26 Then they cast lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias. So he was numbered with the 11 apostles.
The most obvious thing to take away from this quote is that God loves numbers. We’ve seen that all throughout this chapter. See how the kingdom of God could not proceed with just 11 apostles? They needed 12. The Bible is the most mathematically sophisticated book I have ever seen. Its stories are mathematical. Its songs are mathematical. Its plays are mathematical. Its poems are mathematical.
The bigger story here though is that the Holy Spirit spoke through the mouth of David in Psalms. We heard Jesus say this happens to him in John 14, but here Peter claims that the Holy Spirit can take over regular people and dictate what they say. Here are a few other verses from the New Testament that corroborate this assertion.
Matthew 10: 20 For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
2 Peter 1: 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
These assertions seriously challenge our notion of Free Will. Did David have free will if God put those words into his mouth? Was David aware that God was putting those words into his mouth in the moment? Would we know if God was putting words into our mouths? If you believe this is possible, then you understand how the Bible was divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit. “Inspire” literally means “to put spirit into” something.
The reason I know the Bible was divinely inspired is because the Creator signed his work with a cryptographic number key, which I have pointed out in every story of this chapter. What are the odds that Moses wrote Genesis and Exodus using this number key and then 300 years later David and Solomon write stories and songs using the exact same number key? What are the impossible odds that Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Paul wrote their letters using the exact same number key 1,000 years later?
I can’t even write one cogent paragraph that follows the Bible key, so I can’t imagine 40 human authors writing 1,000 chapters that way over 1,500 years without divine inspiration. Several of those authors were shepherds and fishermen.
Reversing Babel
In Acts 1, Jesus promises his disciples that he will send his Counselor. Fifty days after he ascends into heaven, the Counselor arrives.
Acts 2: 1 When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying. 3 And tongues, like flames of fire that were divided, appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different languages, as the Spirit gave them ability for speech.
5 There were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 When this sound occurred, a crowd came together and was confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 And they were astounded and amazed, saying, “Look, aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 How is it that each of us can hear in our own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites; those who live in Mesopotamia, in Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking the magnificent acts of God in our own languages.” 12 They were all astounded and perplexed, saying to one another, “What could this be?” 13 But some sneered and said, “They’re full of new wine!”
Of course there’s a rebel in verse 13. 🙄
The first miracle the disciples perform using the power of the Holy Spirit is to reverse God’s curse from the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11. The dispersion from the Tower of Babel really happened in antiquity. You can see evidence of it in the proliferation of prehistoric human pottery, the haplogroups of our mitochondrial DNA, and the similarity of ancient ziggurats all around the world.
If you want to learn more, here’s a lecture called, “Identifying the Post-Babel Dispersion” from my favorite Bible archaeologist. (65 mins)
Next, Peter stands up and gives a rousing speech about the death and resurrection of Jesus to all the devout Jews that are assembled.
14 But Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them: “Men of Judah and all you residents of Jerusalem, let me explain this to you and pay attention to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it’s only nine in the morning. 16 On the contrary, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
17 And it will be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out My Spirit on all humanity; then your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. 18 I will even pour out My Spirit on My male and female slaves in those days, and they will prophesy. 19 I will display wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below: blood and fire and a cloud of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and remarkable Day of the Lord comes. 21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.22 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: This Jesus the Nazarene was a man pointed out to you by God with miracles, wonders, and signs that God did among you through Him, just as you yourselves know. 23 Though He was delivered up according to God’s determined plan and foreknowledge, you used lawless people to nail Him to a cross and kill Him. 24 God raised Him up, ending the pains of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it. 25 For David says of Him:
I saw the Lord ever before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 26 Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced. Moreover, my flesh will rest in hope, 27 because You will not leave me in Hades or allow Your Holy One to see decay. 28 You have revealed the paths of life to me; You will fill me with gladness in Your presence.29 “Brothers, I can confidently speak to you about the patriarch David: He is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn an oath to him to seat one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing this in advance, he spoke concerning the resurrection of the Messiah:
He was not left in Hades, and His flesh did not experience decay.32 “God has resurrected this Jesus. We are all witnesses of this. 33 Therefore, since He has been exalted to the right hand of God and has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, He has poured out what you both see and hear. 34 For it was not David who ascended into the heavens, but he himself says:
The Lord declared to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand 35 until I make Your enemies Your footstool.’36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah!”
Here’s how the crowd responded.
Acts 2: 37 When they heard this, they came under deep conviction and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles: “Brothers, what must we do?”
38 “Repent,” Peter said to them, “and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” 40 And with many other words he testified and strongly urged them, saying, “Be saved from this corrupt generation!”
A Generous and Growing Church
41 So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about 3,000 people were added to them. 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to the prayers.
43 Then fear came over everyone, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles. 44 Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. 45 They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as anyone had a need. 46 Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple complex, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with a joyful and humble attitude, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And every day the Lord added to them those who were being saved.
The Holy Spirit is what empowers the many wonders and signs we read about in verse 43. The rest of Acts is filled with these wonders and miracles.
@ChatGPT: can you list the miracles in Acts in bullet points?
ChatGPT: “Certainly! Here are some notable miracles recorded in the Book of Acts:
Healing of a lame man at the Beautiful Gate (Acts 3:1-10)
Ananias and Sapphira's deaths for lying to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:1-11)
Healing of many people in Jerusalem through Peter's shadow (Acts 5:12-16)
Release of the apostles from prison by an angel (Acts 5:17-20)
Conversion and healing of Saul (later known as Paul) on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-9)
Healing of Aeneas, a paralyzed man in Lydda (Acts 9:32-35)
Raising of Tabitha (Dorcas) from the dead in Joppa (Acts 9:36-42)
Deliverance of Peter from prison by an angel (Acts 12:6-11)
Paul's blinding and subsequent healing by Ananias (Acts 9:10-19)
Healing of the lame man at Lystra (Acts 14:8-10)
These are just a few examples of the miracles recorded in the Book of Acts. There are several more accounts of supernatural events throughout the book.
The Holy Spirit can raise you from the dead. The Holy Spirit can free you from any prison. The Holy Spirit can help you “walk straight”. The Holy Spirit can transform a murderer like Saul into a great leader like Paul—same guy, new heart. But maybe the scariest power of the Holy Spirit is that he can make you drop dead while you’re still standing up. 😳
Heaven is Communist
Let’s read the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 to see what could happen when we lie to the Holy Spirit.
Acts 5: 1 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property. 2 However, he kept back part of the proceeds with his wife’s knowledge, and brought a portion of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the proceeds from the field? 4 Wasn’t it yours while you possessed it? And after it was sold, wasn’t it at your disposal? Why is it that you planned this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God!” 5 When he heard these words, Ananias dropped dead, and a great fear came on all who heard. 6 The young men got up, wrapped his body, carried him out, and buried him.
Scary. Even scarier, the same thing happens to his wife.
Acts 2: 7 There was an interval of about three hours; then his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 “Tell me,” Peter asked her, “did you sell the field for this price?”
“Yes,” she said, “for that price.”
9 Then Peter said to her, “Why did you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out!”
10 Instantly she dropped dead at his feet. When the young men came in, they found her dead, carried her out, and buried her beside her husband. 11 Then great fear came on the whole church and on all who heard these things.
So why did Ananias and Sapphira drop dead from holding back proceeds from the church? They dropped dead because the first church on Earth was completely communist. Think about it. If the “last should come first and the first should come last”, then everyone in between should have the same quality of life. Heaven judges everyone by how we treat the weakest of us, not the strongest.
Let’s go back and read what happened just after Peter’s speech at Pentecost again.
Acts 2: 43 Then fear came over everyone, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles. 44 Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. 45 They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as anyone had a need.
See, the early church was communist. Everyone shared equally in the possessions of the group. This story is one of many reasons that most Christian monasteries are communist, not allowing personal possessions. It’s the logical conclusion of everyone treating their neighbor as if they were their own flesh and blood.
We also see communism in the distribution of manna in Exodus 16 (love).
Exodus 16: 14 When the layer of dew evaporated, there were fine flakes on the desert surface, as fine as frost on the ground. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they asked one another, “What is it?” because they didn’t know what it was.
Moses told them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather as much of it as each person needs to eat. You may take two quarts per individual, according to the number of people each of you has in his tent.’”
17 So the Israelites did this. Some gathered a lot, some a little. 18 When they measured it by quarts, the person who gathered a lot had no surplus, and the person who gathered a little had no shortage. Each gathered as much as he needed to eat. 19 Moses said to them, “No one is to let any of it remain until morning.” 20 But they didn’t listen to Moses; some people left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and smelled. Therefore Moses was angry with them.
If you feel like there’s no way heaven is communist, you're wrong. In 2 Corinthians 8, Paul actually quotes from Exodus 16 for the exact same reason.
Appeal to Complete the Collection
2 Corinthians 8: 1 We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God granted to the churches of Macedonia: 2 During a severe testing by affliction, their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed into the wealth of their generosity. 3 I testify that, on their own, according to their ability and beyond their ability, 4 they begged us insistently for the privilege of sharing in the ministry to the saints, 5 and not just as we had hoped. Instead, they gave themselves especially to the Lord, then to us by God’s will. 6 So we urged Titus that just as he had begun, so he should also complete this grace to you. 7 Now as you excel in everything—faith, speech, knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love for us—excel also in this grace.
Grace means giving. Notice that giving is a skill that Paul wants the church in Corinth to excel in—just like faith, speech, knowledge, and self-control. What a great testimony for the churches of Macedonia. I guess that’s why there’s no instructional letter from Paul called “Macedonians” in the Bible. 😆
2 Corinthians 8: 8, I am not saying this as a command. Rather, by means of the diligence of others, I am testing the genuineness of your love. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ: Though He was rich, for your sake He became poor, so that by His poverty you might become rich.
10 Now I am giving an opinion on this because it is profitable for you, who a year ago began not only to do something but also to desire it. 11 But now finish the task as well, that just as there was eagerness to desire it, so there may also be a completion from what you have. 12 For if the eagerness is there, it is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have. 13 It is not that there may be relief for others and hardship for you, but it is a question of equality— 14 at the present time your surplus is available for their need, so their abundance may also become available for our need, so there may be equality. 15 As it has been written:
The person who gathered much did not have too much, and the person who gathered little did not have too little.
See, Paul quotes the story in Exodus 16. Heaven and the early church were governed by free-will communism. Every time I tell Christians in America that Jesus is a “free-will communist”, they laugh out loud hilariously. I don’t get it. Just listen to what he says in Luke 12.
Luke 12: 32 Don’t be afraid, little flock, because your Father delights to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Make money-bags for yourselves that won’t grow old, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
A few verses later Jesus is still talking about managing money. He says, “But the one who did not know and did things deserving of blows will be beaten lightly. Much will be required of everyone who has been given much. And even more will be expected of the one who has been entrusted with more.”
If you have any kind of financial abundance, you should seriously reconsider how much of your money you invest in charities, including this one. We will use your money to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ to scholars and scientists all around the world using the latest technologies.
Eyes to See and Ears to Hear
By the end of Acts, the apostle Paul completes his long journey to preach to the Jews living in Rome. Here’s the ending of Acts.
Acts 28: 23 After arranging a day with him, many came to him at his lodging. From dawn to dusk he expounded and witnessed about the kingdom of God. He tried to persuade them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets. 24 Some were persuaded by what he said, but others did not believe.
25 Disagreeing among themselves, they began to leave after Paul made one statement: “The Holy Spirit correctly spoke through the prophet Isaiah to your ancestors 26 when He said,
Go to these people and say: You will listen and listen, yet never understand; and you will look and look, yet never perceive. 27 For the hearts of these people have grown callous, their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and be converted, and I would heal them.28 Therefore, let it be known to you that this saving work of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen!” 29 After he said these things, the Jews departed, while engaging in a prolonged debate among themselves.
Paul’s Ministry Unhindered
30 Then he stayed two whole years in his own rented house. And he welcomed all who visited him, 31 proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with full boldness and without hindrance.
If you have made it this far into my book “Uncertainty” and haven’t found a reason to believe in God, maybe pray out loud right now:
Continue reading…
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