As the human body experiences a biological aging process, the earth, too, grows old, like a garment, until it will one day be folded up, scrapped and replaced altogether by a new earth.

Weathering and erosion on the earth are evidence of an earth becoming dry, wrinkled, and timeworn. Mountains themselves eventually succumb to the hostile and destructive surface environment of the earth.

Like man, each rock has cracks and faults into which the elements of nature are prone to attack. Under enough pressure, all rocks will crack. Once they are broken down, they are susceptible to all forms of environmental influences. This object lesson in nature describes why Israel was to rely on God’s strength, and prevent any outside influences from seeping into her society that could initiate her destruction.

This mechanical weathering of our individual lives is what Jesus warned about in both His parable of the thief breaking in to steal and in the parable of the shepherds attempting to enter the sheepfold by methods other than the door, seeping in merely for the sake of breaking down and hurting the innocent sheep inside. These illustrations, lessons described to us by nature itself, represent the false teachers and insincere religious teachings that break down our faith, our strength, in our Rock, Christ.

In chemical terminology, bonding occurs when atoms of one or more elements join to form a compound. When atoms separate, this bond is broken down and the compound is destroyed. In relationship to mankind, this bonding is illustrated by marriage and the separation is the breakup of the family values God so favors.

The children of Israel were only to marry into their own national heritage to prevent irregular compounding. They were to remain a close-knit family group. This bonded closeness of the family unit is the brotherhood which God has promised to us in the kingdom, when all nations will be part of the family of God for eternity, bonded together in unity with Christ.

The electron configurations of the atoms involved in these bonding processes determine the strength and nature of the chemical bonds produced by them. This is why God’s nation was to retain the pure truth and how greatly it is stressed to them throughout the scriptures, to teach their children to remain true to God, to their family and to their nation. This adaptation to the truth is tantamount to both the physical and spiritual strength of the nation of Israel.

Metallic bonding is a composition of electrons that produce metals such as gold, silver, and copper. This metallic bonding produces a high electrical conductivity making these elements easily formable and shapeable. This is a major spiritual property we are to retain within ourselves, allowing God to mold us into whatever manner of vessel he deems necessary for his future purpose. By allowing him to work with us, allowing him to mold our lives for us, we become precious metals in his sight, easily workable and quite valuable to him.

A mineral is a chemical compound with properties that are different from the elements that it is composed of. A rock is a mixture of minerals. Christ, as our solid rock, is a mixture of all God’s pure positive attributes and sincere truth, while worthless stones, false teachers, are simply a conglomeration of mixed emotions, mixed up negative factors and lies. False teachers are repeatedly referred to as “rocks” throughout the Bible and Jesus told His disciples, when pointing out the beautiful appearance of the rocks composing the temple complex in Jerusalem, that not one of these stones would be left upon another.

These worthless rocks, as beautiful as they may appear by man’s standards, are further illustrated by Jesus’ message to the false teachers of His era that looked beautiful on the outside, but within were full of extortion and excess. “Their rock is not as our rock,” the Song of Moses also points out. Our Rock is Christ, solid, pure and secure.

Metamorphism, the changing of one rock form to another, is the same process by which a caterpillar is transformed into a beautiful butterfly. This process of change is a graphic example to us in nature of how man, too, goes through a certain process in our corruptible state as worthless rocks, to our future state of beauty and incorruption as perfect gemstones.

Rock metamorphosis eventually transforms common rocks to deposits of iron, gold, and other precious metals. These are the very resources described throughout the scriptures as being the materials necessary for use in building God’s eternal Temple.

The differences in minerals are attributed to the conditions under which they were formed. These circumstances generally don’t vary much but pressure, depth and other factors determine what individual type of mineral each will ultimately become. Each individual likewise experiences his own unique set of circumstances throughout his life and although individual situations vary considerably, the factors causing them are likewise without much variation.

A number of minerals are highly prized for their economic value in the world of geology. Luster is the appearance, or quality of light reflected from the surface of a mineral. The higher the quality of luster of a mineral, the higher its worth is considered to be. We are to let our light shine for Christ, to sparkle with luster by reflecting the light of Christ in our lives. This is well pleasing and most favorable to the Lord.

On the earth’s surface, there are only about 25 abundant types of minerals that make up the majority of the continental crust. With mankind there’s not a lot of variation, either; the basic composition of man remains the same. All men are alike, yet each individual is formed with different properties and characteristics that make him distinctively different from all others.

Every element in the geological formation of the earth has its spiritual, prophetic counterpart and in the kingdom we will each understand their true significance. Until then, we are only allowed to speculate and must rely, in absolute faith, that God, Creator of heaven and earth, has, is, and will yet see to it that his plan is brought to pass, shaping and forming every millimeter of the universe to bring about the perfect world yet to come. Willingly allowing him to direct us at his discretion, is faith, the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.