Hope of Israel Ministries (Ecclesia of YEHOVAH):

DNA: YEHOVAH's "Book of Life"

by Jim Springer

Many people around the world do not believe that YEHOVAH God exists, classifying themselves as atheists. Others believe that YEHOVAH God does exist, but they haven’t proven His existence. Still others, the agnostics, aren’t sure whether He exists or not.

“They Are Without Excuse”

YEHOVAH God has something to say about those who do not believe He exists:

“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).

This scripture applies to all humans who have ever lived. From the beginning, people could see the things that were made by YEHOVAH God and the incredible complexity and orderliness of the creation. But for thousands of years, mankind wasn’t aware of a magnificent part of creation that lies hidden within the cells of every living creature: DNA.

Discovery of DNA

Friedrich Miescher discovered DNA in the late 1860s. But many of its secrets were not unveiled till the 1950s. He was originally trying to study the composition of lymphoid cells (white blood cells). Instead, he isolated a new molecule he called nuclein (DNA with associated proteins) from a cell nucleus. While Miescher was the first to define DNA as a distinct molecule, several other researchers and scientists have contributed to our relative understanding of DNA as we know it today. And it wasn’t until the early 1940s that DNA’s role in genetic inheritance was even begun to be researched and understood.

In 1953 James Watson and Francis Crick became the first scientists to formulate an accurate description of the DNA molecule’s complex, double-helical structure.

Sequencing the Human Genome

Since the discovery of DNA, it has been a fascinating area of research. Scientists began sequencing the human genome in 1990, and a working draft was completed in the year 2000.

“It is humbling for me, and awe-inspiring, to realize that we have caught the first glimpse of our own instruction book, previously known only to God” -- Francis Collins, director of the Human Genome Project. On June 26, 2000, President Bill Clinton congratulated those who completed the human genome sequencing, and acknowledged DNA as God’s creation. He said, “Today we are learning the language in which God created life. We are gaining ever more awe for the complexity, the beauty, the wonder of God’s most divine and sacred gift.”

The Human Genome Project (HGP) was one of the great feats of exploration in history. Rather than an outward exploration of the planet or the cosmos, the HGP was an inward voyage of discovery led by an international team of researchers looking to sequence and map all of the genes -- together known as the genome -- of members of our species, Homo sapiens. The HGP gave us the ability, for the first time, to read YEHOVAH God's complete genetic blueprint for building a human being.

The Human Genome Project, when completed in 2003, covered about 92% of the total human genome sequence. The technologies to decipher the gaps that remained didn’t exist at the time. But scientists knew that the last 8% likely contained information important for fundamental biological processes.

Since then, researchers have developed better laboratory tools, computational methods, and strategic approaches. The final, complete human genome sequence was described in a set of six papers in the April 1, 2022, issue of Science. Companion papers were also published in several other journals.

What is amazing is that within the tiny space in every cell in your body, this code is 3 billion letters long!

DNA and Intelligent Design

The DNA molecule, the basis of life, is a message. We humans know from experience that when there’s a message, an intelligent being created that message. No other explanation can account for the existence of the message.

Thus the implication is clear that DNA was produced by intelligent design. There is no better explanation for the origin and existence of that information. The only alternative offered requires an inconceivable leap from undirected nonliving matter to the information-bearing properties of DNA ” -- an impossible alternative.

Stephen Meyer makes this point clearly:

"The DNA molecule is literally encoding information into alphabetic or digital form. And that’s a hugely significant discovery, because what we know from experience is that information always comes from an intelligence, whether we’re talking about hieroglyphic inscription or a paragraph in a book or a headline in a newspaper. If we trace information back to its source, we always come to a mind, not a material process. So the discovery that DNA codes information in a digital form points decisively back to a prior intelligence" (Signature in the Cell).

But just what is DNA? If it is truly the creation of an intelligent and all-powerful Designer, we would expect that it would be accurate, optimally coded and an efficient method of storage. Is the software that runs life the result of accumulated copying errors? Or does it require a programmer? Microsoft founder Bill Gates, geneticist and entrepreneur Craig Venter, and even evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins all acknowledge that DNA is like software. But how was that software created?

We will address all of these aspects and then discuss what impact understanding this incredible molecule should have on our lives.

What is DNA?

DNA is an abbreviation for deoxyribonucleic acid. DNA is made up of four chemicals known as "bases" -- adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine -- which are represented by the letters A, G, C and T. These bases make up the rungs of DNA's ladder-like double-stranded structure. When a base joins the side of the ladder, a nucleotide is formed. When nucleotides pair with an opposite DNA strand, the ladder is complete. An A base always pairs with a T base, and a C base always pairs with a G base. By reordering these four bases in long DNA sequences, an infinite number of combinations is possible. The arrangement of these four bases, or nucleotides, serves as a recipe for cells to translate and then use in building proteins from amino acids.

There is a unique DNA sequence or code for every protein in our bodies, including those that determine our traits. For example, a sequence of ATTTTG might instruct for blue eyes, while a sequence of TTTTTG might instruct for brown. By understanding how DNA is formed and knowing what unique DNA sequences encode each protein, we can start understanding how DNA sequences affect how we function and how we look. This is because DNA is the instruction manual for all the proteins that form our body, and help it thrive for hopefully 100 years or more.

If one or more of these letters is changed, deleted, or duplicated, and this change causes the gene to not work as usual, this is called a mutation. Mutations in our genes may lead to genetic conditions in ourselves or other family members.

There also are outside factors, such as vaccines, that can change or cause a mutation within the DNA sequence. Researchers at Lund University in Malmö, Sweden, recently found that the mRNA (COVID) vaccine enters human liver cells and triggers the cell’s DNA in the nucleus to increase the production of the LINE-1 gene expression to make mRNA. The whole process occurred rapidly, within six hours, concluded the study, which was published by the university’s Department of Clinical Sciences.

These mutations can cause serious health problems such as heart conditions and autoimmune hepatitis.

When Bill Gates took biology in high school, he found it boring. However, in his book The Road Ahead, he explains the concept that changed his mind completely:

“I entered my twenties convinced that chemistry was much more interesting than biology. Then I read James D. Watson’s Molecular Biology of the Gene, an excellent book that made me realize my high school experience had misled me. Biology, the understanding of life, is now much more interesting to me than chemistry. Biological information is the most important information we can discover, because over the next several decades it will revolutionize medicine and lead to treatments for most diseases."

Does DNA Make Mistakes?

“Human DNA is like a computer program but far, far more advanced than any software we’ve ever created” -- Bill Gates. DNA must reproduce itself every time a cell divides, so it is important that the code remains the same in all of an organism’s cells. The accuracy with which it reproduces is astounding, from the simplest single-celled organisms to the most complex multicellular creatures.

Let’s look at both ends of the spectrum: E. coli bacteria (a prokaryote -- a cell without a nucleus, where the DNA is loose inside the cell) and humans (classified with the eukaryotes -- creatures with cells that have nuclei to house their DNA).

“The single molecule of DNA that is the E. coli genome contains 4.7 x 106 nucleotide pairs. DNA replication begins at a single, fixed location in this molecule, the replication origin, proceeds at about 1000 nucleotides per second, and thus is done in no more than 40 minutes. And thanks to the precision of the process (which includes a ‘proof-reading’ function), the job is done with only about one incorrect nucleotide for every 109 nucleotides inserted. In other words, more often than not, the E. coli genome (4.7 x 106) is copied without error!

“The average human chromosome contains 150 x 106 nucleotide pairs which are copied at about 50 base pairs per second. The process would take a month (rather than the hour it actually does) but for the fact that there are many places on the eukaryotic chromosome where replication can begin.…As replication nears completion, ‘bubbles’ of newly replicated DNA meet and fuse, finally forming two new molecules” (G. Tripathi, Cellular and Biochemical Science, p. 353).

Is DNA Optimally Coded?

Twenty different amino acids make up proteins in the human body, so the four bases, or letters, must somehow code for each one. From an engineering standpoint, is DNA optimally coded? Four letters make up the alphabet and sets of three letters make up the words, or codons.

According to Werner Gitt, information scientist and author, there are four requirements for the most efficient code:

"The code should use the least material to unambiguously code for at least the 20 amino acids. As the number of characters in the alphabet increases, the complexity of the execution machinery also increases. This requires more material and results in more errors during replication, transcription and translation. Because of the DNA replication system (whereby the double helix is unzipped and each of the single strands receives complementary letters), the number of letters in the alphabet must be even. In order to reduce errors during many of the copying processes, it is necessary to incorporate redundancy."

Dr. Gitt concludes:

“From an engineering point of view, and under the criteria that were considered here, the code system used in living organisms for protein synthesis -- the Quaternary Triplet Code -- is the best of all possible codes considering the four requirements that must be met. This testifies to purposeful design” (Without Excuse, 2011, p. 211).

How Efficiently Does DNA Store Data?

Since DNA uses the least material to code for the 20 amino acids, it is very efficient from a data storage viewpoint. Dr. Gitt gives the following examples to illustrate this efficiency:

"DNA the size of a pinhead contains as much information as 25 trillion 189-page paperback books. A pile of these books would stretch 920 times the distance from the earth to the moon. If you were to stretch out one milligram of a double helix strand of DNA material, it would almost stretch from the earth to the moon" (Without Excuse, p. 288).

DNA can archive a staggering amount of information in an almost inconceivably small volume. Consider this: humanity will generate an estimated 33 zettabytes of data by 2025 -- that’s 3.3 followed by 22 zeroes. DNA storage can squeeze all that information into a ping-pong ball, with room to spare. The 74 million million bytes of information in the Library of Congress could be crammed into a DNA archive the size of a poppy seed -- 6,000 times over. Split the seed in half, and you could store all of Facebook’s data.

In fact, DNA’s amazing storage capacity has prompted some scientists to attempt to harness it for data storage! ExtremeTech reported that “a bioengineer and geneticist at Harvard’s Wyss Institute successfully stored 5.5 Petabits of data -- around 700 terabytes -- in a single gram of DNA.”

Why Evolution is Impossible

Dr. Gitt, a former professor of information systems, explains,

“The basic flaw of all evolutionary views is the origin of the information in living beings. It has never been shown that a coding system and semantic information could originate by itself [through matter].…The information theorems predict that this will never be possible. A purely material origin of life is thus [ruled out]” (In the Beginning Was Information, 2005, p. 123).

It is literally impossible that DNA, in all its majestic complexity, accuracy and necessity to life, could have evolved. This would be like saying that Darwin’s Origin of the Species came into existence without a writer or a preexisting concept of language!

Several notable scientists who were formerly proponents of evolution have reversed their views based on the discoveries of the information found in DNA.

Dean Kenyon, a biology professor who repudiated his earlier book on Darwinian evolution, stated: “This new realm of molecular genetics [is] where we see the most compelling evidence of design on the Earth” (quoted by Lee Strobel in The Case for a Creator, 2004, p. 221).

One of the world’s most famous atheists, Professor Antony Flew, admitted he couldn’t explain how DNA was created and developed through evolution, and came to accept the need for an intelligent source to have been involved in the making of the DNA code.

“At age 81, after decades of insisting belief is a mistake, Antony Flew has concluded that some sort of intelligence or first cause must have created the universe. A super-intelligence is the only good explanation for the origin of life and the complexity of nature, Flew said in a telephone interview from England.…

“'Biologists’ investigation of DNA ‘has shown, by the almost unbelievable complexity of the arrangements which are needed to produce [life], that intelligence must have been involved,’ Flew says in the new video, ‘Has Science Discovered God?’” (Richard Ostling, “Leading Atheist Now Believes in God,” Dec. 9, 2004).

What Does the Design of DNA Mean for You?

The discovery of the structure of DNA in 1953 led to the understanding of how information in the form of a code was necessary for life. But such complex information cannot originate from material simply falling into place; it has to come from an intelligent Creator.

The DNA replication process shows how this information is passed on with very little error using a code that is optimally designed to build the proteins necessary for life.

Today, with advances in technology, we can see some of the smallest parts of YEHOVAH’s creation, providing further evidence of YEHOVAH God’s intelligent design.

YEHOVAH God and DNA

According to the Bible (which is itself incredibly complex) YEHOVAH God is not only the Author of our existence, but he is the Relationship that makes our existence meaningful. All the intangibles in life that we crave -- enough strength for any situation, joy, wisdom, and knowing we are loved -- YEHOVAH God alone gives these to us as we listen to Him and trust Him. He is our greatest, reliable guide in life. Just as He has engineered DNA to instruct the cell, He offers to instruct us to make our lives function well, for His glory and for our sake, because He loves us.

Reproduction and life itself provide awesome testimony to the creative genius of YEHOVAH God. As David expressed it poetically:

“For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well” (Psalm 139:13-14).

David even hints at YEHOVAH God’s knowledge of the information that makes us before we are even formed: “Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book [DNA code] they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them” (verse 16).

Our loving Creator knows our physical makeup, down to the level of DNA. But even more important, He has a plan for transforming us to become like Him -- the children of YEHOVAH God!

The apostle John wrote, “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” We are to “be like Him” (verse 2), developing the spiritual DNA displayed in the fruit of the spirit.

YEHOVAH's Book of Life

In the pages of the Bible we find references to what is called the "Book of Life" -- here are some examples:

Exodus 32:31-32: "Then Moses returned to the LORD and said, 'Oh these people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold! Yet now, if You will forgive their sin -- but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written.'"

Psalm 139:16: "Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them."

Daniel 12:1: "At that time Michael shall stand up' the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, every one who is found written in the book."

Revelation 3:5: "He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but will confess his name before my Father and before His angels."

Revelation 17:8: "The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is."

The question is -- when is someone's name written into the Book of Life? Mainstream religion would say that this happens when a person "Gives his heart to Jesus," "Is converted," "Is born again," or some such phrase. But is this true? When were these names actually written into the Book of Life?

The Bible points out that there is ONE chosen race that is "special" -- a word that means being "a valued property." These had their genetic code written into the Book of Life "before the foundation of the earth"! (Ephesians 1:4). It is their responsibility to see that their names are not blotted out of the Book of Life! This confirms what the apostle Paul said about election being made before a person has done good or evil (Romans 9:11). The Bible does not record any progressive or later entries into the Book of Life! Eternal life is given to the redeemed of Israel out of those written in the Book, who are worthy.

The popular teaching is that DNA or inborn "spirit" differences do not matter because, in that view, it is only "belief" that matters. Today, the popular understanding is that all races stem from one source, and most "Christian" churches subscribe to this view, believing that race is a social or environmental phenomenon -- rather than being biological and genetic. Since the different races have perhaps 99% in common genetically, this is taken as proof of this. But within that 1% difference are the characteristics of race and of "spirit" -- which features throughout the Bible. It does appear that "spirit" matters can be identified genetically.

Israelites are free to use or not to use the spirit that YEHOVAH God has placed in them from conception via the DNA code!

Evidence of Creation

Study DNA and other wonders of YEHOVAH’s creation, and you will find evidence of intelligent design.

“What may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:19-20).

Are you willing to see the evidence of YEHOVAH God in His creation? Will you prove to yourself that He exists? And if He does, will you seek to obey Him?

-- Edited by John D. Keyser