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Not long ago in the state of Minnesota, a terrible crime of a brutal rape and murder occurred in Hennipen County. What was even worse, was the police had absolutely no leads. There was no suspect, no reason to suspect anybody, and the case seemed to lead to a complete dead end - that is, until the newest crime-fighting tool was put into operation. Police began a journey on a brand new 21st century trail in the micro world of matter to find the rapist/killer. This was the newest edition of today's message entitled the BERTILLON BYPASS. And in a moment we'll find out about this newest crime fighting sleuth.
Have you ever called out to a person near you, thinking it was a friend or family member, only to find as they turned around that it was a case of mistaken identity? You were convinced it was someone you knew, but you had the wrong person This is an embarrassing mistake we all make one way or another. Yet proper identification for centuries has been a problem. Why even in the Bible we have cases of this too. In Genesis we are told that Isaac when he was old mistook his son Jacob for Esau, because Jacob's arm had been disguised to resemble his brother's. Yet history reveals that man has not been silent toward the issue of identifying people. Even before the birth of Jesus Christ in the first century AD, we've found that the Chinese people learned to ink thumbprints and place them on paper as personal signatures. In ancient Babylon, historical records reveal a court officer recommended taking fingerprints of robbers to identify them. Today, we know that fingerprints are ideally the best method of identifying an individual. For no one, literally no human being ever living, has had the same fingerprints.
What are fingerprints? Scientists tell us that they are the patterns left by the tiny ridges called friction ridges, of the tips of our fingers. The ridges, only one twenty-fifth of an inch thick, are the unmistakable mark of every individual. Yes, God has designed every human life He has created, to have their "signatures" upon their fingertips. Whatever ones touches we sign with our personal prints. Now, criminals through the years have tried to destroy them. Some times with acid and other body mutilating methods, but each time this is done, they always grow back exactly as the original distinct pattern. Moreover, our unmistakable prints are not limited to fingertips. We also have palm prints, and feet prints that are unique too. Today, hospitals routinely take feet and hand prints to document births so that no mix-ups can ever occur in identification of a newborn. Yes, God has made us, the billions of human beings who have ever been born - as individual, and totally unique beings - there is no one who will ever be like you and me.
Yet, fingerprints have not always been the main source of identifying people. Many centuries ago a man by the name of ALPHONSE BERTILLON, a Frenchmen developed a system of identifying people through the use of body measurements such as the length of the skull, each foot, even the size of ears. Bertillon's method soon became the main technique of identifying criminals by law enforcement authorities. That was, until a terrible case of mistaken identity occurred. In 1903 in Leavenworth Kansas, the Penitentiary there, received a new inmate named William West. Based on Bertillon's identification methods which were widely accepted then, prison officials measured this man's body. They concluded he had been there before. Even a guard identified him as a previous prisoner. Yet the prisoner pleaded innocence and stuck to his story that he had never been arrested or jailed before. However the prison guards found a card bearing his name William West, as a previous prisoner. They even had a picture that seemed to positively identify this man. That is until, another guard went through the prison and brought another man to the office. In walked William West, a man who for all purposes seem to be the twin of this other William West by the same name. Each man also had the same body measurements, and facial appearance. It was like looking in a mirror - yet both men were total strangers. It was at this point the officials wondered how to tell them apart, or who was who? One official who had studied identification methods, was sure that fingerprints were a better method to use. However, to not use BERTILLON'S TECHNIQUES stood against the grain of the experts of the day. Nonetheless, facing this unbreakable test of identity the officials tried fingerprints. To their amazement, both men had different and wholly unique prints. Soon fingerprints overshadowed the Bertillon system after that. And, to this day fingerprints alone have been the only foolproof way of identifying people, especially in crime cases.
Yet today something new in sleuth detection has arisen. Scientists have found that the DNA structure of every human being is like fingerprints, totally different, that is, except in the case of identical twins. DNA is a long molecule that contains coded genetic material. Each human cell in our bodies contain about five feet of coiled DNA strands. Today genetic fingerprinting is possible because some sections of DNA vary greatly from person to person. Because of this, only recently have crime fighting organization considered using DNA for identification purposes.
Now lets get back to my beginning crime case in Minnesota. A woman had been brutally raped and killed. The police had absolutely no clues. There was nothing they could investigate, no one to suspect, and no place to go - that is except on a micro trail of genes left by the criminal in his evil act. The victim's body contained samples of blood and semen that were taken to sophisticated laboratories for testing. Using the new DNA genetic fingerprinting techniques, Lab technicians started zeroing in on four spots on each string of genes taken from the samples. Using chemical knives, they sliced them up and sorted out the pieces. The genetic make up of each piece is written in an eight digit number. The results from the four spots of DNA are then combined to produce a single 32 digit number, which is known as the genetic profile of the human being that left the traces. Scientists have found that this genetic code and number derived, is unique to every human being. Now having this profile, forensic criminologists began checking the genetic profiles of known criminals with similar crimes. The crime lab computers identified a recently released prisoner who had the same unique pattern of genetic material. This man, Martin Perez, was arrested and now awaits trail for the brutal murder and rape of this poor victim.
You see the samples they found left at the scene of the crime, yielded DNA from inside the killer's own cells. This genetic mug shot positively identified Perez as the killer. Steve Redding, Hennipen County assistant prosecutor said " the case would never have been solved without it." Now experts say the DNA bodyprints can be found in almost anything personally left behind by criminals such as blood splotches, semen, hair, saliva even skin found under the finger nails of victims.
Today more than 10 states share data bank resources that are collecting DNA patterns of known criminal and sexual offenders. The FBI says this breakthrough is one of the greatest crime detection identification tools since the use of fingerprints. Yes, all this because God has designed each human being as unique in the universe. Yet listen to what the Bible says about you and me,
Job writes this interesting statement,
Job 37:7 (NKJV) "He seals the hand of every man, That all men may know His work."
Think of that, God has uniquely formed us with signatures that even involve the whole of our body. But then Jesus also said this about our human makeup,
Luke 12:7 (NKJV) ""But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows."
Amazingly, God reveals that even the millions of strands of our hair are different according to God's method of identification. Although man has yet to understand and discover this type of recognition - we can be sure God will never, by mistaken identity, mark the wrong man. For we are finding out that our signatures are our created bodies themselves. Yes Martin Perez thought he could get away with the brutalizing rape and murder of an innocent women, whom he lusted after and savaged for his personal pleasure. But the Bible warns,
Gal 6:7-8 (NIV) "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life."
Perhaps God had planned long ago to create us with these unique identifying marks so that in this life first of all, we could see that no man could get away with his sins. Our crimes leave identifying marks, that even now man can find through the smallest trace of human life - our genes. There's a good side to this story too. In 1981 a man named Kerry Kotler was arrested and sentenced to jail for rape charges. He was picked out of a lineup and positively identified as the rapist by the victim. Throughout the trial he claimed innocence. Yet circumstantial evidence and the victims identification was enough to convict this man of rape. After eleven years in prison, Kotler is now free - because sophisticated DNA tests recently performed on the semen traces found on the victim , did not match Kerry Kotler. His attorney's argued that he couldn't therefore be the rapist! Well, the case went before court again and this time the BERTILLION BYPASS again was used to declare a man innocent of a crime he never committed.
Since 1987 forensic scientists have tied some 700 individuals to violent crimes by matching their unique DNA codes to body tissues found on victims at crime scenes. Yes God is a great and good God, and He has given mankind , in the interest of justice, the ability to correctly identify us and our evil deeds, as we are finding out.
But my friend, know this - just as we can be found out in this life and positively identified for crimes by the trail of our genes, there is also a day coming, the Bible says, when God is going to call forth every human being who has ever lived, and stand us before a GREAT WHITE THRONE judgment ( Rev. 20). There He is going to review all the evil things we have thought, said and done - regardless of whether we got away with it in this life. Listen to God's Judgment warnings,
Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Revelation 21:8 (NIV) "[there] the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.""
Yes indeed God is a God of wrath and judgment against all who dare to defy the righteousness of the Creator God of eternity. Today non-Christians think they can cast off the restraints and teachings of the Bible ,from society and their personal lives. Yet God says "be sure your sins will find you out." (Num. 32:23) In this life we can live for ourselves, we can go through life laughing at God's Word, mocking it with the crowds approval, we can defy the living God's Word on the sin of abortion, euthanasia, sexual perversions like homosexuality and the like - but one day God will personally identify every Bible rejecting person who has ever lived. They shall be clearly marked as a lawless one who has committed the greatest crime in the universe. What is this? It is the rejection of His Son Jesus Christ, as the Lord and Savior of their life. Yes my friend, God has sent Jesus Christ to us, to save us, to reconcile us, to change us, and to gather us back to the Creator God from whom we have all strayed - and all that refuse this free offer of unbelievable sacrificial love and pardon, will face the Judge of the universe on that day.
Better for you and me, for all right now, to come forward into the presence of God, and confess our sins, asking pardon and clemency by and through the blood of Jesus Christ that was given on a cross to pay for our sin penalty. Yes DNA gene coding aside - God has your number and mine, but I sincerely pray, right now , He will find you forgiven and cleansed from all your sins through Jesus Christ the Lord. Right now, why wait till its too late, simply call upon His worthy name and ask the Lord Jesus to save you wherever you are. I did some 20 years ago right in my car as I was driving along a road - You see, the fantastic promise of Scripture is if you just ask Christ through prayer, He will with, no strings attached, grant you ears to hear and eyes to see and a heart to call out to Jesus, as your God and Savior from your sins. Quickly now claim Christ, and begin on the right road of living for Him the rest of your life with His wonderful help.
Well Alphonse Bertillon for years had given the world a crude system of identifying human beings, by his system of body measurements. Yet in time they were finally proven inaccurate. Since then fingerprints, and now DNA Gene coding, has proven to be the most fantastic means of identifying human beings from another. Although this new system of criminal identification may have some detractors, and needs ethical guidelines - who knows what other means God one day may reveal to us, to establish and bring to justice the sinners ways. One thing we know for sure, the day is coming when all men will stand before the throne of God and be called to account. I believe there will be one question asked of us. It will be " what did you do with my son Jesus? Did you take Him as your Savior and Lord and live for Him, or did you pass him by?" On that my friend, will rest every man's eternal destiny!
The World, the Word & You! Broadcast is a non-denominational ministry based on the historic fundamental evangelical interpretation of the Scriptures.A copy of our doctrinal statement is available upon request.These weekly radio commentaries can be heard in selected areas around the nation. Dennis Finnan has been the speaker for 16 years, and serves as General Director. These transcripts are available free of charge to all who desire them. Also available are radio cassette tapes and printed booklets of each message. A free listing of all messages is available upon request also.
For further information, reprints, or a listing of all topics, please write to our speaker, Dennis L. Finnan (wwyfin@sparc.isl.net)