Genesis 1 - THE TRIUNE GOD SPEAKS…
WHAT DOES ALMIGHTY GOD TELL US ABOUT HIMSELF?
WHAT DOES ALMIGHTY GOD SHOW US?
WHAT DOES ALMIGHTY GOD TELL US ABOUT OUR BEGINNINGS…THE WORLD’S….MANKIND'S?
WHAT DOES HE WANT US TO KNOW ABOUT IN THE BEGINNING….
WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW/UNDERSTAND…WHEN WE STUDY GENESIS 1 IS THIS:
THERE IS ONE GOD.
ONE TRIUNE GOD…and no others.
THE WORLD PRAYS TO AND BELIEVES IN 100s OF GODS.
ALMIGHTY GOD SAYS THEY ARE AN ILLUSION.
THEY DO NOT EXIST.
THEY NEVER DID.
ALMIGHTY GOD TELLS US STRAIGHT OUT….THERE IS ONE GOD….and no others.
ALMIGHTY GOD does NOT DEFEND NOR OFFER ELABORATE ARGUMENTS FOR HIS EXISTENCE.
However, GENESIS AS WELL THE HOLY BIBLE DOES TELL US HOW WE CAN KNOW ALMIGHTY GOD EXISTS.
YOU HAVE EYES….LOOK AROUND YOU…we can know God exists because of what we see in creation.
PSALM 19:1-4 reminds us too. “The heavens DECLARE (SPEAK TO US) the glory of God; and the firmament SHOWS (EYES THAT SEE) His handiwork. Day unto day UTTERS speech, and night unto night REVEALS knowledge. There is NO speech NOR language where THEIR (THE TRIUNE GOD) voice is not heard. THEIR LINE has gone out through all the earth, and THEIR WORDS to the end of the world.”
ROMANS 1:20 confirms, “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.”
Though THROUGHOUT HISTORY….MANY seek to deny the effectiveness of the teleological argument for the existence of God (MEANING: the understanding that there must be a purposeful intelligence Who created this world), it still remains unanswered by the atheist or the agnostic.
We come to the Bible BELIEVING it is the place where God HAS spoken to man, perfectly and comprehensively.
We BELIEVE 2 Timothy 3:16-17, which reminds us… “ALL Scripture is GIVEN BY inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
We CAN STUDY THE TRIUNE God, but we can’t put Him under a microscope. We can only confidently know about Him what He CHOOSES to reveal to us. What He DOES CHOOSE to tell us is profitable, IMPORTANT, ROCK SOLID, and useful for us.
We BELIEVE THE BIBLE must be read, accepted, & understood literally, that is, as straightforward and true. The TRIUNE GOD DOES NOT SPEAK IN SECRET CODE, HE KEEPS IT SIMPLE…SO THAT EVEN A CHILD CAN HEAR AND UNDERSTAND. HE WANTS US TO KNOW HIM.
The Bible is much more than a book; it is a library of books, and books written in different literary forms. Some portions of the Bible give a historical account, others are poetic, and some are prophetic.
We must understand the Bible literally according to its literary context. For example, when David wrote in Psalm 6:6 “All night I make my bed swim; I drench my couch with my tears,” he used a POETIC LITERARY FORM. We understand David did NOT literally mean he cried so much that he flooded his room and set his bed afloat….but that he wept…and wept hard.
But when the Bible speaks in a HISTORICAL NARRATIVE, we understand it as REAL HISTORY, NOT STORIES, PRETEND, ALLEGORY, NOR make-believe fables and myths meant only to tell a spiritual story. IT REALLY OCCURRED…EXACTLY AS IT IS TOLD.
If we don’t approach the Bible this way, then how WILL WE approach it? Then it is all up to how anyone “FEELS” about the text. Though the teachings of Scripture may have infinite applications, they only have ONE TRUE interpretation that is PRECISE.
Professor Morris says it best, “The only proper way to interpret Genesis 1 is not to ‘interpret’ it at all. That is, we accept the fact that it was meant to say exactly what it says.”
My Native American grandmother told me, “Faith, there can be NO MIDDLE GROUND WITH THE HOLY BIBLE. YOU EITHER BELIEVE THE TRIUNE GOD’S WORD IS ABSOLUTE TRUTH, WHETHER YOU UNDERSTAND ALL THINGS OR NOT, OR IT IS ALL A LIE. YOU CAN NOT ACCEPT SOME PARTS OF THE BIBLE AND REJECT OTHERS.”
We come to the Bible knowing the KJV HOLY BIBLE is the PUREST & CLOSEST possible to the ancient originals, which ALMIGHTY GOD HIMSELF perfectly inspired.
We CAN KNOW IT IS TRUTH, BY SOCIETAL, GOVERNMENTAL, ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDINGS, & JEWISH SCRIBES WRITINGS OF THE TIMES AND EVENTS DOWN THROUGH HISTORY…that what IS WRITTEN & DOCUMENTED IN THE OLD TESTAMENT IS PURE TRUTH.
We can KNOW THAT THE OLD TESTAMENT SUPPORTS THE NEW TESTAMENT AND THAT THE NEW TESTAMENT, AND JESUS HIMSELF CONFIRMS/AFFIRMS THE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHETS, SCRIBES, MEN AND WOMEN OF THE TIME.
We come to the Bible knowing the UNIQUE importance of the Book of Genesis.
We KNOW The Bible would be incomplete and perhaps incomprehensible WITHOUT the Book of Genesis. GENESIS sets the stage for the entire drama of redemption, which unfolds in the rest of the book.
Also ALL IMPORTANT doctrines and teachings have their foundation in the Book of Genesis: the doctrines of sin, redemption, justification, Jesus Christ, the personality and personhood of God, the kingdom of God, the fall, Israel, the promise of the Messiah, and more.
Genesis SHOWS/TELLS US the origins of the universe, order and complexity, the solar system, the atmosphere and hydrosphere, the origin of life, man, marriage, evil, language, government, culture, nations, religion. It is precisely because people TODAY HAVE ABANDONED THE TRUTH/INTRO/TEACHINGS OF GENESIS that society is in such disarray.
Genesis IS IMPORTANT to the New Testament. There are at least 165 passages in Genesis either directly quoted or clearly referred to in the New Testament; many of these are quoted more than once, so there are at least 200 quotations or allusions to Genesis in the New Testament.
Jesus Christ himself DECLARED the importance of BELIEVING what Moses wrote in JOHN 5:46-47, which says, “For if you believed Moses, you would believe ME; for he wrote about ME. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe MY words?”
We CAN’T SAY we believe in Jesus if we DON’T believe in the Book of Genesis.
AND….according to LUKE 24:27 & LUKE 24:44 Moses wrote the Book of Genesis. We can surmise that he did this with help from actual written records from the past God had preserved. There are indicators of where these records begin and end. Note the phrasing of Genesis 2:4; 5:1, 6:9; 10:1; 11:10; 11:27; 25:12; 25:19; 36:1; 36:9; 37:2.
The FIRST five days of creation.
Tells us the philosophical importance of KNOWING God as creator.
If everything around us, including ourselves, is the result of random, meaningless occurrences apart from the work of a creating God, then it says something about who WE ARE, and where WE ARE, and WHERE the whole universe, are going. Then we HUMAN BEINGS don’t have any more significance than an amoebae; then there is no greater law in the universe than survival of the fittest.
SO THE ONLY REAL WAY TO FIND OUT WHO WE ARE is from God. The best place to find out? IN THE VERY BEGINNING…
BEGINS in Genesis.
There are many possible answers man gives to the question of HOW everything came into being. Some say, once there was absolutely nothing, and now there is something.
BUT THE BIBLE says before there was anything created, there was THE TRIUNE GOD.
GENESIS TELLS US A simple, EASY TO UNDERSTAND TRUTH regarding God work as creator.
“In the beginning God CREATED the heavens and the earth.”
GOD CREATED…this summary statement will be detailed in the following verses, but the Bible simply and straightforwardly declares the world DID NOT CREATE ITSELF or COME ABOUT BY CHANCE. It WAS CREATED by God, who, by definition, is eternal and has always been.
GOD CREATED…IS USED 35 TIMES IN GENESIS 1 ALONE.
OBVIOUSLY GOD KNEW THE ARGUMENTS AND DEBATES AND QUESTIONS WOULD COME…SO HE PATIENTLY REPEATS HIMSELF…like a patient parent teaching babies by rote.
God created…God created…God created….
So if you BELIEVE GENESIS 1:1, you really SHOULD HAVE NO TROUBLE BELIEVNG THE REST OF THE BIBLE.
GOD IS THE ANCIENT HEBREW WORD…ELOHIM. IT IS THE ONLY HEBREW WORD FOR GOD THAT GOD USES IN THE PLURAL FORM (AS THE TRIUNE GOD=ALMIGHTY GOD, JESUS CHRIST, & THE HOLY SPIRIT) AND AS HIMSELF THE LORD GOD…(IS ONLY ALMIGHTY GOD).
GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS…The simple fact of God’s creation is even more amazing when we consider the greatness of God’s universe.
A typical galaxy contains BILLIONS of individual stars; our galaxy alone (the Milky Way) contains 200 BILLION stars. Our galaxy is shaped like a giant spiral, rotating in space, with arms reaching out like a pinwheel, and our sun is one star on one arm of the pinwheel. It would take 250 million years for the pinwheel to make one full rotation. But this is only OUR galaxy; there are many other galaxies with many other shapes, including spirals, spherical clusters, and flat pancakes. The average distance between one galaxy and another is about 20 MILLION TRILLION miles. Our closest galaxy is the Andromeda Galaxy, about 12 million trillion miles away.
But God did all this HIMSELF…confirmed/affirmed in ISAIAH 48:13, “Indeed My hand has laid the foundation of the earth, and My right hand has stretched out the heavens; when I call to them, they stand up together.”
But God is BIGGER AND GREATER than all His creation. ISAIAH 40:12, which confirms, “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, measured heaven with a span and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure?”
GOD CREATED the heavens and the earth: If God created the heavens and the earth, then we must FOREVER REJECT ANY MANKIND IDEAS that anything happens by chance.
“CHANCE, LUCK, FATE, KISMET, OOPS” merely describes the statistical probability of something happening. Chance itself can “do” nothing.
But assigning such power to “chance” is crazy. Chance has NO POWER. For example, when a coin is flipped, the chance it will land “heads” is 50%; however, “chance” does not make it land heads. Whether or not it lands heads or tails is due to the strength with which the coin is flipped, the strength of air currents and air pressure as it flies through the air, where it is caught, and if it is flipped over once it is caught. Chance doesn’t “do” anything but describe a PROBABILITY.
Therefore, when someone says the universe or anything else came about BY CHANCE, they are extremely ignorant, superstitious, or just repeating a line they have heard before and have unthinkingly accepted.
GOD CREATED: Inherent in the idea of God is that He is an INTELLIGENT DESIGNER. Only an intelligent designer could create a just-right universe, not “chance.” Our universe IS a just-right universe.
The universe has a just-right gravitational force.
IF it were larger, the stars would be too hot and would burn up too quickly and too unevenly to support life.
IF it were smaller, the stars would remain so cool, nuclear fusion would never ignite, and there would be no heat and light.
The universe has a just-right speed of light.
IF it were larger, stars would send out too much light.
IF it were smaller, stars would not send out enough light.
The universe has a just-right average distance between the stars.
IF it were larger, the heavy element density would be too thin for rocky planets to form, and there would only be gaseous planets.
IF it were smaller, planetary orbits would become destabilized because of the gravitational pull from other stars.
The universe has a just-right polarity of the water molecule.
IF it were greater, the heat of fusion and vaporization would be too great for life to exist.
IF it were smaller, the heat of fusion and vaporization would be too small for life’s existence, liquid water would become too inferior a solvent for life chemistry to proceed, ice would not float, leading to a runaway freeze-up.
We SHOULD conclude that there is NO CHANCE that such a universe could create itself, apart from an Intelligent Designer.
IN THE BEGINNING…God created the heavens and the earth: This tells us that God used NO PRE-EXISTING MATERIAL to create the earth. The ancient Hebrew word bara (created) is specific. It means to CREATE OUT OF NOTHING, showing that God created the world out of nothing, not out of Himself. God IS separate from His creation. Unlike Eastern and pantheistic perceptions of god, the Bible teaches the universe could perish yet He would remain.
Men CAN NOT…WILL NOT EVER “create” in the sense the term is used in Genesis 1:1. MANKIND & SATAN HIMSELF can only “fashion” or “form” things out of EXISTING material. The closest we come to creating is in reproducing ourselves sexually. This is perhaps one reason why Satan wants to pervert and destroy God’s plan and standard for sexuality/marriage; it is deeply connected to our being made IN THE IMAGE of God.
The Bible’s clear teaching of God’s creation and the uncertainty of modern science.
Some scientists often act certain in their knowledge about the origin of the universe, but their constant “revolutionary discoveries” prove they are really just GROPING in the dark. They TREAT theories…ideas…as FACTS. When they are NOT. Honest scientists, those not puffed up with a proud arrogance, will admit this.
Psalm 136 connects the Genesis account of creation with the rest of Israel’s history in a seamless fabric. The creation account is not put in a category of “historical fiction.”
Jesus QUOTED Genesis as if it were a purely historical record in Matthew 19:4-6 and Matthew 23:35.
It is true that Genesis was not written primarily as a scientific document. But if God gave us a truly scientific, detailed account of creation, written in scientific language, there would be no one who could understand it and no end to the length of such an account.
THINK ABOUT IT….
It has taken man almost 7000 years to get smart enough & technologically advanced enough to see, separate, and begin to discern THE ATOM & DNA…two ONLY TWO microscopic ingredients in GOD’S creation & energy OF ALL THINGS.
ALMIGHTY GOD KEEPS IT SIMPLE…NOT BECAUSE HE IS, BUT BECAUSE WE CAN NOT FATHOM, MUCH LESS UNDERSTAND ALL THE HOWS OF CREATION.
PROVERBS 25:2 tells us, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.”
Scientific inquiry is the glory OF MAN; yet it must all be done with utmost humility, realizing God conceals these matters for man to search out.
GOD WANTS US TO SEEK HIM…IF WE DO…HE PROMISES WE WILL FIND HIM…
God did all this in the beginning, yet there was MUCH BEFORE the beginning.
God Himself was BEFORE the beginning: “Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting.” in Psalm 93:2.
Some are troubled by the questions, “Where did God come from?” and “Who created God?” The answer is found in the definition of God - that God is the uncreated Being, eternal, and without beginning or end.
GOD ALWAYS WAS, IS, AND SHALL EVER BE.
This is demonstrated in several passages of Scripture. Psalms 90:1-2 says, “Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.”
The Bible is telling us this: THE TRIUNE GOD IS THE ONLY infinite, eternal, and unchangeable spirit, the perfect being in whom all things begin, and continue, and end.
God WAS/IS in THREE PERSONS before the beginning, and the Persons shared a relationship of love and fellowship: “Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. . . for You loved Me BEFORE the foundation of the world.” (John 17:5; 17:24)
EPHESIANS 3:11 says, “Before the beginning, there was an eternal purpose in the heart of God to gather together in one all things in Christ.” God’s PURPOSE was to “resolve” or “sum up” ALL things in Jesus, as if Jesus Himself were THE ANSWER to a great and complex problem God wrote out on the “blackboard” of the universe.
Before the beginning, God had a specific plan to fulfill this eternal purpose, with many different aspects revealed to us:
1 Peter 1:20 tells us, the mission of Jesus was foreordained before the foundation of the world. “He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.”
TITUS 1:2 says, “Eternal life was promised before time began: in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.”
1 Corinthians 2:7 tells us the mystery of the gospel (the cross) was foreordained before the ages. “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory.”
2 Timothy 1:9 tells us the grace given unto us was given before the world began. “Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.”
Ephesians 1:4 tells us believers in Jesus Christ were chosen in Him before the foundation of the world. “Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.”
Job 38:7 tells us at some time before the beginning, “God created the angels, because they witnessed the creation of the heavens and the earth.”
GENESIS TELLS US the state of the earth before God organized creation.
“The earth was WITHOUT FORM, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”
Some translate the idea in this verse as the earth became without form and void. Their thinking is the earth was originally created not without form and void, but it became without form and void through the destructive work of Satan. However, this is not the plain grammatical sense of the ancient Hebrew.
Those who follow this idea look to Isaiah 45:18: “For thus says the Lord, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: “I am the Lord, and there is no other.”
The idea is God here says He did not create the world in vain (the Hebrew word is the same as the word for void in Genesis 1:1).
Based on these ideas, some have advanced what has been called the “Gap Theory.” It is the idea that there was a long and indefinite chronological gap between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. Most “Gap Theory” adherents use the theory to explain the fossil record, assigning old and extinct fossils to this indefinite gap.
THE GAP THEORY FAILS to explain the extinction and fossilization of ancient animals. The Bible says plainly death came by Adam (Romans 5:12), and since fossils are the result of death, they could NOT have happened BEFORE Adam’s time.
Darkness was on the face of the deep: This may describe a sense of resistance to the moving of the Holy Spirit on the earth. Some speculate this was because Satan was cast down to the earth (Isaiah 14:12; Ezekiel 28:16) and resisted God’s plan, though his resistance was futile.
When God created the earth, He quite likely built an “old” earth, creating things in the midst of a time sequence, with age “built in.”
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
For example, Adam was already OF MATURE AGE when he was created; there was age “built in.” Likewise, the trees in the Garden of Eden had rings in them, and there were undoubtedly canyons and sand beaches in Adam’s world.
Verses 3-5 tells us the first day of creation: light is created and divided from the darkness.
“Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.”
Let there be light: The FIRST step from chaos to order is to BRING LIGHT. This is also the way God works in our life.
2 Corinthians 4:3-6. Paul speaks about the light brought to us by the gospel. “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
Then GOD SAID: God did not have to fashion light with His hands. It was enough for God to merely SPEAK THE WORDS, “Light be!” and there WAS light.
Because God created things by SPEAKING THEM INTO EXISTENCE, some have said we can operate on the same principle, speaking things into existence BY FAITH.
This is based on a wrong understanding of Hebrews 11:3 (by faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God), which is taken to say God Himself used faith in creating the world. Instead, it says it is by faith we understand God created the world.
Also, some have a wrong understanding of Mark 11:22 which is taken to literally mean “have God’s faith” as if we are to have the same faith God has. But the words Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God” cannot mean this, because faith, as Hebrews 11:1 tells us, is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. What does God “hope” for? What does He not see? An omnipotent, omniscient Being certainly does not need faith. He IS the object of faith.
There was light: Genesis tells us that light, day, and night each existed before the sun and the moon were created on the fourth day (Genesis 1:14-19). This shows us that light is more than a physical substance; it also has a SUPERNATURAL aspect. In the new heavens and the new earth, there won’t be ANY sun or moon. God Himself WILL BE the light (Revelation 22:5).
The darkness God sent upon the Egyptians (Exodus 10:21) had a tangible quality to it, far beyond what we usually think of as being associated with darkness; it could BE FELT. This demonstrates a certain supernatural element, which can be related to light and darkness.
So the evening and the morning were the FIRST DAY: Many wonder if this was a literal day (in the sense we think of a day) or if it was a geological age. Some say that God created the world in six days, and others say He created it in six vast geological ages. Though there is disagreement among Christians on this, the most plain and simple meaning of the text is that He created in six days as we think of days.
WHY?
BECAUSE HEAVEN IS ETERNAL…THERE IS NO NEED FOR DAY OR NIGHT NOR TIME… DAYS AND TIME WAS CREATED SOLELY FOR MANKIND & NATURE. GOD SAID DAYS…HE MEANT OUR UNDERSTANDING OF DAYS.
WE SHOULD BELIEVE AND ACCEPT 6 DAYS meant just that 6 24 hour days as HE CREATED THEM FOR US.
Verses 6-8 tells us the second day of creation: God makes an atmospheric division.
“Then GOD SAID, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” Thus 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. So the evening and the morning were the second day.”
Let there be a firmament: The idea of a firmament is that the waters of the land are separated from the water vapor in the sky.
The waters which were above the firmament: Here, the Bible recognizes the existence of water vapor in the sky. “The waters above the firmament thus probably constituted a vast blanket of water vapor above the troposphere and possibly above the stratosphere as well, in the high temperature region now known as the ionosphere, and extending far into space.”
WHY?
It would serve as a global greenhouse, maintaining an essentially uniformly pleasant temperature ALL OVER THE ENTIRE WORLD.
Without great temperature variations, there would be no significant winds, and the water-rain cycle could not form. There would be no rain as we know it today…and no need for it.
There would be lush, tropical-like vegetation, all over the world, fed not by rain, but by a rich evaporation and condensation cycle, resulting in heavy dew or ground-fog.
The vapor blanket would filter out ultraviolet radiation, cosmic rays, and other destructive energies bombarding the planet. These are known to be the cause of mutations, which decrease human longevity. Human and animal life spans would be greatly increased.
AFTER THE GARDEN OF EDEN & BEFORE THE FLOOD…MANKIND & ANIMALS LIFE SPAN WAS NORMALLY 900 YEARS.
AND THIS WATER VAPOR BLANKET…PROVIDED the necessary reservoir for a potential worldwide flood to come 1000 years later.
Verses 9-13 tells us the third day of creation: the land is divided from the sea; plants and all types of vegetation are created.
“Then GOD SAID, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the third day.”
The idea is that before this, the earth was covered with water. Now the waters are gathered together into one place, and dry land appears.
WHY?
ALMIGHTY GOD KNEW HIS CREATION. HE KNEW MAN COULD NOT LIVE IN WATER 24/7, PROCREATE, PROSPER, & REPLENISH THE EARTH IN WATER….MAN, NATURE, & MOST CREATURES NEEDED LAND, & DIRT TO REPLENISH THEMSELVES.
Let the earth bring forth grass: All this happened BEFORE the creation of the Sun (the fourth day of creation, Genesis 1:14-19). This means the plants must have had SUFFICIENT nourishment because of the light God had created before the sun and the moon.
Those who propose these days of creation were not literal days, but successive “ages” of slow, evolutionary development have a real problem here. It is hard to explain how plants and all vegetation could grow and thrive eons before the sun and the moon. No modern evolutionist would argue plant life is older than the sun or the moon, but this is what the Genesis record tells us.
Many wonder how the sun, moon, and stars were created on the fourth day when light (including day and night) was created on the first day. Many have suggested the problem is solved by saying these heavenly bodies were created on the first day, but were not specifically visible, or not finally formed, until the fourth. But Revelation tells us of a coming day when we WON’T NEED the sun, moon, and stars any longer (Revelation 21:23). There’s no reason why God couldn’t have started creation in the same way He will end it.
And it was so: This is the beginning of life on planet earth, directly INSTANTLY created by God, NOT slowly evolving over millions of years as mankind‘s “theories”…not PROOFS…just “theories” want us to believe. And NONE of which HAVE OR WILL BE EVER CONFIRMED OR PROVED.
The fossil evidence also demonstrates life EXPLODED into existence on earth, instead of slowly evolving.
SORRY…but we were NEVER APES, who slowly EVOLVED into KNUCKLE-DRAGGING, NEANDERTHAL HALF MAN/HALF APE man.
NOR DID WE SLITHER LIKE TADPOLES FROM PRIMORDIAL OOZE SLIME PIT, & OVER MILLIONS OF YEARS EVOLVE INTO MAN.
NOR DID MANKIND BEGIN IN THE BIG BANG…BASICALLY WE WERE EXPLODED ROCKS, THAT EVENTUALLY EVOLVED TO BECOME MAN, NATURE, AND THE WORLD.
WITH A WORD…A SPOKEN WORD FROM ALMIGHTY GOD WE BECAME.
The earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed . . . and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself: The plants were created not as seeds, but as FULL-GROWN plants each bearing seeds. They were thus created as mature plants, having the “appearance” of age.
AND HERE IS THE ANSWER TO THE AGE OLD SCIENTIFIC QUESTION…WHAT CAME FIRST? THE CHICKEN OR THE EGG. ALMIGHTY GOD CREATED ALL THINGS MATURE, GROWN FIRST…SO…The chicken really did come before the egg.
According to its kind: This phrase appears TEN times in Genesis chapter 1. It means God allows variation within a kind, but something of one kind will NEVER develop into something of another kind.
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
IT MEANS YOU WILL NOT BREED SHEEP AND GET A HORSE.
NOR WILL YOU RAISE CORN…AND GET AN OAK TREE.
YOU MAY BREED A BLACK LAB WITH A BLOND STANDARD POODLE…AND GET A LABRADOODLE…THAT IS BLOND, BLACK, OR A MIXTURE OF COLOR AND SEXES…BUT IT WILL STILL BE A DOG….NOT A LIZARD.
And God saw that it was good: God knows what is good. He is not some vague moral neutral. He knows what is good and organizes His creation to result in something good.
NOTICE THIS TOO…God does NOT call the earth good until it has become HABITABLE, a place where man, beast, & nature CAN live and thrive.
Verses 14-19 tells us the fourth day of creation: the sun, moon, and stars.
“Then GOD SAID, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the fourth day.”
Let them be for signs and seasons: God made the sun and the moon - these lights in the firmament of the heavens to be for signs and seasons. Since the beginning, man has used God’s provision of the sun, moon, and stars to mark and measure time and direction.
We know when to go to bed, when to get up, when to plant, when to harvest, which direction is north, south, east, and west….because of the sun & moon & stars.
GOD SET THEM in the firmament of the heavens: God knew exactly how far to set the sun from the earth. A few million miles more or less and life as we know it would be IMPOSSIBLE.
The intricate balance of our ecosystem argues strongly for the existence of a Creator. We live in a very complex world.
KING DAVID ATTRIBUTES THE movement of the sun to the praise of God (as in Psalms 113:3; 50:1; and 148:3): “The progress of the sun in his circuit is an uninterrupted song of praise to God. And this song alone makes his motion possible. Therefore, when Joshua wanted to bid the sun stand still, he had to command him to be silent. His song of praise hushed, the sun stood still.”
Let them be for signs and seasons: When God set the lights in the heavens to be for signs, it probably includes what we commonly call the zodiac, but was called by the ancient Hebrews the Mazzaroth (Job 38:31-32).
Significantly, the sequence of the zodiac is THE SAME in every language and culture, even if the specific names of the constellations change. Also, we know the figures of the constellations suggested to us don’t look like those things at all, and, they NEVER did. Yet the names for the figures of the constellations are the same in all cultures. This points to a common, pre-Babel beginning for ALL these things, before the truth of the constellations was corrupted.
WHERE IS THIS CONFIRMED IN THE BIBLE?
Luke 1:70 and Acts 3:21 speak of holy prophets since the world began. These prophets may be the stars themselves. Psalm 147:4 and Isaiah 40:26 tell us God has the stars ALL numbered and God HAS a name for them all. Psalm 19:1-6 tells us the heavens contain a message from God.
BUT ASTROLOGY IS A SATANIC CORRUPTION of God’s original “message in the stars,” a message outlining His plan of redemption. Because astrology is a corruption, it is to be avoided always by man as the prophet ISAIAH TELLS US in Isaiah 47:12-15.
He made the stars also: With all the other stars in our universe, we often wonder if there is life on other planets.
When you take into account all that is necessary for the sustenance of life as we know it, there are NO planets ABLE TO FULLY SUPPORT NOR SUSTAIN LIFE ON THEIR OWN, AS THEY ARE. Taking into account factors such as our galaxy type, star location, star age, star mass, star color, distance from star, axis tilt, rotation period, surface gravity, tidal force, magnetic field, oxygen quantity in atmosphere, atmospheric pressure, and 20 other important factors, the probability of all 33 occurrences happening on any one planet is one in 10 to the 42 power. The total number of possible planets in the universe is 10 to the 22 power.
Talk about IMPOSSIBLE…
10 to the 42nd power…would be 10 with 42 ZEROES after it.
10 to the 22nd power would be 10 with 22 ZEROES after it.
WORSE & SADDER….The U.S. government spends $100 million a year looking for extraterrestrial intelligence & other habitable planets. GENESIS TELLS US THERE IS NO OTHER LIFE BUT THAT WHICH HE MADE ON PLANET EARTH. THERE IS NO OTHER LIFE…OTHER THAN THAT WHICH HE CREATED ON PLANET EARTH.
THERE ARE MANY BETTER THINGS TO SPEND 100 MILLION A YEAR ON…AMEN?
Verses 20-23 tells us the FIFTH DAY of creation: birds and sea creatures are created.
“Then GOD SAID, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.” So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.”
LET THE WATERS ABOUND with an abundance of living creatures: We see the great variety of birds and sea creatures were created at the SAME INSTANT OF TIME, not evolving slowly over millions of years. Even though plant life was created before animal life, animal life was NOT created out of plant life.
Among the diversity of animals, many share similar structures: birds, reptiles, mammals, and so forth. This argues at least as persuasively for a common Designer as it does for a common life source. All life did NOT come from the SAME primordial cell, but it DID ALL COME from the SAME Designer.
According to their kind: Again, all animal life is created according to its kind. God deliberately structured plenty of variation within a kind, but one “kind” does not become another.
For example, structure among dogs is diverse. The teacup poodle is very different from the Great Dane, but they are BOTH dogs. However, they WON’T, CAN’T & DON’T BECOME mice, no matter how much breeding/EXPERIMENTATION is done.
Evolutionists often give convincing examples of micro-evolution, the variation of a kind within its kind, adapting to the environment. For example, the ratio of black to white peppered moths may increase when pollution makes it easier for dark moths to escape detection; or finches may develop different beaks in response to their distinctive environment. But the moths are still moths, and the finches are still finches. There has NEVER BEEN ANY CHANGE outside of the kind. Micro-evolution DOES NOT prove macro-evolution.
BUT…what about the FOSSIL RECORD? Doesn’t the fossil record show these creatures SLOWLY evolved into existence, instead of suddenly appearing?
Most people are unaware that Darwin’s strongest opponents were not clergymen, but fossil experts. Darwin admitted the state of the fossil evidence was “the most obvious and gravest objection which can be urged against my theory,” and because of the fossil evidence, “all the most eminent paleontologists . . . and all our greatest geologists . . . have unanimously, often vehemently, maintained” that the species DO NOT change.
The fossil record is marked by TWO great principles: FIRST, STATIS, which means most species are UNCHANGED in all their documented history. The way they look when they first appear in the fossil record is the way they look when last appearing in the fossil record. They have NOT changed. SECOND, SUDDEN APPEARANCE, which means in any local area, a species does not arise gradually, but appears all at once and “fully formed.”
The Bighorn Basin in Wyoming contains a continuous record of fossil deposits for what geologists say is five million years. Because this record is so complete, paleontologists ASSUMED a positive trail of evolution COULD BE found. Instead, the fossil record does NOT convincingly document NOT ONE SINGLE transition from one species to another.
The fossil record totally REJECTS the idea of millions of tiny changes; the QUICK LEAPS are a way of attributing miraculous power to “CHANCE” or “MOTHER NATURE” INSTEAD OF ALMIGHTY GOD. It FAR MORE RATIONAL to believe in a wise, creating, designing God.
The SIXTH DAY of creation: the creation of man.
Verses 24-25 tells us God makes land animals.
“Then GOD SAID, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.”
LET THE EARTH bring forth the living creature: On the fifth day of creation, God made birds and sea animals, but now God turns His creative attention towards LAND ANIMALS of various types.
God made the beast of the earth according to its kind: When we look at the infinite variety of the animal kingdom (both living and extinct), we must be impressed with God’s creative power, as well as His sense of humor. Any Being who makes the giraffe, the platypus, and the peacock HAS TO BE A WONDROUS GOD OF JOY AND HUMOR, RIGHT?
To a peahen, the most attractive peacocks are the ones with the biggest fans, but the big fan on the tail makes it difficult to escape a predator. Therefore, the peahen rewards the peacock with the least chance of survival. This is a great problem for those who BELIEVE IN THE IDEA of “survival of the fittest.”
ACCORDING TO ITS KIND: Again, this important phrase is emphasized. God allows tremendous variation within a kind, but one “kind” will NEVER become another “kind.”
Verse 26 tells us God plans to make man in HIS IMAGE.
“Then God said, “LET US MAKE MAN IN OUR IMAGE, according to OUR likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
DID YOU CATCH THAT?
VERSE 26 ANSWERS THE AGE OLD QUESTION WAS ALMIGHTY GOD ALONE IN THE BEGINNING? DID JESUS CHRIST COME LATER? WHEN WAS THE HOLY SPIRIT CREATED?
RIGHT HERE ALMIGHTY GOD ANSWERS THE QUESTION.
LET US…IN OUR IMAGE.
ALMIGHTY GOD, JESUS CHRIST, & THE HOLY SPIRIT ALWAYS WERE, ARE, AND EVER WILL BE.
THEY WERE THERE IN THE BEGINNING…
Let Us make man in Our image: The use of the plural (Let Us . . . in Our image, according to Our likeness) is consistent with the idea that there is One God in three Persons, what we know as the Trinity.
RIGHT HERE….ALMIGHTY GOD TELLS US THAT HE, JESUS CHRIST, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT ALWAYS WERE, ARE AND EVER SHALL BE. IT TELLS US THAT ALMIGHTY GOD WAS NOT SINGULAR…THEN HE CREATED JESUS CHRIST…THEN CREATED THE HOLY SPIRIT. THE TRIUNE GOD ALWAYS WAS…IS AND SHALL EVER BE.
IN OUR IMAGE: An understanding of who man IS begins with knowing we ARE MADE in the image of God. Man is different from every other order of created being because He has a created consistency WITH God.
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
It means there is an unbridgeable gap between human life and animal life. Though we are biologically similar to certain animals, we are DISTINCT, SPECIAL, UNIQUE in our moral, intellectual, and spiritual capabilities.
WE ALONE POSSESS IMMORTAL SOULS…OUR SOULS NEVER AGE…NEVER DIE…whereas all other created living things DO DIE. They have a spirit that reflects their natures and temperaments and personalities unique to them, but nothing but MANKIND….POSSESSES AN IMMORTAL SOUL.
This means ALSO MEANS there is also an UNBRIDGEABLE gap between HUMAN LIFE and ANGELIC LIFE. NOWHERE in The Bible are we told the angels are made in the image of God. Angels cannot have the same kind of relationship of love and fellowship with God we can have. We ARE unique above ALL THINGS IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH to The Triune God.
This means human life has intrinsic value, quite apart from the “quality of life” experienced by any individual, because human life is made in the image of God.
IN OUR IMAGE: There are several SPECIFIC things in man that show him to be made in the image of God.
Man ALONE has a natural countenance looking upward.
Man ALONE has such a variety of facial expressions.
Man ALONE has a sense of shame expressing itself in a blush.
Man ALONE speaks.
Man ALONE possesses personality, morality, and spirituality.
IN OUR IMAGE: There are at least THREE ASPECTS to the idea that we are made in the image of God.
It means humans possess personality: knowledge, feelings, and a will. This sets man APART from all animals and plants.
It means humans possess morality: we are able to make moral judgments and have a conscience.
It means humans possess spirituality: man is made for communion with God. It is on the level of spirit we communicate with God.
IN OUR IMAGE: This does not mean that God has a physical or human body. God is a Spirit (John 4:24). Though God does not have a physical body, He designed man so man’s physical body could do many of the things God does: see, hear, smell, touch, speak, think, plan, and so forth.
IN OUR IMAGE, ACCORDING TO OUR LIKENESS: The terms for image and likeness are slightly different. Image has more to do with appearance, and likeness has more to do with an abstract similarity, but they both essentially mean the same thing here in this context.
LET THEM HAVE DOMINION: Before God ever created man He decreed man would have dominion over the earth. Man’s pre-eminence of the created order and his ability to affect his environment is no accident; it is part of God’s plan for man and the earth.
In this sense, it is sin if man does not use this dominion responsibly, in the sense of a proper regard for stewardship on this earth.
Verses 27-31 tells us God’s creation of man and initial commission to Adam.
“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”
So God created man in His own image: God created man according to His plan as described in Genesis 1:26. The concept of man being created in the image of God is repeated to give emphasis to the idea.
We are plainly told God created man FULLY FORMED (GROWN), and created him in ONE DAY, not gradually over millions of years of progressive evolution. The idea that a slow, progressive evolution could produce a complex mechanism like the human body just doesn’t hold up.
SCIENTISTS & DOCTORS say there would be at least 40 DIFFERENT STAGES OF EVOLUTION REQUIRED TO FORM ONE EYE.
THE SIMPLE TRUTH ABOUT EVOLUTION IS THAT IT WAS, IS, AND ALWAYS WILL BE ONLY A MAN MADE THEORY..OR IDEA. THERE WASN’T, ISN’T, AND NEVER WILL BE FACTS NOR PROVES TO TURN DARWIN AND OTHERS THEORIES INTO FACT.
THEORY IS NOT FACT.
IDEAS ARE NOT FACT.
WHY DO EVOLUTIONISTS INSIST IN BELIEVING FAIRY DUST THEORY OVER SOLID ROCK HARD FOUNDATIONAL PROOFS?
BECAUSE THEY WOULD HAVE TO ADMIT…THAT THERE IS A GOD…AND THAT HE CREATED ALL THINGS…AND THAT THEY WILL ONE DAY FACE THEIR CREATOR…AND THAT THEY WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR ARROGANT, LIES, AND THEORIES…WHEN THEY KNOW DEEP IN THEIR DEEPEST HEART…THAT THERE IS A CREATOR GOD.
IF THEY THEN ACCEPT THAT THERE IS A CREATOR GOD, THEN THEY MUST ACCEPT THAT THERE IS A HEAVEN AND A HELL….THAT THERE IS AN ETERNITY….AND AN ETERNAL CHOICE…THAT MUST AND WILL BE MADE.
THEY DO NOT WANT TO HAVE TO FACE THE MAN IN THE MIRROR…THEY DO NOT WANT TO HAVE TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY OR BELIEVE THAT THEY WILL ONE DAY ANSWER FOR THEIR LIVES…LIES.
SO IN THEIR MINDS…IT IS BETTER TO REJECT ALMIGHTY GOD AND THE BIBLE AND GO ON WITH THEIR LIVES. WHAT THEY ARE DOING IS GAMBLING….HOPING….AND BELIEVING THEY CAN ESCAPE RESPONSIBILITY.
AND SATAN AND THIS WORLD ARE HAPPY TO HELP THEM KEEP AND HOLD ON TO THEIR DELUSIONS…ALL THE WAY TO THE LAKE OF FIRE.
Male and female He created them: This should not be construed to mean Adam was originally some type of androgynous being, being both male and female. This passage of Genesis gives us an overview of God’s creation of man, and Genesis 2 TELLS US exactly how God created male and female.
TODAY, many say there is NO REAL difference between men and women. This makes sense if we are the result of mindless evolution, but not it is true that male and female He created them. To God, the differences between men and women are not accidents. Since He created them, the differences are good and meaningful.
Men are not women, and women are not men. One of the saddest signs of our culture’s depravity is the amount and the degree of gender confusion ENCOURAGED today.
It is vain to wonder if men or women are superior to the other. A man is absolutely superior at being a man. A woman is absolutely superior at being a woman. But when a man tries to be a woman or a woman tries to be a man, you have something inferior.
Then God blessed them: the first thing God did for man was to bless him. Without the goodness of God’s blessing, human life would be not only unbearable, but also impossible.
Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion: God also gives man A JOB to do: fulfill God’s intention of man’s exercise of dominion over the earth. Inherent in this command is that man should be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. Man cannot fulfill God’s plan for him on the earth unless he populates it.
Additionally, God gave mankind a desire for sex, which would make the populating of the earth quick and likely.
However, many have thought that being fruitful and multiplying was God’s only or main purpose for sex, but this isn’t the case. The primary reason God created sex was to contribute to the bonding, the love, the comfort, and UNITY of a one-flesh TRIUNE COVENANT relationship BETWEEN A MAN, A WOMAN, & ALMIGHTY GOD.
Animals have sexual relations only for reproduction, but human sexual response is different from animal sexual response in many ways. Human ovulation has no outward sign; humans have sex in private; humans have secondary sexual characteristics (only in humans do females develop breasts before the first birth). Only humans demonstrate a constant availability for and interest in sex, as opposed to a “heat” season in animals. In humans, the duration of the sexual interlude is longer and the intensity of the pleasure of sex is stronger, and only humans continue to have intercourse after the end of fertility. None of these specifically human dimensions of sex are required for reproduction, but all of them are useful for sex as a tool of bonding & love & unity.
To you it shall be for food: God gave man dominion over the whole earth, but only vegetation is specifically mentioned as being for food. Seemingly, before the flood, the human race was vegetarian, but after the flood, man was given permission to eat the flesh of animals (Genesis 9:3).
God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good: God’s final analysis of His work of creation is that it was very good. God was pleased with His creation, and so are we!
When God pronounced the creation good, He really meant it. At the time, it was entirely good; there was no death or decay on earth at all.
KEN HOVIND, an amazing Bible scholar, with a wall full of other degrees, who gave symposiums about Creator God vs. Evolution told us once, he had one woman storm down the aisle, red-faced, shaking with rage, who told him he was a Bible Thumping blind fool to believe in a God, much less an INTELLIGENT DESIGNER GOD. She went on to say that she WAS A SCIENTIST, listed all her degrees, & she KNEW that evolution was FACT. She KNEW she descended first from primordial slime, who evolved into apes. Ken Hovind, who has a soft, pleasant voice simply said, “Madam, I do not know you nor your ancestry, so far be it for me to TRY and tell you…convince you of your TRUE ancestry. You MUST KNOW YOUR RELATIVES far better than I. So if you tell us all that your relatives are slime and apes, I will not argue with you…but mine are not.”
ALMIGHTY GOD SPEAKS CLEARLY IN GENESIS 1.
HE SETS THE RECORD STRAIGHT FOR US.
WE CAN KNOW HIS HOLY WORD IS PURE TRUTH.
GENESIS 1 TELLS US WE ARE WONDROUSLY AND FEARFULLY AND UNIQUELY MADE IN ALMIGHTY GOD’S IMAGE.
YOU ARE NOT A MISTAKE.
YOU ARE NOT AN OOPS.
YOU ARE NOT JUNK…CHANCE…AN ABERRATION.
YOU ARE CREATED WITH TIME, LOVE, PATIENCE, & CARE.
YOU ARE UNIQUE…ONE OF A KIND.
I KNOW YOU…I CREATED A GIRAFFE…TO MAKE YOU GRIN.
I CREATED THE SUN TO KISS YOUR FACE EACH DAY.
I CREATED THE WIND TO CARESS YOU EACH DAY.
I CREATED THE RAIN TO COOL, CLEANSE, & FOR DANCING THE RAIN.
I CREATED THE FLOWERS TO TOUCH OUR HEART.
I CREATED THE SUNSETS AND SUNRISES TO REMIND YOU…I LOVE YOU.
I CREATED THE MOUNTAIN PEAKS TO REMEMBER I AM BIGGER, STRONGER, & ALWAYS CONSTANT FOR YOU.
THE MOON AND THE STARS TO KNOW…I AM WATCHING OVER & GUIDING YOU EVEN IN THE DARKEST NIGHT.
I CREATED THE RIVERS AND THE OCEANS THAT WHISPER & ROAR MY NAME.
YOU ARE FEARFULLY & WONDROUSLY MADE FROM MY HEART, HAND, & BREATH.
YOU ARE PRECIOUS & PRICELESS TO ME.
YOU ARE LOVED…BELOVED…YOU ARE LOVED.