Commentary on Genesis: Chapter 1 - An Exhaustive Study
-In the beginning was the idea-
THE FIRST DAY: Sunday
“In the beginning God …”
The first words in the Book of Genesis are, “In the beginning…”. This phrase is actually a translation of the Hebrew word “Bereshit”. The first two letters of this word “Be” can be translated to mean “In” but also With or Through. The second word “reshit” is a noun and can be translated "beginning" but also “someone unmasked or identified”. The word “reshit” is found in Proverbs where it is referring to an entity known as the “Wisdom of God” (Proverbs 2:6; 9:10). Paul calls Jesus Christ the “Wisdom of God”. Therefore, the word “Bereshit” can rightly be translated, “In {or through Jesus Christ} God created the heaven and the Earth”. This interpretation is fully supported in the Gospel of John who wrote, “In the beginning was the Word {Jesus The Word of God}, and The Word was with God, and The Word was God. The same {The Word} was in the beginning {eternally} with God. All things were made {created} by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made.” (John 1:1-3)
Therefore, the name 'Jesus Christ' was encoded in the very first word of the very first Book of the Bible. And the Book of Revelation, the last Book of the Bible, ends its last sentence with the name "Lord Jesus"! (Revelation 22:20)
The phrase “In the beginning” in Hebrew also expresses the understanding that before the beginning of this story, there was something that preexisted the story in a state of excellence. To solve this mystery of what exactly it was that existed, the very next word is “God". So this story is founded on the understanding that, “In the beginning”, should be understood that there was a preexisting entity that makes this story possible. And that it is only through the existence of this being that this story exists. Thus, in the beginning before there was anything, there was God who existed in a state of excellence or perfection.
“…GOD…”
Here in Chapter 1, God is referred to as Elohim {God The Creator}. In Chapter 2 He will suddenly be referred to as Jehovah {God The Lord or The Word}. This is because the Triune Godhead {God The Father, God The Word, God The Holy Spirit} now enters into a covenant relationship with man. Initially the name Elohim is joined to the name Jehovah to remove all doubt as to the identity of the entity designated by this compound word. While either of these names would suit some passages, in other passages one name is more suitable than the other. The name Jehovah or Lord came into being when man was created. This is because the Triune Godhead agreed that the Lord or The Word of God would be the entity of the Triune Godhead that mankind will relate and refer to as God. When the Jews speak of God, they use the title Elohim as His actual name is considered too sacred for a human to pronounce. This title is in the plural tense. So the word God, contains a straightforward understanding that this single word is in the plural tense in order for it to accurately represent at least two or more independent yet conjoined entities.
The Triune Godhead
We will soon learn that The Creator God is actually a Godhead consisting of three separate entities co-inherent with each other, being fully God and existing in a state of complete communion with one another. They are not three parts that must be added together to create a whole God. They all fully and equally share the same eternal Divine nature, substance and are indivisible. Three distinct but not separate beings as we think of separation. There is no possibility of separation between them as they all possess the same indivisible nature. They share a single existence with each other yet remain distinct entities. They are in each other without merging or losing their individuality as separate beings (John 14:10). Thus, when God performs a Divine action, all three entities are in full agreement and intimately involved with the creation and execution of that action. These three distinct entities sharing a single existence in each other are referred to as God The Father, God The Word and God The Holy Spirit. This understanding was first proposed by Tertullian in 200 AD, adopted as official doctrine by the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, and ratified by the Council of Constantinople in 381 AD.
This Triune existence is a Divine mystery that is impossible for the human mind to fully comprehend. Analogies such as water, ice, steam or sun, light, heat fail to capture the fullness of the depth of the nature of the Godhead. Bottom line, we worship an awesome God. And this explains why, when Moses asked God what was His name, He replied, “I Am that I Am” (Exodus 3:14). This is also not a name. It is a statement of fact. Meaning, God does not have a name because He does not need to have a name. Names are necessary to distinguish one creation from another. But God exists without the existence of another creation. Therefore, God does not need a name.
So, to put this opening phrase of Genesis another way, “In the beginning {there was only an eternal preexisting} God”.
“…God created…”
The preexisting eternal God intelligently and purposefully created something. The word “created” in Hebrew means something created from nothing. So God is creating, in this case, spiritual and physical existence because He desires it to be so. As the story unfolds, we will soon learn that a more complete rendering of this phrase would be, “God desired, the Word commanded, and the Holy Spirit breathed forth creation and life”. We will later read that, while God The Word molded the body of Adam from the soil of the Earth, He also breathed God The Holy Spirit into him and Adam became a living physical being with an eternal spirit like his Creator (Genesis 2:7).
“...the heavens…”
God created three heavens which are:
A spiritual Heaven where the angels reside and from where God currently rules all creation.
A planetary heaven which is today known as the universe, a physical space where it is estimated that two trillion galaxies reside.
An atmospheric heaven of the Earth which contains the air necessary to support all Earth’s life forms. Genesis here uses “heaven” in the singular tense, so it is obviously only referring to the Earth’s atmosphere.
“…and the Earth…”
Science has strong evidence that space, time and matter were all created during what is called the Big Bang event. This was not an actual explosion. Instead, it was a sudden expansion of empty space driven by an unknow source of incredible power. By timing the current expansion rate of the universe combined with Earth and other planetary rock samples, science has dated the Big Bang event to have taken place approximately 14 billion years ago with the Earth being formed 4.5 billion years ago. Currently, it is theorized that before the Big Bang, nothing physically existed. This is exactly what the Bible states. Then suddenly the Big Bang occurred. The Bible states this happened when God commanded and created a physical realm in which mankind would live. The Bible explains that creation occurred because of a supernatural command made by God. Science can explain what happened at the moment of creation, when it happened and where it happened in space. Science has even given the event a name. But science cannot credit creation to a supernatural God as He is not scientifically quantifiable. Therefore, while this event has a scientific name, it remains scientifically inexplicable.
Scripture is clear that the Word of God spoke a command that created the Big Bang. Or, to put it another way, the voice of God was the Big Bang. While the Bible tells us God created the Earth, the description of creation as a Big Bang is not cited. This is because, if God had told Moses to write down that at the moment of creation a Big Bang took place, science today would be much more inclined to believe in the Bible. But God will not declare Himself through science. God allowed the creation of science to assist man in his efforts to subdue and achieve dominion over the Earth, but not to explain Himself (Genesis 1:28). Belief in Him must come through faith, not through scientific proof. This is admittedly difficult to accomplish in a modern world built largely on science derived discoveries. Science is seen as the crowning achievement of man, but it will ultimately be his downfall as more and more, man begins to see himself as his own god through scientific achievements.
Today we know that the Earth’s sun or star is medium in size and is one of roughly four hundred billion stars in our Milky Way galaxy. Astronomers estimate there may be as many as two trillion other galaxies in space. And that space itself is expanding out in all directions from the Big Bang site at a faster and faster rate. What space is expanding out into, and how this is a physical possibility is also scientifically inexplicable.
So, God intentionally created the Big Bang in order to achieve His purpose. And that purpose was to create a physical world primarily to serve as a home for a physical intelligent being. He also included the creation of plant, insect and animal life forms.
Thus, in this one brief sentence, we learn that God is a plural entity that eternally preexisted creation. That He was personally responsible for the creation of everything both spiritual and physical. That He has the power to create at will anything He desires from nothing. That He created three separated heavens for three different purposes. That He created the universe which contains several trillion galaxies. And He created planet Earth for a specific purpose. To house mankind, the only entity that God made in His own image and thus has an eternal spirit. Meaning, a creation that could contemplate its own existence, communicate with its Creator, understand the concept of love and experience eternal life. Only mankind has the privilege and ability to accept the unconditional love of their Creator, and freely return it. And mankind has been given free will to accept or reject God’s love. The ability to exercise this right of free will is the inalienable right of every individual.
Unfortunately, the King James Bible translates the word "heaven" in the singular. The overwhelming majority of Bibles, including the New King James Version translate this word in the plural {"heavens"}.
Because exactly how and when the earth was originally created is not revealed in scripture, it is reasonable that we consider what science continues to deduce to answer these and other questions.
“And the Earth was without form and void …"
The “Earth” is the only planet in its solar system not named after a pagan god. Some historians believe that the names of the planets not only come from Greek and Roman mythology, but may also be extremely ancient remembrances of the names of certain giants of “great renown” that once “roamed the earth” (Genesis 6:4).
The phrase, “And the Earth was …” in Hebrew can also be translated as “And the Earth had become …”. Because of this alternate translation, there is a growing understanding among Bible scholars today that there appears to have been an immense time gap that occurred between Genesis Verses' 1 and 2. In other words, Verse 1 explains God created the planet Earth and all things. Then, in verse 2, the Bible story has moved forward in time and picks up when the Earth was now under a curse imposed by God sometime in the distant pass. While the reader is no doubt curious about this event, God simply does not reveal what happened. This is known as the Gap Theory first proposed by Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847) and championed by the renowned Biblical scholar Cyrus Scofield (1843-1921) and others. This theory bridges the conflict between the Earth's vast geological ages as consistently proven through the sciences of geology and paleontology, and the biblical narrative of Adam being created six thousand years ago. The Gap Theory reveals an Earth created in the distant past, but for unspecified reasons had been brought by God to a state of ruin. Then, Verse 2 reveals God’s plan not to recreate life again on Earth, but instead "regenerate" the Earth through a series of six commands each given on six consecutive days (Genesis 1:28). It is during this regeneration period that God creates Adam and Eve {Modern Man}, a one off creation separate from earlier regenerated life forms.
This phrase, “… without form and void: …” in Hebrew is tohu-wa-bohv and is used only three times in the Bible. It means Disorder, Emptiness, An unformed state, A state of confusion and waste, and Unorganized without structure or purpose. Before the sciences of geology and paleontology, this phrase was thought to mean the Earth was once like a mass of unformed clay or pulp ready to be personally sculpted by the hand of God. However, the great prophet Jeremiah used this same term to describe the desolation of a land after God’s punishment. A land that had returned back to the same state of disarray and chaos as it was in the beginning of creation. Literally a reversal or deconstruction of creation itself. In a previous time, the Earth had been convulsed and broken up. It became a dark, watery waste and remained that way for ages. This definition would strongly suggest that the Earth was not initially created by God “without form” like a lump of clay. It was not created by God “void” but instead teaming with life. And it was not created in “darkness”. Instead, it was created in light and life. It is inconsistent with the nature of God to create something without form or in a state of chaos and void. God does not create something that is in a state of waste and desolate. The prophet Isaiah is clear that God did not create the Earth without form and void (Isaiah 45:12; Isaiah 45:18). Fossil records show that 99.9% of all life that once flourished on the Earth has gone extinct. This scenario is obviously very similar to the story of Noah in which God destroyed the wicked and unrepentant of the Earth with a flood. Peter also writes that, “the earth of old” was overflowed with water and perished” (II Peter 3:5-7). It is clear Peter is not referring to the flood of Noah for the world of Noah did not parish. The profit Jeremiah also records a vision of this time, “…an earth without form and void…no light..." (Jeremiah 4:23-26).
The Bible doses not tell us what happened before the Earth was "regenerated" for four reasons. First, the Bible is not a science book, but a book of spiritual guidance. Second, God does not feel He has to prove Himself to His creations through science. Third, the Bible is only focused on the creation of Adam approximately six thousand years ago, and his race of Modern Man up to the birth of Jesus. And last but not least, if a person wants to know how the Earth came to exist, the simple answer is to read Genesis Chapter 1,Verse 1. Enough said.
“… and darkness …”
The word night has not yet been mentioned, therefore this “darkness” must have been worldwide and so unnatural. It also implies that without any light to heat the Earth, the planet would have been cold if not frozen in an ice age. The word “darkness” can mean literally a lack of light. However, in the Bible, darkness serves as a metaphor or is symbolic of a spiritual status and concepts that are opposite of God’s light. Darkness is a metaphor for sin, moral depravity, shame, ignorance, affliction, destruction due to unrighteousness and a separation from God. It also symbolizes death and evil forces who promote wickedness and spiritual deceit. In other words, darkness is the exact opposite of God who is pure light, love and truth. Biblically speaking, darkness accompanies the judgement of God. We read that God cursed Egypt with darkness (Exodus 10:21-23). God caused darkness to cover the land of Judah during the crucifixion of Jesus between the hours of noon and three o’clock. It was then that Jesus commanded His spirit to leave so that His body could experience death (Matthew 27:45). And Jesus tells us God will punish the incurably wicked and unrepentant by casting them into outer darkness where there is only wailing and the gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:12; Matthew 22:13; Matthew 25:30).
“… darkness was upon the face of the deep.”
"…darkness was upon the face of the deep” is a phrase meaning the surface of the Earth was covered in water “the deep” and in perpetual darkness. So, darkness was upon the surface of the waters that had flooded the Earth and filled its deepest canyons. The deepest canyon is known as the Mariana Trench. Located in the Pacific ocean, it is seven miles deep and one thousand five hundred miles long. The word “deep” in the Bible symbolizes a noise like a moaning or groaning of something with a complaint, something in constant pain. The “deep” was seen as a dark and foreboding place where the spirits of the dead resided. The righteous would one day arise into light, but the wicked would remain in darkness and destruction. The Jews called this place Sheol which is Hades in Greek and Hell in English.
So, the Earth initially experienced an excellent beginning, but for unspecified reasons fell into destruction and despair. Water, whether in liquid or frozen form, had made the Earth now appear “without form” and “void” of life.
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters”. First, the word “And” expresses action as we next read the Holy Spirit of God was now moving over the waters of the Earth. Notice that the “S” in the word "Spirit" is capitalized denoting the title of an entity. The word “moved upon” means the Holy Spirit now brooded or overshadowed the waters that had left their original appointed places and now flooded the Earth. The word "moved upon" is also indicating that a physical change, actuated by the power of the Holy Spirit, is now about to take place concerning the waters.
It is the Earth’s waters whether liquid, frozen or in the form of a dense vapor in the atmosphere that is blocking the sunlight and keeping the Earth in perpetual darkness and perhaps frozen. And this constant churning of the water laden atmosphere is also causing the earth, as seen from space, to appear to undulate. This is why the Earth is described at this time as being “without {a fixed} form”.
Here we are told that the power of the Holy Spirit was now beginning to cause a change as desired by the Godhead. This change would be to force the waters to recede back to their assigned places. This would happen in three ways. First, introducing sunlight would create wind and wave action that would cause some of the water to vaporize and ascend up into the atmosphere. Second, some of the water would be absorbed into the Earth’s water table. And finally, plate tectonics would cause land to rise and gravity to pull the water back into lower elevations thus creating creeks, rivers, ponds, lakes and contained oceans. This citing of the Holy Spirit overshadowing the Earth is very reminiscent of the Holy Spirit moving or brooding over the womb of Mary at her impregnation (Luke 1:35). The Earth had been baptized or cleansed by the water and was now about to be reborn or regenerated.
“And {The Word of} God said,”
Here we are witnessing God {The Word of God} speaking and giving a command. It is the second time that the Bible states God The Father, God The Word and God The Holy Spirit are united in the creation process. The first time is, as recently noted, a little cloaked in that the first sentence states that, “In the beginning" {through The Word Jesus Christ} God {The Father} created {through The Holy Spirit} the heaven and the Earth.” Here we also learn that God can and does speak His commands. This phrase is repeated ten times in the Old Testament, possibly anticipating the coming Ten Commandments. This is the first blatant reference in the Bible of what is traditionally understood to be the Second of The Triune Godhead entities known initially as The Word of God. The Word of God would eventually became flesh and be called Jesus {Savior} (Luke 1:30-33; John 1:1-3). Interestingly, all but one of Jesus’ miracles occurred only after He had spoken.
Let there be light: and there was light”
This phrase in Hebrew is simply the command, “Be light” followed by, “And light was”. So, the Holy Spirit moved upon the water ready to bring to fruition the will of God, but did not act without the Word of God first giving the command. This phrase is not worded to say God now created light, but that God was instead commanding light to return. God had created light by way of the sun when He created the heaven and the Earth (Genesis 1:1). This means the Holy Spirit caused the heavy cloud cover, or perhaps constant snow fall, to immediately dissipate and allow sunlight to once again warm the Earth and cause the evaporation of water. The Earth once dead, was now resurrected back to light and life.
“And God saw the light, that it was good:”
Here we read that God can “see” His actions and He approved the work of Holy Spirit to create a light source that was good for both mankind and the other life forms on Earth.
“And God divided the light from the darkness.”
This phrase can only mean that God caused the Earth to rotate. But He would not give the Earth it’s twenty three degree tilt until after the flood of Noah. This tilt is what causes the Earth to experience the four seasons (Genesis 8:22).
“And God called the light Day and the darkness He called Night”
Here we have The Word of God giving names to the twelve hours of light and twelve hours of darkness. In this case, because the curse has been lifted, the worldwide “darkness” is no longer a part of the curse, but instead a peaceful and necessary resting period called "Night". God is now personally naming some of His creations as they belong to Him. He also names some of His more rudimentary creations because, when He creates Adam, He will need terms in order to teach him to speak.
And the evening and the morning were the first day.”
Here we read that God gave each of the days a number from one to seven. It was man who decided to rename the days after pagan gods. Monday (Monandaeg-Anglo Saxon moon goddess), Tuesday (Tyr’s Day- Norse god of war), Wednesday (Wooden Day- Norse chief god), Thursday (Thor Day- Norse god of thunder), Friday (Frigg Day- Norse god of sky), Saturday (Saturn Day- Roman god), Sunday (Sonntag- pagan Roman holiday). God also states that the start of a new 24 hour day begins at sundown or the evening. Judaism, Islam, Seventh Day Adventists and Orthodox Christianity still observe this system of keeping time.
DAY TWO
“And God said, Let there be a firmament {atmosphere} in the midst {middle} of the waters, and let it {serve} to divide the waters {in the sky} from the waters {on the earth}.”
The Holy Spirit caused the clouds to stop their endless cycles of rain and or snow. The clouds began to break up and the sunlight came flooding in. Now we have a separation of two bodies of water. We have the water on the land and the water vapor in the air. This separation allowed room for a breathable atmosphere. This atmosphere was originally created when the Earth was formed eons earlier. But the rain or snow filled this space with so much water and vapor that it was impossible to breath. Even today, hurricanes regularly drop so much water at one time that a person can be forced to cup their hands over their nose and mouth in order to breath. This also happens regularly in places that experience monsoon seasons like India. So, now we have water vapor separating from liquid ground water. If the Earth was in an ice age or a Snowball Earth era, it was now bathed in light and experiencing a rapid thaw. The water in the upper atmosphere would now also served as a dome or firmament {Hebrew rakia} against the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun (Genesis 1:6-8). Also, because the Earth has a rotating core of liquid iron, this creates a magnetic field that further helps deflect the sun's harmful rays. This deflection action is what causes the Northern Lights.
During the flood of Noah, God would cause this vast expanse of atmospheric water vapor to condense and fall down on the Earth. People in the time of Noah believed this suspended blue colored vapor dome to be a sky ocean. When it started to rain, it was assumed that this sky ocean had collapsed and that all life had now been washed off the edge of a flat Earth. Thus, only Noah with his family were left alive to tell the story. When he left the ark, there were no humans to be found for many thousands of miles in every direction. So he naturally assumed that all life on Earth had been drowned. He also found that God had caused the Earth to have a twenty three degree tilt that would create the four seasons that God had prophesied earlier (Genesis 1:14).
“And God 'made' the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters that were above the firmament: and it was so.”
There is a difference between the Hebrew words made and created; "made" refers to something already created, but brough back to a useful existence. This verse is stating that God willed this action to take place and it happened. However this verse ends with the ominous words, “and it was so". This then is the only day that was not blessed by God. The only day that does not end with the phrase, “…it was good.” This is because the atmosphere of the Earth, known as heaven, would be the place where God would allow the “Powers of the air” over which Satan is the Prince, to temporarily rule the Earth (Ephesians 2:2; Ephesians 6:12; Revelation 12:8-12).
This is why the children’s nursey rhyme states that, “Monday’s child is full of woe."
LUCIFER
Perhaps this would be an appropriate moment to explain how the angel Lucifer became associated with Day Two. When I began to write Papers to be posted on this website, Lucifer was one of my first subjects. Over the course of several days of writing, I quickly realized that to cover his creation, his duties, his fall and current state of being would take a book. So, I stopped writing and moved on to subjects that could be covered in a few pages.
That said, it is clear that Lucifer was eventually appointed or tasked by God to exercise his exceptional talents concerning the Earth. Lucifer was not given by God the power to create. But, he was endowed with a brilliant intellect in many matters including organization and creative design. So, while God created the Earth and all its life forms, Lucifer was appointed as a quasi-project manager to oversee the planting of the Garden that God had designed (Genesis 2:8). We can know this occurred before his fall because the prophet Ezekiel cites he was once an exalted angel in the eyes of God, and had the privilege of residing in the Garden of Eden clothed in jewels (Ezekiel 28: 12-15).
Apparently, at that time, Lucifer made an astoundingly prideful and yet catastrophic assumption as to the ultimate aim of this entire project. He assumed, and you know what happens when one assumes, that because of his perfection in rank, power, beauty and intelligence, that the physical earth and its inhabitances were going to be awarded to him for meritorious service. At that time, he would also receive the highest of all honors which was to be worshiped as a god (Isaiah 14:14). But oh was he wrong! Profoundly wrong! When he learned that mankind was to rule physical creation, his extreme disappointment began to eat at him until one day, as he approached the Throne of God to present the praise of all creation, he was confronted (Isaiah 14:12-15). This very brief interrogation by God {The Word of God} ended with him being de ranked in position and power, then unceremoniously thrown from Heaven down into the atmosphere of the Earth (Ezekiel 28:16-17). The Holy Spirit then revealed that one third of the angels in Heaven supported Lucifer and his bid to rule in Heaven. These angels were also thrown down into the atmosphere of the earth (Isaiah 4:12; Revelation 12:7-9).
This is in many ways the exact same scenario as with the coming Antichrist. He will announce that due to his meritorious services to mankind, he is to be worshiped as a god. And many of the people of Earth will believe in him as the saviour of the world and follow him. They would rather be ruled by a fellow human being than some unseen Creator. That’s right, a completely insane idea. But Lucifer's disappointment had now turned from rage to insanity (Revelation 12:12). It also did not help his condition when he learned that mankind was create just a little lower than God and would eventually judge the angels (Psalm 8:5; I Corinthians 6:3). So, sin first began in the heart of Satan. And even today, the sin of pride is at the root of all sins.
After the creation of Adam and Eve, Satan was allowed to test them for virtue. He tempted them with the same idea that had led to his and the angels fall from grace with God. First, he told them that if they ate the fruit of knowledge, they would not die {world's first lie}. He then told them that, through knowledge, they would no longer have to rely on God, but instead be "like God" and rule the Earth. Adam and Eve ate the fruit and sin now infected the race of mankind. Thus, Satan is the father of lies and a murderer in that, the belief that man can be his own God causes mankind to now die in their sins (John 8:44).
A nonsensical theory is that the Earth was made without form and void by the fall of Lucifer. But this theory is impossible to reconcile as the Earth is physical and the angels are spiritual. So how is it possible that a spiritual being had the power to destroy a physical earth? And, why would God allow this possibility? He would not!
So, the Earth was created by God. The Earth then experienced many ages of plant and animal life. God allowed the Earth to experience five different mass extinctions. Each one was in the plan of God and part of a process to make the world commodious to God’s crowning creation…mankind. The Bible is silent on these events and apparently picks up at the end of the last mass extinction that that occurred 20,000 years ago with the Earth being destroyed by water and ice almost to the equator. God now ends this Age by commanding that the Earth once again be bathed in warm sun light. It is now that the Earth’s rejuvenation process will begin.
God makes six separate commands, one on each of six days. He pronounce at the end of each command that the action was carried out and “was good”. But that does not necessary mean that the actions happened instantaneously. Because God in omniscience, He can see the timeline of the physical world from its end to its beginning (Isaiah 46:10). So God saw that His command came to fruition and “was good” because He could clearly see the end result in the future. Man is the only living creation fixated with time. However, because God is in eternity, He is out of the Spacetime Continuum. This means He is in no hurry for things to come into fruition. The journey is just as important as the arrival.
At the end of Day Six, God by way of a preincarnation of Christ {Christophany} comes down to the Earth and personally forms Adam {Modern Man} from the soil of the Earth. Lucifer was now ready and waiting for the chance to test Adam and Eve for virtue. He knew that if they failed the test, they would "surly die". And through their deaths, he might then be awarded the Earth as his kingdom to rule and be worshipped as a god by the fallen angels. It is now that God will use Lucifer to test all mankind for virtue. Thus, he went from Lucifer the Covering Cherub of Light, to Satan the Accuser of man and Angel of Death (Exodus 12:23). A pathetic shell of his former glory.
The Bible does not specifically state that there was a race of men on the Earth before Adam. However, anthropologist tell us that there was a pre Adamic race on Earth (Genesis 4:14). This archaic race is known as Neanderthal Man. They began to go extinct 40,000 years ago mainly due to interbreeding and the arrival of Modern Man. They lived in caves, used fire but could not create it, produced simple tools of stone and did not leave behind any art forms. While they buried their dead by covering them with branches, skeletal remains reveal bone cut marks indicating they eat human flesh. There is no evidence they believed in a deity or an after life. Anthropologists believe pockets of survivors still existed when Adam was created. These may be the people living in the Land of Nod that Cain was terrified of (Genesis 4:14). But they completely disappeared with the spread of Modern Man the offspring of Adam. Today, it is believed little or no successful interbreeding took place between these two groups of people as they are classified as two distinctly different species.
Satan tested Adam and Eve for virtue and they failed. He now believed that perhaps his dream to be worshipped as the god of Earth was finally coming true. But this dream was dashed when he heard The Word of God give the first prophecy in the Bible that a future Messiah or Saviour would be born that would bring salvation to mankind and eventually destroy him and his followers (Genesis 3:15). Therefore, today Satan has only two goals in mind. Pervert and destroy as much of God's earthly creations as possible, and stop the Second Coming of Christ. This is the only way he can survive and be worshipped by mankind and his angelic supporters as a god (II Thessalonians 2:3-4).
DAY THREE
And God said, 1) Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together {eventually} into one place {the ocean}, 2) and let the dry land appear: and it was so and God called the dry land Earth; 3) and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas {smaller bodies of water}: and God saw that it was good- (1st blessing). 4) And God said, let the Earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed and the fruit tree ‘yielding fruit after his kind’, whose seed in itself, upon the Earth: and it was so. And God saw that it was good- (2nd blessing). And the evening and the morning were Day Three.
So the Word of God gave three commands to organize the waters of the earth and to create land for mankind to live on. The 1st) command was for the waters to be gathered ultimately into the ocean. His 2nd) command was for the Earth's surface to adjust to allow the creation of enough dry land {29%} for mankind to live on. God named both the dry land and the planet Earth. All other planets were named after pagan gods by man. The 3rd) command was for the waters of the Earth to gather into a variety of places other than just the oceans such as stream, ponds and seas. This made fresh water conveniently available to mankind throughout the Earth. This command for water to adjust to its surroundings created Pascal’s Principle in which water seeks its own level. We see that God continues to name some of His major creations like dry land and seas and gives the results of His works a blessing by approving of them as “good”.
Now God makes a 4th) command that the Earth’s dry land bring forth not a new creation, but a replenishing of the three great divisions of plant life; grass, vegetables and trees. The phrase used is, “Let the Earth bring forth grass……whose seed is in itself {already} upon the Earth.” While God created all plant life, He only lists the names of the plants that mankind, a vegetarian at this time, will eat in order to thrive. Day Three saw the first creation of life all be it unconscious life.
EVOLUTION IS UNBIBLICAL
Then God reveals something that is lost on those who believe in evolution. He states “… yielding fruit after his kind”. This is God declaring in advance that the different species of plants and of every living creature is fixed. Thus, it cannot evolve into another species. It can adapt to the changes of a dynamic Earth, but it cannot evolve from one species to another. Thus, the origin of species through evolution is unbiblical. God is clear that all plants did not come from one plant. Instead, God created many families of plants.
Interestingly, God places a second blessing on this day. This is why most Jewish weddings take place on a Tuesday as God blessed this day twice.
DAY FOUR
And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for years. And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the Earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: He made the stars. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon 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. And the evening and the morning were Day four.
God obviously did not create the sun, moon and stars on Day Four. We can know this because He said “Let there be light” on Day One and set the earth rotating so that the light of day and darkness of night were divided. In fact the word "made" used here in Hebrew is not the same word used in Genesis 1:1 for “created” and does not imply a creative act. So on Day Four the clouds dissipated, the sun and moon could once again be seen, and time began. God is also simply taking this opportunity to further explain in more detail that He created the sun, moon, stars, planets, galaxies and universe. He needed to specifically explain this so that these magnificent and mysterious sources of wonder were credited to Him and not worshipped as gods. We know that God created the solar system because of the phrase, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth”. It’s just now He is making absolutely sure that the reader understands He created the planets and stars that make up the universe.
The phrase, “…and let them be for signs” is directly related to the act that God will use the planets to make the announcement that His only begotten human Son Jesus was born. He did this with the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter on June 17th of 2 BC which created what was is today called the Star of Bethlehem. He then used the following three retrogrades of Jupiter to lead the Magi to Bethlehem arriving on the date of the final retrograde which was December 25th 2 BC. He also caused a Blood Moon to rise over Israel on Friday April 3rd, 33 AD as Jesus was placed in His tomb. God refers to “seasons” because He will cause the four seasons after the flood of Noah. He uses the phrase “for days and years” as a reference to the creation of time (Genesis 1:14). Today, because of the science of physics, we know that space and time first appeared followed by the creation of matter.
The phrase, “and let them be for lights in the firmament of Heaven” is referring to the second heaven or space. He did not say they are to be used for horoscopes or predicting the future. This is akin to sorcery and is to be avoided. This perverse practice began in Babylon the birthplace of all false religions. Babylon took these glorious creations of God and perverted them in order to cause people to believe that planets and stars have the power of divination, can predict the future and are to be worshipped. These beliefs subtly draw a person away from faith in their Creator and instead faith in His creations. The Tower of Babel was a center for the worship of the heavens and so God destroyed it.
The phrase, “And God made two great lights …”and “…God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light ….” is correct. God made the sun, moon and stars to reside in space, but He did not make them on Day Four. They were made ages earlier “In the beginning” when, “God created the heavens and the Earth”. Once again, God is simply making sure that people do not worship the sun and moon. Sadly, all false religions have some form of sun and moon worship. Pre-Islam Arabs worshipped a pantheon of three hundred and sixty pagan gods including a moon goddess called Allah. Mohammad redefined this name to refer to the one true Creator God. Unfortunately, Mohammad wrote the first and shortest prayer that all Muslims have memorized. That prayer is: “There is only one God and He has no Son”. Scripture is clear that anyone who denies that Jesus is the Son of God is an Antichrist and will be delt with accordingly.
DAY FIVE
And God said, Let the waters bring forth {swarm} abundantly the moving {living} creature that has life and fowl that may fly above the Earth in the open firmament {atmosphere}.
The phrase is saying that fish and birds are similar as they are both streamline, have scales/feathers, both are hollow boned, egg laying, migratory and collect in flocks or schools. But at the same time, each creature of the water and sky are permanently set apart or fixed from each other by species. So there is no micro evolution as fish and birds were separately created by God as separate species. And while plants as mentioned earlier are vital to the health of all living animals, the creatures of the land, sea and air are all possessed with a living vitality different from that of the vegetation kingdom. While animals were given life that animated them so as to be able to move from place to place, we are not told that God personally created them, or that they were created in His image, nor that He breathed into them an eternal spirit of life as He did with mankind.
And God created great whales, and every living creature that moves, which the waters brought forth abundantly, ‘after their kind’, and every winged fowl ‘after his kind’: and God saw that it was good.
It was on the fifth day that we once again read the words “God created”. This word has not been used since Genesis 1:1. This is telling us that almost all life created by God had been destroyed during the curse period. Science would tell us that this is a description of the last great extinction that occurred on the earth 20,000 years ago when the Earth froze almost to the equator. And this would explain why we are now finding the fossil remains of prehistoric life forms buried deep in the ground under layers of mud and ice. Ten times in the Genesis Chapter 1 we read the phrase, “after his kind”. God is making it clear in advance that while the Theory of Evolution will arise, the reader needs to know He has put up barriers to stop creatures from morphing into other kinds or species. Because the Earth is old and dynamic, God has given all of His creature the ability to adapt, but not to evolve into new species.
While it is true that the very successful age of the dinosaur came to an abrupt end, this was God’s plan all along. The remains of many millions of years of vegetation during the dinosaur age is what created the oil and gas reserves that currently power our modern society.
“And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the Earth.”
We have learned that God did not bless plant life. God saw that they were good, but He did not bless them. However He blessed animal life. This is because animals possess a rudimentary consciousness that vegetation does not have. While God loves animals and has command mankind to treat them humanely, animals do not possess an intellect nor an eternal spirit. Animals are not self-aware. Animals cannot pass on learned skills so they are forever stuck at a certain developmental level. Animals do not look up and consider their surroundings. All animals have a herd mentality. Meaning, if a newborn is surrounded by carnivores, none of the group will risk their lives to save it. However, if it was a human newborn, all human adults would risk their lives trying and save the infant even if it was not their own. This low level of consciousness in animals may explain why there is not a single verse in Scripture that mentions them being in Heaven.
So, with the advent of man, God begins a new method of propagation. Humans, like animals, mate and produce an offspring. But unlike animals, the offspring of humans is unique in that it can look and think dramatically differently than its parents. And, unlike animals, it is genetically more similar to its siblings than its parents. Vegetation only brings forth seed that may or may not germinate and grow into a duplicate plant. Fish only produce identical fish and a fruit tree only produces an identical fruit and tree. But living creatures, especially humans, can create offspring that can look, think and act completely different from its parents and siblings. A living body producing another yet unique living body out of itself.
All the creations of God over the past five days were needed before He could bring forth mankind, the crowning pentacle of creation. The creation of man was the reason God caused the Big Bang to occur in the first place. God wanted a family.
“And the evening and the morning were Day Five.”
DAY SIX
“And God said, Let the Earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and the beast of the Earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the {wild} beast of the Earth after his kind, and {domesticated} cattle after their kind, and everything {invertebrates} that creeps upon the Earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.”
These warm blooded mammals were doubtless the same kind as we have today. God has made it extremely clear in this statement that these animals did not evolve from one common species. Different species of animals were created separately. This can be proved in that nature does not encourage hybridization. Successful forced mammal cross breeding in labs is rare as offspring suffer from an inability to survive and to be fertile. Marine cross breeding is also limited while plant hybridization is common. If the natural evolutionary theory of animals and vegetation is true, we should expect to find evidence in fossil remains of intermediate links. And, we should also witness natural evolutionary progress at work in which higher orders of plants, animals and humas are continually being created. By now we should expect to see a race of super humans, but just the opposite is true. While medical breakthroughs prolong mankind’s life span, the human health span continues to deteriorate due to continued rises in chronic diseases, mental health declines and general physical weakness.
The term “cattle” refers to domesticated animals. Those animals that naturally possess a somewhat calm nature that in turn allows them to tolerate interaction with mankind. Man has intentionally bred these animals to accentuate this natural passive characteristic. We find this with today’s cattle, sheep, goats, swine, dogs. etc. The term “creeping thing” refers to the insect world, and “beast of the earth" refers to those animals that cannot be fully tamed such as large cats, bears, reptiles, zebras, hippos, sharks, etc. Again, God hammers home the idea that all life is directly and independently related to those creations “after their kind” meaning that they do not naturally intermate to create new species. How the various animals and insects of even the lowest order recognize their specific species with which to mate with is still a mystery to science.
THE CREATION OF MAN
“And God said, Let Us make man in Our Image, after Our likeness.”
This phrase is by far the most momentous of all the information we have received to date. This phrase makes clear that man did not evolve from the animals. The race of Adam was intelligently created by the Triune Godhead. Otherwise, Modern Man would not exist. God is also making a second startling revelation. He apparently created the universe with its two trillion galaxies as part of the home of mankind. Think about that! How incredibly important must mankind be for his Creator to have created all thing for his benefit? It staggers the imagination! And not only that, but He will be making man in His own image and likeness and giving him dominion over the Earth and all its creatures! Thus incredibly, mankind is the pinnacle of the entire creation account! If this revelation does not boggle the readers mind, I do not know what will.
As noted earlier, the word “God” in Hebrew is plural. This word is immediately followed by the words "let Us". The word "Us" is capitalized once again denoting a title for Divine entities. So, the word God is plural and now God is speaking to at least one other Divine entity. The Jews explain this as God speaking to the angels. But this is impossible to logically reconcile as God created the angels lower than Himself and man (Psalm 8:5). Therefore, why would God be talking to the angels concerning His thoughts on the attributes He will bestow on man and his earthly responsibilities. Also, God later tell us He created man alone (Genesis 1:27). No, this is a second statement from God letting the reader know that their Creator is a singular God composed of multiple entities. It has also been theorized that the words “We” or “Us” is used as when a monarch speaks of themselves in what is called ‘The Plural of Majesty’ because they speak on behalf of their nation. But this is not true in this case as the first known use of a ruler employing the Plural of Majesty was King Henry II of England (1154-1181). There is no record of any ruler from the earliest tribal kings to the Pharaohs to Roman Emperors ever referring to themselves in the plural. This is a totally unique use of this word at this time.
The term “Let Us make man in Our Image, after Our likeness” once again reinforces the understanding of a Godhead conversing among themselves by holding a Divine consultation concerning the creation of a physical likeminded entity. An entity that, like God, has self-awareness, can reason, make free will choices and possesses a conscience. Mankind also has a hardwired innate sense of right and wrong and can appreciate, and to some extent appropriate, the holiness of God. Mankind will also have the ability to create, build knowledge through trial and error {science}, appreciate the beauty and ponder the wonders of the world around them. Mankind has the ability to understand that they would not exist without their Creator. Mankind is also innately pre dispositioned to thrive in a community setting of likeminded people just as the Triune Godhead exit as three likeminded entities.
And last, but not least, all people are born with an eternal spirit given to them from God. It is this eternal spirit that separates them from all other life forms. It is this spirit that can connect them to a spiritual God (John 4:24). Thus, the most most important question all people must ask themselves is, where will this eternal spirit reside at death? That destination is a free choice that all people are given by their Creator. They can acknowledge and return to Him, or they can refuse to acknowledge Him and be consigned to a place removed from His presence. However, we learn from Jesus that a spirit completely removed from its Creator finds itself in agony (Luke 16:22-24).
It is very interesting that God spoke to each creation each day. But when He made man, He spoke to Himself. God commanded the plants and animals of the land and sea to "replenish" the Earth (Genesis 1:28). But, when it came to the creation of man, He personally formed him from the soil of the Earth, personally breathed life into him and, at the same time, only gave man an eternal sprit. So, while we turn to the plants and animals of the Earth to sustain our bodies, we are to turn to God to sustain our spirit that came from Him.
“So God created {Bara the} man {Adam} in in His Own Image, in the image of God created {Bara} He him {Adam}; male and female {Eve} created He them.
Only Man and not the angels, nor primates was originally created in the image of God. Man did not evolve from the animal kingdom. Instead, he was uniquely created by God. Thus, there exist an impassable gulf between man and the most intelligent of beasts. The missing link has not been found as there is no missing link between the animal kingdom and man. The entire human race is of one species and had one common origin (Acts 17:26). This is clear from the fact that all the different human races of the earth can inner breed and produce healthy fertile offspring. Unfortunately, while mankind was initially created in the image of God, he lost this distinction after he knowingly rebelled against Him and fell from grace. However, the beginning of man’s restoration back to the image of God began with Christ crucified for the sins of mankind. Man’s spiritual restoration is now freely available to those that chose to accept it. But man’s physical restoration will not occur until the Rapture, Resurrection and Marriage of Christ to His Church. At that time, every believer will officially be bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh. All will then be considered adopted into the family of God and one of His beloved Children. Interestingly, this phrase is considered the first poem in the Bible. Nature’s restoration will begin at the Second Coming of Christ and culminate at the end of the Millennial Reign of Christ. At that time the fire of the Holy Sprit will purify the Earth to make it suitable for the arrival of the New Jerusalem.
“And God blessed them, and God said {commanded} to them, Be fruitful and multiply and ‘replenish’ {refill} the Earth and subdue it:
Both sexes are of equal value and are combined in marriage to form a oneness that completes their identity and purpose. Both sexes in oneness with God’s will and purpose. Those people who remain single, for whatever reason, have Christ as their helpmate. While all people are born one sex or the other, one tenth of one percent are born with a cognitive uncertainty about their assigned gender at birth. This can create significant coping issues known as Gender Dysphoria. This mental health issue is protected by the Americans with Disability Act. However, the way a person decides to see themselves does not effect the way God sees and loves them.
“…and have dominion over the fish of the of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the Earth.”
Man’s tremendous intellect allows him to observe wildlife and easily anticipate how to capture or domesticate it. Animals, on the other hand, have a certain consciousness that allows them to survive and procreate, but they do not have conscious life. Therefore, they are incapable of competing with mankind. Thus, God has put man in control of the Earth’s life forms, but with that honor comes a great responsibility. Mankind will be held accountable for the degradation of life on Earth. Ignorance is no excuse in the eyes of God.
With that in mind, paleontologist who study worldwide biodiversity loss have unanimously concluded that the Earth entered its Sixth Mass Extinction Period five hundred years ago. But unlike past extensions due to asteroid strikes, plate tectonics and volcanic eruptions, this one is directly caused by human activities. Documented extinctions include 680 vertebrates species, 571 plant species and 128 bird species. It is guesstimate that tens of thousands of undocumented species have been destroyed through salinity increases in ocean waters, new weather extremes, and the uncontrolled third world burning of forests to create temporary farm land.
It should not go unnoticed that the Biblical number for man is Six, we are approaching the end of the six thousand year Age since the creation of Adam, and we are in a Sixth Mass Extinction Period.
“And God said, Behold {understand}, I have given {gifted} you every herb bearing seed…every tree…; to you {mankind} it will be for food. And to ‘every’ beast of the Earth and to ‘every’ fowl…and to ‘everything’ that creeps…I, have given every green herb for food: and it was so.”
Therefore, it is clear that God originally created all living creatures to subsist on the Earth’s vegetation. This means that all animals were once docile by nature and had no innate fear of man. That changed immediately after the fall of man from grace. The animals were now on the menu and had to fear mankind to survive. Still, while lions have thirty teeth, only four are canine used for tearing meat. The rest are used for chewing. So animals and man were originally designed to be vegetarians. And even today, mankind and the offspring of any carnivore, can thrive on a vegetarian diet. It is only because carnivore parents raise their young on a meat diet that they develop a taste for flesh.
With each passing day, God created what would be necessary to exist in order for Him to accomplish His plans for the following day.
“And God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was {all} very good {perfection}, and the evening and the morning were Day Six.”
Six is the biblical number for mankind. We will learn in Chapter 2 that Adam was created at the end of Day 6. His first full day of existence would be on the seventh day which was a Day of Rest. Thus, mankind was created to rest and enjoy the world around them with God doing all the heavy lifting. So, if you dislike work, there is a reason. Mankind was not originally created to work.
On a closing note, there is nothing in the heavens or on Earth that suggest a seven day week. The earliest known use of a seven day week comes from Mesopotamia c. 4,500 BC. When the first settlers arrived in America, they were surprised to learn that the indigenist people had lunar cycles that they had divided into seven day weeks and seasons. Amazing!
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