Creation Creation The Creation Story In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The story of how God made everything is, naturally, at the very beginning of the Bible: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was empty, a formless mass cloaked in darkness. And the Spirit of God was hovering over its surface. Then God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. And God saw that it was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day" and the darkness "night." (NLT, Genesis 1:1-5) That was the first day of God's creation. On the second day, God created the sky. On the third day, God created the land, the oceans and all the plants. On the fourth day, God created the sun, moon and stars. On the fifth day, God created the birds, fishes and other sea creatures. On the sixth day, God created all the land animals and people. On the seventh day, God rested: By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.

And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. (NIV, Genesis 2:2-3) Questions Who Created God? How Did God Make Everything out of Nothing? and Why? Unfortunately, these mysteries are not explained in the Bible, and they are probably just too deep for us to understand. Did God Really Create Everything in Six Days and in the Order Listed in Genesis? The Bible story of creation was written in a way that made sense to the people of thousands of years ago who did not know anything about science. Since then, scientists have discovered many new things about how God created everything. If the story were written today, it might mention galaxies, black holes, the age and vastness of the universe, the solar system, the development of plants and animals, and other scientific discoveries. But, we are still not much closer to understanding the mysteries of God's creation. Lessons People have strong opinions about whether or not God really created things exactly the way it says in Genesis, but what this story tells us about God, Himself, is much more important: Long before there were any Christians, Genesis was part of the sacred scripture of the Hebrew people.

Most people in the ancient world were pagans who believed in many different gods and goddesses, but the Hebrews believed in one all-powerful God. The Bible story of creation tells us that God is so powerful that He could create everything out of nothing! So, the people should worship only God and not the false gods of the pagans. In our own times, we must give our devotion to God and not to today's "false gods" such as money, power, success and vanity. God created everything with love and with a purpose. Unlike the sometimes evil gods of the pagans, God cares about His creation and is actively involved with the world. From the first chapter of Genesis to the last chapter of Revelation, the Bible tells of the one true God who created everything and loves all His creation. We can worship God and receive His divine love today as much as the ancient Hebrews did. God rested on the seventh day as an example for us. Reserving a day for rest and worship, the Sabbath, became one of the Ten Commandments ( Exodus 20:8-11 ). There is more to life than just work. We should also reserve time for rest and worship.

The Story of Creation - The Old Testament (Bible History Online) Timelines & Charts Creation "God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power." - Hebrews 1:1-3 The Old Testament - A Brief Overview Genesis - The First Book of Moses Moses under the Inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote Genesis, the first book in the Bible and the book of beginnings. The beginning of the world, the beginning of man, and the beginning of the Hebrew people. The Seven Days of Creation The Bible reveals that God made the world, and all that is in the world, and the entire universe out of nothing. He spoke His Word, and everything came into existence. This is creation. According to Genesis 1, God created the world in 6 days: The First Day. Light. God created light on the first day, and He separated the light from the darkness.

The lights he called day, and the darkness he called night. Gen 1:3-5 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. The Second Day. The Firmament God created the firmament on the second day, which he called heaven. There were upper waters and lower waters, above the firmament and below the firmament. Gen 1:6-8 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. The "firmament" here refers to the atmospheric heaven where the clouds are as well as the celestial heaven where the stars are. The Third Day.

Land and Vegetation On the third day God created dry land in the midst of the lower waters, He called the dry land "Earth" and he called the gathering of the waters "Seas" or oceans. He separated the oceans from the dry land. He also created every plant and tree according to its own kind, and each bearing its own seed. Gen 1:9-13 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 Fourth Day.

The Sun, Moon, and Stars God created the sun, moon, and the stars on the fourth day. He placed them in the firmament (heavens) to provide light for the earth, and to provide seasons for each year. The two great lights, the sun and the moon, would provide light for every day and every night. The greater light, the sun, would provide light for the day, and the lesser light, the moon, would provide light in the night. He created the stars to govern and rule the earth, and to give it light. Gen 1:14-19 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. The Fifth Day. Sea Animals, and Birds God created the fish and all other living creatures in the oceans and the lakes. He also created the birds to fly above the earth, and He commanded all living things to be fruitful and multiply. Gen 1:20-23 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. The Sixth Day.

Land Animals, and Man It was on the sixth day that God created man, and He created man in his own image. He also created the animals on the sixth day, and he placed man in charge of all the animals. He told man to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. Gen 1:24-31 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. 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." 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. The Seventh Day. God Rested From His Work Of Creation On the seventh day, He ceased from His labor and established the Sabbath. Scholars disagree as to how long these "days" might have been. The Bible seems to indicate a literal 24 hour day. Scholars also differ on the date of creation.

It would be impossible to know exactly the number of years back to the creation since the Bible's lists of generations sometimes skips names, and any other historical records are limited. According to the Bible and archaeology man has been here for about 6,000 - 10,000 years approximately. No one can be certain. The purpose of the Bible is not to scientifically sketch every detail of creation but to reveal to man that God is prior to and distinct from His creation, that He is directly responsible for its having come into being, through His Word, that its continued existence is dependant upon Him, and that man has been given the highest position of honor and responsibility in that creation. Ps 8:3-4 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? Isa 40:12 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? Weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?

Isa 40:26 Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things, who brings out their host by number; he calls them all by name, by the greatness of His might and the strength of His power; not one is missing. Genesis 1: Are the Six Days of Creation Literal or Figurative? | Grace Communion International Genesis 1: Are the Six Days of Creation Literal or Figurative? 2002 The first chapter of the Bible says that God made heaven and earth and every living thing in six days. Are those six "days" to be understood literally, as six 24-hour days, or are they symbolic — figures of speech? Bible-believing Christians disagree on this topic, often with great emotion, sometimes condemning all who do not understand Genesis 1 in the same way as they do. The literal view is simple: Genesis 1 is telling us that God created everything in six evenings and six mornings — ordinary-length days. The literal view says, Believe it because that is what is written. But is that really what is written? Let us look at the evidence in Scripture.

We can start with day four as an example: On the fourth day, God commanded that there be lights in the sky to separate day and night. He made the sun, moon and stars to separate light from darkness (Gen. 1:14-18). But we are told in verse 4 that God had separated light from darkness on the first day; and the words "evening and morning" show that there was already a separation between night and day. So what really happened on the fourth day of creation? One conservative suggestion observes that the Hebrew word for "made" could mean "had made" — God may have made the sun, moon and stars billions of years earlier, and God caused them to be visible on the fourth day of creation. The creation account is written from an earthly perspective. Since half of earth is in darkness when the other side is in day, the terms evening and morning indicate a perspective not only limited to earth in general, but to a specific point on earth. However, if we say that the account is written from a limited perspective, we admit that the account is not abstract truth.

When God called for light, he meant light at a specific point on earth, not light in general, because light already existed in outer space. When verse 14 says, Let there be sun and moon, it really means, Let earth's surface have a clear view of the sun and moon, or perhaps, Let the sky be clear. However, when we understand the Bible this way, we are not interpreting it literally. Perhaps the creation story was not meant to be interpreted literally. Not designed for scientific accuracy Genesis 1 does not describe how God created. It does not give us the physics of how he separated light and darkness, land and sea; it is not designed to tell us whether he created aquatic insects and land-dwelling insects on the same day. It does not tell us whether the stars existed before verse 16, or whether they simply became visible. God began the creation by calling for light, and there is no other way for light to appear than instantly. Either it exists or it doesn’t. Therefore we might conclude that creation would have begun with morning. But what did God do in the afternoon? Did he continue to create more light, or did he rest?

Did he rest in the evening, like he did on the seventh day? Even an ancient Israelite could have wondered. However, such questions try to squeeze precision out of an account that wasn’t designed for it. God separated light from darkness (verse 4). The literary sequence implies that darkness was separated only some time after light existed, but light is always separated from darkness; they are distinct by definition. Perhaps verse 4 is not intended to be sequentially precise. Or perhaps it means that, at the assumed point of observation, darkness finally came. Either way, this is not what the text says literally. Day 2 and 3 In verse 6 (day 2) God separated the waters. Where did this water come from? Genesis does not tell us. Verse 10 tells us that "earth" (same Hebrew word as in verse 1) is dry land; verse 8 tells us that space between waters is "heaven" (same Hebrew word as in verse 1). But it does not tell us when water was created, or how much water is above heaven. It is mentioned in verse 2 as simply existing. So here we see something else incomplete about the sequence.

On day 3, God separated land and water (verse 9). We might imagine continents rising out of the ocean, but consider the hydrological problem that would exist if an entire continent rose in one 24-hour day. The Nile River is more than 4,000 miles long. Water would have to flow more than 150 miles an hour in order for Africa to appear in one day. Erosion would have been catastrophic unless God miraculously removed the water, or unless much smaller units of land were involved. The account gives a general picture, not a geological and hydrological description. Also on the third day, land produced plants with seeds and fruits. Perhaps fully grown trees with mature fruits were created instantly—nothing is impossible for God — but perhaps this isn’t supposed to be read so literally. Perhaps all it means is that God created fruit-bearing trees — trees capable of bearing fruit. A third view Some scholars believe that Genesis 1 presents 24-hour days. Others believe that the account is figurative not only in the length of days but also the sequence of events. Some scholars take a "middle" view — that the sequence is correct, but the days are longer than 24 hours.

Gerald Schroeder, for example, argues that Genesis presents creation in terms of "cosmic time," in which time is relative to the expansion of the universe after the big bang. In this way he argues that creation day one was 24 hours long by the cosmic clock, but eight billion years long as we count time today. Day 2 would have been four billion years, and day three only two billion years. Day 6 would have been only 250 million years long. This mathematical solution, however, does not solve the sequential problems that are in Genesis 1. Other scholars, such as Karl Barth, say that the days of Genesis 1 are 24-hour days but deny that the chapter gives a literal picture of the actual creation. Day 4 revisited On the fourth day, God called for the sun and moon to separate day and night — something seemingly unnecessary, for day and night already existed. And God commanded that the sun and moon "give light on the earth" — another thing that had already been done on day one. Part of the stated purpose is puzzling if we interpret the account literally — and these questions about sequence exist no matter how long the "days" were.

"God made two great lights," we are told in verse 16. Since Hebrew does not have a past perfect tense, this phrase could mean that God had, at some unspecified time before, made the sun and moon. This grammatical solution works in English, but it wouldn’t impress the original Hebrew readers, who would simply see a series of similar verb forms: He did this, he did that, he did the next thing, etc. What a word could mean in English is not what it means literally. Literally, the verb tense is not specific, and if we try to be more specific, we are not interpreting literally. When we discuss past perfect tenses and unspecified prior times, we are implying that this list of God’s creative activities cannot be taken at face value as a chronological sequence. We are attempting to clarify something that was not intended to be precise. One more observation about day 4: The sun, moon and stars were set "in the expanse of the sky" (verses 14, 15 and 17). Verses 6 to 8 inform us that the expanse of the sky was formed by separating water under the expanse from water above the expanse.

We are told three times not just that the stars are visible in the sky, but that they are in the expanse. Genesis 1, if taken literally, describes a layer of water above the stars. However, there is no scientific evidence for a layer of water above the stars, nor can we imagine how there might be. Yet this is what Genesis 1 says if we take it literally. This again shows that the passage is not a scientific description, and the text itself forces us to allow figurative interpretations. A very long day 6 On day 6, God created animals, and then humans, both male and female (verses 26-27). However, chapter 2 gives us a longer story. "When the Lord God made the earth and the heavens — and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth.... God formed the man from the dust of the ground" (Genesis 2:4-7). Could it be that God created Adam before the shrubs? Either this sequence is wrong, or the sequence in Genesis 1 is wrong. Or could it be that neither story is meant to be sequentially precise? After creating all animals and creating Adam, "God planted a garden in ...

Eden" (Genesis 2:8). And he "made all kind of trees grow out of the ground" (verse 9). The word planted (rather than "created") implies time. Grow normally implies time, too — a long time, for trees. God told Adam what he should do and what he could eat (verses 15-17). God then had him give names to "all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air" (verse 19). This taxonomic job must have taken a lot of time, for if the names were to be meaningful, they would have to describe something about the animal, which means that Adam would have had to observe the animal and think about each one. Then God created Eve (verses 21-22). Adam named her, and expressed delight at his new companion (verse 23). His delight implies that he was aware of being lonely, which also implies passage of time. Did all this happen in one 24-hour day? Ancient readers, if they thought about it, might conclude that creation was not as simple as Genesis 1 presents it.

Perhaps Eve wasn’t really created on the same day as Adam, or perhaps Genesis 1 isn’t supposed to be a newspaper report. Perhaps it has a different purpose, and if we use it for chronology, we are misusing it. "Day" — a span of time We see a hint of that in a word-for-word literal translation of Genesis 2:4, which uses "day" in a nonliteral way: "in the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven" (New American Standard). This implies that God created everything in one day. (The NIV leaves yom untranslated in this verse, but it’s the same Hebrew word used in chapter 1 for "day.") Day has a broad range of meaning, and can be used in a general sense to mean a span of time. Genesis 2:4a, just like 1:1, uses the word bara’, "created." Are 1:1 and 2:4a referring to the same time period? Is that time different than the verses between them? Does the literal meaning involve great jumps in time? This again suggests that the chapter is not intended to be an exact chronology.

We cannot insist on precision if we are faithful to an account that was not meant to be precise. But doesn’t Exodus 20 clearly tell us that God created everything in six days, and because of that the Israelites should work six days and rest the seventh? Yes, but the analogy works no matter how long the "days" of creation were, or even if they were of different lengths. The analogy applies to years, too, because Israelites were told to keep an agricultural sabbath every seven years. The analogy does not depend on chronological precision. God structured the Israelite work week, but we cannot assume that his creative week was the same length as one of ours. His perspective on time is different. Many conservative commentators believe that the Bible should be read literally unless demonstrated otherwise. Many of them have been convinced on literary and theological grounds that Genesis 1 should probably be read otherwise. One such commentator is Gleason L. Archer Jr., who writes: "Belief in the inerrancy of Scripture involves neither a literal nor a figurative rule of interpretation.

What it does require is a belief in whatever the biblical author (human and divine) actually meant by the words he used" (Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties, Zondervan, 1982, page 59). We have seen that the creation account cannot be interpreted literally all the way through. God did not actually create the sun and moon on the fourth day. Nor were the creative acts of the fourth day for the purpose of separating night from day or giving light on earth. At least some of the account is poetic (for lack of a better term) rather than precise. In how many aspects is the account nonliteral? Opinions vary. If some parts of the account are not meant literally, what about the days? Has the account been designed to form a symbolic pattern? Some parts of the account don’t fit literally, since creation began with light, not with evening. Other events, such as the separation of land from water and the growth of plants, also suggest spans of time longer than 24 hours. And even if the "days" are longer than 24 hours, the sequential questions still suggest that the chapter is not meant to be a chronological report.

Archer comments, "Genesis 1 was never intended to teach that the sixth creative day, when Adam and Eve were both created, lasted a mere twenty-four hours." He says it is unlikely that "Adam’s experiences in Genesis 2:15-22 could have been crowded into the last hour or two of a literal twenty-four-hour day." Theological purposes Genesis 1 does not give scientific facts. What then is it for? Primarily, it reveals God as Creator. The things that other people worshiped are not gods. Rather, they were created by the true God, who rules over the chaos "god," who has power to command the ocean "god." God is above the powers of nature; he is supernatural. Each day of creation dismisses more deities — light and darkness, earth and sky, land and water, sun and moon and stars, fish and birds, animals and even man. They are all created, having no power except that appointed by the Creator God. Archer writes: "The purpose of Genesis 1 is not to tell how fast God performed His work of creation (though, of course, some of His acts, such as the creation of light on the first day, must have been instantaneous).

Rather, its true purpose was to reveal that the Lord God who had revealed Himself to the Hebrew race and entered into personal covenant relationship with them was indeed the only true God, the Creator of all things that are." It is also possible that some of the described events, especially those in day 4 (which we have already admitted) and in 2:4-7, are out of their original order. This is also within biblical literary style. Bruce K. Waltke writes: "As so often happens in Scripture, historical events have been dischronologized and reconstructed for theological reasons. For example, the nations listed in Genesis 10 came into existence after the confusion of languages at Babylon recounted in Genesis 11, but the writer has dischronologized events in order to put the nations under Noah’s blessing, not under the Babylon’s curse. According to Genesis 35:16-18, Benjamin was born in Canaan, but less than 10 verses later it lists Benjamin among Jacob’s sons born in Paddan-Aram, presumably to represent the youngest patriarch as taking part in the return of all Israel from the exile in Paddan-Aram.

Biblical writers display a freedom in representing historical events for theological reasons." ("The Literary Genre of Genesis, Chapter One," Crux, December 1991, volume 27, number 4, page 7). Days grouped in a pattern There is also a schematic arrangement. In the first group of three days, God organized motionless spaces by separating one from another; in the second group of three days, God formed things to fill and "rule" over those spaces. The sun and moon and stars occupy and govern the light and darkness; the fish and birds fill and rule the water and air; the animals fill the land, and humans rule all. Another theological reason for the six days of creation is the Sabbath. A one-day creation could demonstrate God’s power over all other powers, but we are given a pattern of six days and a day of rest. The Sabbath commemorates God as Creator, as having all power. It does not matter whether creation was actually done in six days. What matters is that the week is assigned to correspond to creation. Using that pattern, God told the Israelites to take a break from their occupations on the Sabbath, a break from their concerns with created things, so they can remember the Creator.

This is one of the ritual laws that became obsolete when Christ died. Faith and facts None of the interpretations of Genesis 1 has explained everything. But it is clear that we cannot require a strictly literal reading. The difficulties involved in literalism show that the account is not intended strictly literally. It is right to allow exploration and to suggest some possible nonliteral explanations. Dogma is appropriate for some matters of faith, such as "God is the Creator," but not for a 144-hour interpretation of Genesis 1. That is not necessary for salvation, Christian living or Christian unity. Nor is it essential to understanding God’s creative power or his inspiration of the Bible. Faith does not require us to ignore all facts and stick to our own conclusions. When God asks us to believe something, he gives us evidence. He asks us to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah, and he gives us evidence by resurrecting him from the dead. Jesus appeared to hundreds of people and gave visible and tangible evidence. Those witnesses gave reports that are evidence for us. But God has not given us tangible evidence of a six-day creation. Actually, he has given us a lot of evidence to the contrary.

The sun and stars appear to be old; the earth appears to be old. It is not wrong to believe this tangible, God-given evidence. We appreciate the faith of all who believe in a six-day creation. We appreciate their desire to defend biblical authority and validity, but we do not appreciate the dogmatism and the spirit of condemnation that some have. God does not require his people to believe the literal interpretation of Genesis 1. God has given us evidence, in the text and in creation, that Genesis 1 is not intended as a literal description. Salvation does not require belief in a six-day creation. Faith in God and in his Word does not require us to reject visible facts. The Bible is not meant to be a scientific textbook. Nor is it designed to reveal secrets about primordial history that have no relevance to salvation. The Bible does not answer the questions that science asks. Nor does science address all the issues the creation account does. The two approaches are different answers for different questions, and if people perceive conflicts between the two, it is because they are trying to force either the Bible or science to give answers for questions it was not designed for. Many people think that science and Christianity conflict.

They think they have to choose between science on one hand and belief in a six-day creation on the other. This is unfortunate, because there shouldn’t be any conflict. We can have faith in God and believe facts. Faith should be built on the correct foundation, not on an overly specific interpretation when other interpretations make better sense. Belief in God can legitimately be combined with a nonliteral view of Genesis 1. Christians do not need to feel that faith requires a 6,000-year-old-earth theory, a six-day creation theory, a "gap" theory or any other theory that attempts to squeeze scientific precision out of the biblical creation account. Such theories may, in the long run, do faith more harm than good, if they cause people to reject the Bible. Many people have abandoned faith in God because they thought they had to choose between God and a 144-hour creation on one hand, and fossils and an evolutionary explanation on the other. It is a false dichotomy, a choice that doesn’t have to be made. Belief in God can legitimately be combined with a nonliteral view of Genesis 1, and atheism is not the only possible explanation of the changes we see in the fossil records.

As more Christians learn about geology and the development of life, it is important that facts do not contradict our faith in God. There need be no conflict. Faith should be built on the correct biblical foundation, not on one particular interpretation of the Bible when other interpretations are also possible. We do not want to equate faith in God with faith in a 144-hour interpretation. One is a solid foundation; the other is mistaken. A flexible view of Genesis 1, one that makes fewer specific claims, is better because it is true to the text and is able to accommodate more facts without any challenge to faith. Was creation done in six literal days or not? Sincere Christians hold one view; equally sincere Christians hold the opposite. But the true spirit of Christianity is love for others. We may disagree, but we should not be disagreeable. The debate should not be a war about orthodoxy and heresy. Rather, those who hold each view should present the evidence as clearly as they can and point out weaknesses of different views — without attacking other people. We cannot decide which view is true based on how many people believe this or that, or on who believes it.

Each Christian needs to decide what to believe based on the biblical and geological evidence, as guided by the Holy Spirit. And each Christian should be charitable to those who make a different decision. The Paradox of the Sun and Stars on 4th Day The 4th Day - Paradox of the Sun and Stars Throughout this website we have sought to provide both Biblical and Scientific answers to the many issues which have evaded the reconciliation of Geology and Genesis and the doctrinal conflict between "Old Earth" and "Young Earth" Creationism. Having demonstrated that the Ruin-Reconstruction (Gap Theory) interpretation provides the superior, Biblically credible solution between what the Bible says and what the Earth's geology reveals, we must now tackle an elusive issue in the reconciliation process: Specifically, the sun, moon and stars of the 4th Day of the Genesis narrative: 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 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 also. 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 the fourth day. (Genesis 1:14-19 KJV) Young Earth Creationists claim that the Sun and Stars were first "created" about 6,000 years ago on the 4th Day of Genesis, a claim that runs counter to empirical observations and the Biblical text. In fact, the word "create" is nowhere in the above passage. The word used is "made" and comes from a different Hebrew word with a different meaning. Of course, the YECs argue that the words are interchangeable, but they are wrong. The word "made" is correct and its meaning is precisely true. The days of Genesis describe a Divine restructuring of a previously existing heaven and Earth made through a process the Greek Scriptures define as katabole (Catabolism).

The constant of the speed of light and observations of our universe suggest that the stars we see up in the sky are old, very old - much older than just 6,000 years. Therefore, in order to defend their Young Earth Creationist doctrine against this widely accepted observation, Young Earth Creationists have proposed every counter-argument imaginable. These arguments range from changes in the speed of light, to time-dilation, to God deliberately making everything appear old just to trick all the "evil evolutionists" into believing the "lies of science" and receiving damnation for their unbelief. Of course, that latter explanation would also make God a liar and a deceiver, but they never think that one through. In the Genesis Gap Doctrine of Old Earth Creationism, we postulate that there was a previous world on the ancient Earth long, long before the world of Adam. Of course, such an ancient world had to have a Sun, a Moon and Stars shining up in the sky from ancient times.

The Bible says there was a heaven "of old" (2 Peter 3:5-7), so the stars of that heaven had to exist before the seven days of Genesis, otherwise why the requirement for the sun and stars to be regenerated ("made") on the 4th Day? Of course, if we accept that the Lord God "made" the present sun, moon and stars from the remnants of the heavenly bodies that were previously here, then there is an element of truth to the argument that what we now see in the sky is not really as old as scientific theory would have us believe. The scientific observations are based on the assumption of an uninterrupted continuity of all things since the beginning of time. The Bible, however, tells the reader there was indeed an interruption in that continuity. Does this make God a liar? No, not when He directly tells you in his Word that an interruption of continuity occurred. You make God's Word a lie when you refuse to accept the full truth of the matter. Scientific theory tells us that that when we look up into the sky at any distant star, we are in effect looking backwards into historical time.

What you see when you look at a star one million light years away is what that star looked like 1 million years ago in time. In reality, that star may no longer be there. It could have exploded 500,000 years ago and you would not see that from Earth for another 500,000 years from today. Light travels at a velocity of 299,792,458 m/s and the distances between the Earth and the stars is measured in light-years. In several places within this website we present our evidence that indicates the old Earth and heavens perished (passed into a state of coldness and ruin) about 13,000 - 10,000 radio carbon years ago. This is at a geological marker termed the Younger-Dryas cooling event which occurs at the end of the Pleistocene. We also postulated that when the stars in the heavens went dark and cold, some of the hydrogen of those dying stars produced great quantities of waters across the cosmos.

Such a universal event would have produced a spectacular light show in the heavens (stars expanding into Red Giants and imploding into White Dwarfs, etc.) before the darkness and cold settled in. But when we look up into the heavens today everything appears normal, as if nothing of the sort even happened. Why is that? It is because of a Divine intervention into the workings of the cosmos about 6,000 years ago. The reader should keep firmly in mind that the Lord God who established the observed physical laws of nature is not Himself in subjection to those laws. Our Bible is replete with instances where the Lord God supernaturally intervenes against the laws of physics and nature. Examples are the parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 14:21), the turning back of the shadow of the sundial (2 Kings 20:9), the stopping of the earth's rotation for about 24 hours (Joshua 10:12-14), the virgin birth of the God-Man, the Lord Jesus Christ. And then, of course, there is the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. Do you believe that God did all these things?

Then why should you find it incredible that the Lord God could not resurrect an entire dead universe and give it renewed life? The Lord Jesus Christ raised Lazarus from the dead and restored him whole, even after his body had been decomposing in the grave for four days (John 11:39). Could not the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the maker of all things (John 1:3), restore a dead universe and make it whole again? Most certainly! Can such things be explained or defended scientifically? No. Do such things contradict the known observations of physics and chemistry? To the extent we presently know them, yes. Consequently, there are some things that just cannot be explained by appeals to science; there are many things that must be accepted on faith because they are beyond the comprehension of man's canal mind. "But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26 KJV) In the next section we will discuss changes God made to the structure of the universe at the beginning of the seven days of Genesis.

Next Page: Creation Day #4 Children’s Church Lesson Free help for your children's ministry Creation Day #4 Children’s Church Lesson Twitter Here is the next in our series of children’s church lessons about the days of creation. On day four, God made the Sun, Moon and stars. This lesson was originally designed for as a kids church lesson for children age 5 – 11. It would also work as the Bible lesson for children’s Sunday school. This lesson is part of a series of Bible lessons about creation . Be sure to consider your own ministry context and modify it as needed. Please leave any feedback or suggestions for improvement in the comment box at the bottom of this page. Bible Story: The fourth day of Creation from Genesis 1:14-19 Learning Objectives: After this lesson, the children will demonstrate: The understanding of what God created on the first, second, third and fourth days of creation by working in groups and explaining it to the teacher. Target Age: Kindergarten – 5th Items Needed: PRINT this lesson plan Bible: Genesis 1:14-19. There is a detailed account of these verses below to help emphasize the importance of these few verses.

Flashlight, apple, fork #s 1-20 written on ½ sheets of paper, #s 1-20 written on small strips of paper, CD player, CD, Bowl, Tape Worship You can print off these “ Creation Songs ” and use to lead the children to sing before the Bible lesson. Teaching Plan: The Fourth Day of Creation Bible Lesson Introduction **Review Creation Days #1-3** Following are some questions to review what God created on the first, second and third days of Creation. The answers are in italics. “What did God create on the first day of creation?” heavens, earth, light “What did God create on the second day of creation?” the sky to separate the water “What did God create on the third day of creation?“ land, plants with seeds, plants with fruit with seeds “What is the difference between ‘making’ and ‘creating’?” to make something is to already have ingredients and just putting them together and to create something means to make something out of nothing Bible Lesson Have the children open their Bibles to Genesis 1:14-19 To help them find it, use the following questions. Answers in italics. What is the first book of the Bible?

Genesis Which part of the Bible is Genesis in? Old Testament Read Genesis 1:14-19 aloud to the children. “God said, “Let there be lights in the huge space of the sky. Let them separate the day from the night. Let them serve as signs to mark off the seasons and the days and the years. Let them serve as lights in the huge space of the sky to give light on the earth.” And that’s exactly what happened. God made two great lights. He made the larger light to rule over the day. He made the smaller light to rule over the night. He also made the stars. God put the lights in the huge space of the sky to give light on the earth. He put them there to rule over the day and the night. He put them there to separate light from darkness. God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning. It was day four.” NIrV (New International Reader’s Version) Discuss the Bible Reading God said, “Let there be lights in the huge space of the sky.” Wait a minute! I thought God created light on the first day of creation? He did, these are specific lights that He created.

Let’s look ahead at what they are and why they were made. Let them separate the day from the night. Oh, that’s why. God needed something to separate the day from the night. He gave us something specific to mark the days with. Let them serve as signs to mark off the seasons and the days and the years. What do we have that helps us keep track of days, years and seasons? (allow for responses) Right, we have calendars to help us keep track of those things. God gave us the lights so that we could have a sort of “calendar” to go by. Let them serve as lights in the huge space of the sky to give light on the earth.” And that’s exactly what happened. God made the lights to give light to the entire earth. God made two great lights. He made the larger light to rule over the day. He made the smaller light to rule over the night. What did God make today? (allow for responses) God made the sun and the moon today. He made the bigger light, the sun, be in the daytime and the smaller light, the moon, for the night. God made it lighter in the day and darker at night on purpose. Why do you think He did that?

(allow for responses) I’m not sure, but can you even imagine a world where we didn’t have any darkness? (allow for responses) He also made the stars. God put the lights in the huge space of the sky to give light on the earth. He put them there to rule over the day and the night. He put them there to separate light from darkness. So, He didn’t just make the sun and the moon, but He made the stars too? Why do you think He made the moon and the stars for the night? (allow for responses) I don’t know, but maybe with one big light and many little lights it keeps it dark enough more than one really big light. God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning. It was day four. Again, God was pleased with what He had created on the fourth day of creation. Bible Lesson Activities Use the following activities to reinforce the learning goals. If time is short, move on to the evaluation portion of the lesson plan. Activity: Moon Phases “Now, let’s experiment with why the Moon has phases.

All it takes is a bright flashlight and an apple on a fork makes a great Moon.” Have a child come up and hold the flashlight. They are the sun. Have another child come up and hole the apple on the fork. The apple is the moon and their head is the earth. “If you hold the apple out at arm’s length just above the flashlight while facing the Sun, you can’t see it. This is New Moon. The Moon is still in the sky, but we can’t see it because of the bright sunlight. Now keep the apple at arm’s length and turn slowly counterclockwise and watch what happens. That’s right! You see the apple go through phases, just like our Moon. When your back is towards the Sun, you see the apple as whole, and it will be Full Moon. The Moon will rise on the opposite side of the Earth at the same time the Sun goes down. Keep turning and you’ll see the phases reverse as the Moon moves back towards the Sun again.” Activity: Bible Verse Memorization “God made two great lights.

He also made the stars.” Genesis 1:16 (New International Reader’s Version) Have the children do the following hand motions along with repeating the words after you, to help them learn the Bible Verse: “God”—the hand is raised to the heavens and then downward in a sign of respect “made”—the fists twist on top of one another, as if they were putting something together “two”—hold two fingers up “great lights”—the middle finger is flicks the front of the mouth “He”— the hand is raised to the heavens and then downward in a sign of respect “also made”— the fists twist on top of one another, as if they were putting something together “the stars”—the index fingers rub against each other as the hands are held up pointing to the sky “Genesis 1”—hold one finger up “16”—hold 3 fingers up (make sure it’s the middle three fingers) and twist the wrist Do this a few times with the children. Make it fun for them to do the motions and say the words. Involving them in active learning is essential for memorization.

Activity: Bible Verse Cake Walk Before you start the game, tape the numbered ½ sheets of paper on the floor in a large circle (only tape down the numbers corresponding to the number of children you have in class that day Put the small numbered strips of paper into the bowl, with numbers on them corresponding to the number of children you have in class that day “You are all going to start by a number on the floor. I will start the music and you will all walk around the circle. When the music stops, you stop by a number. I will then pull a number out of this bowl and whoever is standing by the matching number, says or signs the Bible Verse.” Optional Activity: Read a children’s story about the moon such as Fool Moon Rising . Evaluation: Put the children into 4 groups and assign each group a day of creation. Each group must be able to tell the teacher what God created on that day of creation. If you have time, assign the groups a different day of creation (doing this 4 times so that each group will have explained each day of creation.)

Question: According to the Bible, what did God create on the fourth day of creation?
Answer: Sun, moon and stars