Creation: A Study in Genesis - The First Book of Moses
— In the Beginning —
The book of Genesis in my Bible covers 74 pages and, is a small book by any standards. However, after Chapter 1, these pages cover a time span of about 2,600 years after Adam and lay the foundation for our very existence.
We can trace elapsed time of approximately 6,000 years from Adam until the present, only because of the genealogical records preserved in the Bible. Before Adam we enter into an area of heavy speculation concerning the length of a day and many other facets of the creation process. It is interesting to note that in the Ferrar Fenton translation of the Bible, the creation units were called “ages” rather than “days.” In our study we will be more concerned with the sequence of events than with the actual time, although, as we examine scientific evidence, some approximate time frames will fall into place.
For years the Christian community and and scientific community have been at odds for wrong reasons on both sides. The creationalists have held stead fast to the theory that all human life began with Adam, only 6,000 years ago. Their counter parts in the scientific field come back with the “big bang” creation of the earth and humans evolving from “slime.” Both groups have caused embarrassment to their colleagues. Fortunately, there are Christians with scientific backgrounds and scientists with Christian backgrounds. From this academic atmosphere we find harmony and agreement. The more we study the more we find that the Bible and science complement each other.
We are fortunate that geology, archeology, paleontology and seismology have all provided evidence that not only supports the Bible but helps clarify some areas where we had to guess before. Archiologists have found skeletal remains dating thousands of years before Adam, definitely proving the existence of human type life forms long before Adam. Paleontologist have found identical fossils on the eastern coast of South America and the western coast of Africa which provides substantial evidence that these two continents were once one land mass. The study of Plate Tectonics provides almost conclusive evidence that all continents that we now find on the globe were, at one time, a single land mass! Again, in perfect harmony with Genesis Chapter 1.
This course was written so you can learn, not by believing what we say but by studying and proving to yourself. While we quote scriptural references from the King James Version Bible, we will look at other versions for clarity. Through out the course we reference the Strong’s Concordance for the Hebrew meaning of key words. e.g. (Strong’s 559). In this example the number 559 is the word number in Strong’s Hebrew dictionary. We recommend that every student of the scriptures obtain a copy of the Strong’s Concordance.
The Creation Process
First read Genesis Chapter 1 and John 1:1-2
We are all familiar and agree with the words, “In the beginning. . . .” From there on through the first book of the Bible, there exists dozens of theological interpretations of one of the most important books of the Bible. Let’s begin by looking forward in the Bible, to John 1:1-2. In our creation study you will note that God uses two methods of creating: First the spoken word; Secondly, “hands-on.”
A proper understanding of the book of Genesis is necessary to be able to effectively study and understand the balance of the Bible. Like the foundation of a house determines the “floor-plan” of a home, so does an understanding of Genesis determine the “floor-plan” of the rest of our Bible.
John 1:1-2
1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2. The same was in the beginning with God.
Genesis 1:1-5
1. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
2. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
3. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
4. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
5. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
Said (Strong’s 559) Say, speak, think (say to oneself) command, demanded, gave a commandment.
From these scriptures we learn that God’s first creation efforts evolved the spoken word.
1. When God said, Let there be Light:. . . To whom was he talking?
( ) a. He was talking to a helper(s).
( ) b. He mumbled a lot while making things.
( ) c. He was commanding the necessary elements to fashion themselves into what he desired.
Heaven (Strong’s 8064) Region above the earth, the heavens, place of the stars, sky, air, the invisible realm of God.
Earth (Strong’s 776) World, ground, soil, dry land, “heaven and earth” means the totality of creation.
2. When God saw the light He thought it was ___ ___ ___ ___ .
3. In verse 3, did God make the sun? (see Genesis 1:16) ( ) Yes. ( ) No.
If God didn’t make the sun until 2 days later, where did the light in verse 3 come from? __________________________________________________________________________ .
Genesis 1:6-10
6. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters
m waters.
7. And God made the firmament , and divided the waters which were under the firmament form the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
8. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
9. And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
10. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
Firmament (Strong’s 7549) Expanse (of sky or heaven); the space above the earth that holds visible objects: clouds . . . .
When first created, the earth was covered entirely with water and presumably, a heavy mist over it. The closest part of the firmament appears to be the life sustaining atmosphere that we now live in. It separates the the waters on earth from the water bearing clouds above the earth. It, also, supports airplanes, etc.
God call the firmament Heaven. This seems like a duplication of the heaven that was created the day before. It was simply a secondary creation to finalize Heaven. Heaven as we have learned, extends from the surface of the earth out to infinity. Only the portion of Heaven close to the earth contains a life supporting atmosphere that we enjoy.
4. Where is the “invisible realm” of God” ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ .
5. Can God or his angels be near us at any time? ( ) Yes. ( ) No.
A couple of questions to make you think! Since Heaven is from the Earths surface outward, is God with us when we go into a cave or mine? Where did God exist before He created Heaven? (Just a little something to get your brain cells active!)
Earth (Strong’s 776) World, ground, soil, “heaven & earth” means the totality of creation, dryland. Verses 9 and 10 give further proof that the earth, when first created, was covered entirely with water. They, clearly indicate that the waters were gathered (spread apart) and dryland appeared. When first used in verse 1, earth was used in the sense of the totality of creation. Now it is used in the sense of dry land.
6. The planet we live on is called Earth. ( ) True. ( ) False.
The country we live in can be called Earth. ( ) True. ( ) False.
Our back yard can be called Earth. ( ) True. ( ) False.
A handful of dirt can be called Earth. ( ) True. ( ) False.
Here we learn that the term “earth” can be used to describe various sizes of land mass, from a mere handful of dirt to our entire earth.
A Brief Study of Plate Tectonics
The maps and dates of each are estimates representing the consensus of the leading geologists who have studied plate tectonics in recent times.Different books on the subject differ only slightly to what is shown here. It is interesting to note that as our technology becomes more sophisticated the more it reinforces the plate tectonic theory outlined here.
As we stated at the beginning of this course, we are not concerned with exact dates or amount of elapsed time, but more in the sequence of events.
In is most interesting to note that India, Australia and Antarctica were at one time attached to Africa. Over time they broke away, each going their own way. Only India drifted northward and attached itself to another continent, in this case, Asia.
An Explanation of Plate Tectonics
from a U.S. Geological Survey publication
In geologic terms, a plate is a large, rigid slab of solid rock. The word tectonics comes from the Greek root "to build." Putting these two words together, we get the term plate tectonics, which refers to how the Earth's surface is built of plates. The theory of plate tectonics states that the Earth's outermost layer is fragmented into a dozen or more large and small plates that are moving relative to one another as they ride atop hotter, more mobile material. Before the advent of plate tectonics, however, some people already believed that the present-day continents were the fragmented pieces of preexisting larger land masses ("supercontinents"). The diagrams below show the break-up of the supercontinent Pangaea(meaning "all lands" in Greek), which figured prominently in the theory of continental drift — the forerunner to the theory of plate tectonics.
According to the continental drift theory, the supercontinent Pangaea began to break up about 225-200 million years ago, eventually fragmenting into the continents as we know them today.
Plate tectonics is a relatively new scientific concept, introduced some 30 years ago, but it has revolutionized our understanding of the dynamic planet upon which we live. The theory has unified the study of the Earth by drawing together many branches of the earth sciences, from paleontology (the study of fossils) to seismology (the study of earthquakes). It has provided explanations to questions that scientists had speculated upon for centuries — such as why earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur in very specific areas around the world, and how and why great mountain ranges like the Alps and Himalayas formed.
Why is the Earth so restless? What causes the ground to shake violently, volcanoes to erupt with explosive force, and great mountain ranges to rise to incredible heights? Scientists, philosophers, and theologians have wrestled with questions such as these for centuries. Until the 1700s, most Europeans thought that a Biblical Flood played a major role in shaping the Earth's surface. This way of thinking was known as "catastrophism," and geology (the study of the Earth) was based on the belief that all earthly changes were sudden and caused by a series of catastrophes. However, by the mid-19th century, catastrophism gave way to "uniformitarianism," a new way of thinking centered around the "Uniformitarian Principle" proposed in 1785 by James Hutton, a Scottish geologist. This principle is commonly stated as follows: The present is the key to the past. Those holding this viewpoint assume that the geologic forces and processes — gradual as well as catastrophic — acting on the Earth today are the same as those that have acted in the geologic past.
The belief that continents have not always been fixed in their present positions was suspected long before the 20th century; this notion was first suggested as early as 1596 by the Dutch map maker Abraham Ortelius in his work Thesaurus Geographicus. Ortelius suggested that the Americas were "torn away from Europe and Africa ... by earthquakes and floods" and went on to say: "The vestiges of the rupture reveal themselves, if someone brings forward a map of the world and considers carefully the coasts of the three [continents]." Ortelius' idea surfaced again in the 19th century. However, it was not until 1912 that the idea of moving continents was seriously considered as a full-blown scientific theory — called Continental Drift introduced in two articles published by a 32-year-old German meteorologist named Alfred Lothar Wegener. He contended that, around 200 million years ago, the supercontinent Pangaea began to split apart. Alexander Du Toit, Professor of Geology at Johannesburg University and one of Wegener's staunchest supporters, proposed that Pangaea first broke into two large continental land masses, Laurasia in the northern hemisphere and Gondwanaland in the southern hemisphere. Laurasia and Gondwanaland then continued to break apart into the various smaller continents that exist today.
Wegener's theory was based in part on what appeared to him to be the remarkable fit of the South American and African continents, first noted by Abraham Ortelius three centuries earlier. Wegener was also intrigued by the occurrences of unusual geologic structures and of plant and animal fossils found on the matching coastlines of South America and Africa, which are now widely separated by the Atlantic Ocean. He reasoned that it was physically impossible for most of these organisms to have swum or have been transported across the vast oceans. To him, the presence of identical fossil species along the coastal parts of Africa and South America was the most compelling evidence that the two continents were once joined.
In Wegener's mind, the drifting of continents after the break-up of Pangaea explained not only the matching fossil occurrences but also the evidence of dramatic climate changes on some continents. For example, the discovery of fossils of tropical plants (in the form of coal deposits) in Antarctica led to the conclusion that this frozen land previously must have been situated closer to the equator, in a more temperate climate where lush, swampy vegetation could grow. Other mismatches of geology and climate included distinctive fossil ferns (Glossopteris) discovered in now-polar regions, and the occurrence of glacial deposits in present-day arid Africa, such as the Vaal River valley of South Africa.
The theory of continental drift would become the spark that ignited a new way of viewing the Earth. But at the time Wegener introduced his theory, the scientific community firmly believed the continents and oceans to be permanent features on the Earth's surface. Not surprisingly, his proposal was not well received, even though it seemed to agree with the scientific information available at the time. A fatal weakness in Wegener's theory was that it could not satisfactorily answer the most fundamental question raised by his critics: What kind of forces could be strong enough to move such large masses of solid rock over such great distances? Wegener suggested that the continents simply plowed through the ocean floor, but Harold Jeffreys, a noted English geophysicist, argued correctly that it was physically impossible for a large mass of solid rock to plow through the ocean floor without breaking up.
Undaunted by rejection, Wegener devoted the rest of his life to doggedly pursuing additional evidence to defend his theory. He froze to death in 1930 during an expedition crossing the Greenland ice cap, but the controversy he spawned raged on. However, after his death, new evidence from ocean floor exploration and other studies rekindled interest in Wegener's theory, ultimately leading to the development of the theory of plate tectonics.
Plate tectonics has proven to be as important to the earth sciences as the discovery of the structure of the atom was to physics and chemistry and the theory of evolution was to the life sciences. Even though the theory of plate tectonics is now widely accepted by the scientific community, aspects of the theory are still being debated today. Ironically, one of the chief outstanding questions is the one Wegener failed to resolve: What is the nature of the forces propelling the plates? Scientists also debate how plate tectonics may have operated (if at all) earlier in the Earth's history and whether similar processes operate, or have ever operated, on other planets in our solar system. http://pubs.usgs.gov/publications/text/historical.html 05.05.99
Should you wish to study the subject of plate tectonics further we recommend the book entitled “Plate Tectonics - Unraveling the Mysteries of the Earth” by Jon Erickson.
Today’s increasing earthquake activities offer additional proof of this geogolical theory that came into sharp focus in the last 30 years. For centuries people have conceived the Earth to be static and unchanging what you see is what always was. These same people skimmed over the creation accounts in their Bibles
without giving much thought and study to the subject before us now in this course.
As we progress through our study of Genesis we will refer back to this study of the Earth in an effort to clarify the Scriptures.
Genesis 1:11-18
11. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
12. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
13. And the evening and the morning were the third day.
14. 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.
15. And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
16. 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.
17. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth.
18. And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that is was good
As soon as land had been created, God put plant life on it. In verses 11 and 12, emphasis was placed on the fact that these plants contained seed. Today’s organic farmers use what is known as open pollinated seed for all their crops. This has two benefits: 1. These seed produce more neutrishous food than their hybrid counterparts which only produce higher yields, thus making the farmer more money. 2. Open pollinated seed can be saved from crops to replant next year, over and over, still producing the same quality plant that started out.
7. God’s original seeds could have been planted over and over and still produced healthy food.
( ) True. ( ) False.
8. Did God create mushroom’s in these two verses?
( ) Yes. ( ) No.
Today, we consider the greater light to be the Sun and the lessor light to be the Moon.
9. The sun rules the day, however, the night is ruled by the ___ ___ ___ ___ and also by the ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ .
10. As we have read thus far in Genesis, God hasn’t made any animal life. Why do you think he made plant life before animals? ____________________________________________________________________________ .
As we review the first four days of creation we learned that God created the “heaven and the earth,” with the earth covered entirely with water. He illuminated the earth with light. He created a firmament called heaven to contain moisture filled clouds and Himself. Next he created one dry land mass which divided the water into seas or an ocean and covered the land with grass, herbs and fruit trees. With the plants now producing oxygen, God, in four days has created a self sustaining eco-system.
The question always arises about whether the “days” thus recorded were the same as our 24 hour days or not. It really doesn’t matter in our study here because, as we stated earlier, we are concerned only about the sequence of events.
Genesis 1:19-25
19. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
20. And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
21. And god created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
22. And God blessed them, saying Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
23. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
24. And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.
25. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
Whales (Strong’s 8577) serpent, snake, monster of the deep, can refer to large sea creatures, whale. etc.
Notice that as God creates different life forms he places them in a specific environment best suited for each kind. Although some birds can land and briefly dive under water, they can’t exist there long. The same for fish - some will jump out of the water into the air to catch food but only for a moment.
11. After God created life in the sea and air He ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ them and
told them to ___________________________ and _________ the sea and the earth.
Notice in verses 20 and 21 God created both sea life and fowls of the air from the waterswhile in verses 24 and 25 He created land animals and insects from the earth.
Since God was creating by speaking (commanding) the elements of the immediate enviornment into forming into what He wished to create, perhaps the waters of the sea contained the elements more adaptable to making fowls than the elements of the earth. Notice that the usage of the word “earth,” in this case, was referring only to the “dry land mass” as opposed to the entire globe.
Creepeth (Strong’s 7431) to move along (ground & sea), creeping things, creatures that creep. . . .
Beast (Strong’s 2416) animal, livestock, living creature. . . .
From the Septuagint Bible we read: [24] Then God said, “let the earth produce animal life according to kind; four-footed beasts and reptiles and wild beasts of the earth according to kind.” And it was so. [25] God indeed made the wild beasts of the earth according to their kind, and the cattle according to their kind, and all the reptiles of the earth according to kind. And God saw that they were good.
12. What didn’t God do with the animals that He did do with the sea and air creatures?
____________________________________________________________________________ . Genesis 1:22
Genesis 1:26-31
26. And God said Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and
replenish [fill] the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
29. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
30. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
31. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. and the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
Note that in verses 26-31 God is still in the 6th day of creation. He has first completed the making of all animal life on the dry land called earth.
13. God is still making all of his creations by the ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ word.
14. Did God create both males and females the same way? ( ) Yes. ( ) No.
15. After creating them the next thing God did was to ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ them.
16. What was the first three things God told them to do? (Genesis 1:28)
_______________________________________________________________________ .
In God’s parting words to his first human type creations in verses 29 and 30, He explained to them that they had dominion over all his previous creations. Prior to their existence He had provided a food source for them in the form of seed bearing trees (fruit) and for the animals in the form of green herbs. God in His infinite wisdom, always places things in their proper order and provides for them.
Looking back over his six days of creation, God was pleased and observed that all was “very good.” Whether these “days” were simply 24 hour days as we know them or did they represent a much longer span of time, we can only speculate. We measure our day in the amount of time it takes for the earth to orbit around the sun. But, remember, God didn’t create the sun until the third day, so, what was being used to mark time at the beginning? Again, we can only speculate.
When we study the plate tectonic theory, it boggles our minds to see the estimated date of 225 million years ago as to when scientists conceive the land mass of earth to exist as one super-continent called Pangaea. This is especially shocking to those Christians and non-Christians who were taught the “creationalist” doctrine that everything started with Adam only 6,000 years ago.
Just how accurate is the 225 million year date? No one knows for sure. But when dealing in those numbers, what’s a few million years hear or there! All we can be certain of is the original creation was a long time before 6,000 years ago.
Genesis 2:1-4
1. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which god created and made.
4. These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.
All creation was finished by the sixth day and on the seventh day God rested. God, also, blessed the 7th day and sanctified it. Thus began our weekly sabbath that Christians observe today. We have now covered the 7 day creation that most Christians are familiar with.
Now let’s review some important highlights that we have learned:
17. All creations during these 7 days were by the __________________ word.
18. The earth was first covered entirely by ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ .
19. Dry land was originally created as ___ ___ ___ continent.
20. The last creation God made was ___ ___ ___ , both male and female. What did God do
with these people___________________________________________________________ .
The remaining questions are subjective and are placed here to help make you think.
21. Since God instructed man to multiply and fill the earth did He just let them wander around on their newfound continent wherever they desired?
22. Could God have placed man on the continent in areas best suited for him?
23. Do you think God might have created different (non-white) races at this time?
Have you noticed that the black race is found not only in Africa but in Australia, New Zealand, India? Notice that, in the study of plate tectonics, these countries were all closely attached at one time.
Have you ever noticed the similarities in appearance between the American Indian, the Eskimo and Asians?
And lastly, what about Adam and Eve? The creation story lasted 7 days and no mention of them! Well stay tuned for lesson 2 and find out!
