God exists outside of time. He always is. Time was created for mankind, and is used by mankind to track times and seasons.
According to scientists, a big bang occurred, bringing time and space into existence some 12 to 15 billion years ago (Internet Encyclopedia of Science, 2005). The question for science is: "What caused the 'big bang'?"
Genesis 1:1 says, "In the beginning GOD created the Heaven and the Earth." In the beginning GOD.
The Hebrew word for God is Elohim, which is a plural form. However, according to Jimmy Swaggart's commentary, the verb that follows God in Genesis 1:1 is singular. God is multiple Personalities in one Godhead. He is a Triune God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They existed together before the start of creation as we know it.
John 1:1 refers to Jesus as the "Word" of God.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life; and the life was the Light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not."
The Father spoke the Word, and the Holy Spirit brought creation into existence. The Holy Spirit is the Power of God. He teaches (John 1:33), helps and bring things to memory (John 14:26), brings power (Acts1:8), speaks through us (Luke 12:12; Acts 1:8), and allows us to see into God's Kingdom (Acts 7:55).
Earth is placed in a galaxy called the Milky Way that contains about 250 billion solar masses (Frommert and Kronberg, 2007). A solar mass is a way to measure masses within space - the mass is measured against the sun to determine their sizes. Galaxies are made up of star systems. Within the Milky Way, our star system is the Solar System that consists of the sun and the objects that orbit the sun. Our galaxy has about 200 billion stars! And it is estimated that there are more than 170 billion galaxies within the universe.
Outside of time and space, the Supreme Being speaks creation into existence. Genesis 1 does not say when God created the Heaven and the Earth, even though the book does document timelines of creation. God takes full credit for the total creation of Heaven and Earth, and there is no misinterpretation of the statement in Genesis 1:1.
Genesis 1:2 - "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."
What does that mean: "the Earth was without form, and void"? Could it be that it did not exist as yet on a physical plane? Could it be that there was a spiritual plane before the physical plane came into existence? Could the description mean something totally different than a first reading indicates? The answer to the latter question is "yes". Although God transcends both the physical and spiritual planes, the term refers to something other than that the Earth had no shape and was empty.
The Hebrew phrase for "without form and void" is "tohu-va bohu", which means "formless and empty". According to Dictionary.com, "void" means "having no legal force or effect; useless; destitute; empty; or a gap". "Void" may also mean "canceled".
An online commentary speaks of a different earth age, prior to the one we presently know (www.gracecenterd.com). In the first earth age, there was a total destruction. And it was after this destruction of the first earth that God rebuilt the Earth.
Angels are referred to in the Bible as being messengers, holy ones, mighty warriors, and sons of God. They look like man. Abraham entertained angels unawares in Genesis 18 (which we will look at shortly); and St. Paul cautioned in Hebrews 13:2 that "some have entertained angels unawares."
Angels existed on the first Earth, which was ruled by a mighty angel, Lucifer, also known as "Day Star, son of Dawn" (Isaiah 14:12), a perfect and beautiful being (Ezekiel 28: 11 - 17) until he became proud and decided to exalt himself above God. He led a rebellion against God with a third of the angels of Heaven; and God threw them out of Heaven. This was a part of the darkness that Genesis 1:2, referred to. Jesus, in Luke 10:18 said: "I beheld Satan as lightening fall from Heaven." This caused a ruin to occur on the Earth as God destroyed the first earth.
The other darkness was a physical darkness, and emptiness that existed. There was absolutely no light visible anywhere throughout the entire earth. And the waters of the cosmos combined so that there was no distinction between the waters under the earth, on the earth and above the earth.
Darkness and water existed on the face of the earth (Genesis 1:2), until God moved or hovered on the face of the waters, bringing order back to the Earth, and calling forth light to penetrate the darkness (Genesis 1:2, 3). Lucifer was not destroyed, but existed within the darkness and waters of the earth.
Light had existed before, but was now absent, due to the cataclysmic events that had destroyed the first earth. Jimmy Swaggart's commentary indicates that light became visible on the first day, when God called it forth, and then the celestial bodies (sun, moon, and stars) became visible in the fourth day of creation.
Which brings us to another question: is the six-day creation literal? Scripture speaks of a day being like a thousand years to God (2 Peter 3:8). Psalm 90:4 likens a thousand years to God as a day or as a watch in the night. A watch was approximately four hours (Pogorzelski, 2011).
It is quite possible that creation occurred within a literal six-human-days period. It is also quite likely that it occurred in a six-God-days period, which could be over six thousand human years. Please note, though, that the text specifies: "And there was evening, and there was morning - the first day." (New International Version - Genesis 1:5). There were clear distinctions showing that there was an evening and a morning. These are "natural days" (Barnes, 2011). God completed creation in six actual human days.
In Day Two, God separated the waters and reestablished the firmament around the Earth - dividing the water within the Earth (terrestrial waters) from the water in Heaven (atmospheric waters). Mists had now formed on the earth.
In Day Three, God called forth dry land and established the Seas. He brought forth grass and trees of all kinds on the Earth.
On Day Four, God called for the lights in Heaven - the sun, the moon, and the stars. These were now made visible on the earth, past the darkness that had previously existed. The sun now produced heat and light to sustain life forms within the Earth.
On Day Five, God created the birds, fishes, and whales and ordered them to multiply throughout the Earth and the Seas.
On Day Six, God created the other creatures of the Earth. Then, He created Man.
"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.
"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish 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." (Genesis 1: 26 - 28)
The Triune God worked together in the creation of man. Man was created in a likeness of God. He did not evolve from other creatures. He looked like God, and he looked like angels. In the next chapter in which we see God walking and talking with Man in the garden, there did not appear to be any difference between God and the Man He had created. Remember, too, that Abraham entertained angels unawares in Genesis 18 and Paul had cautioned that we sometimes entertain angels unawares in Hebrews 13. Scripture says that Man was created a little lower than angels (Psalm 8:5; Hebrews 2:7), but our likeness (with exception to cherubims and seraphim that have wings) appear to be identical.
God then blessed Man and instructed him to replenish the earth. What does that mean?
According to Dictionary.com, the word "replenish" means: "To make full or complete again; to fill again or anew". That means that something had been there before. Something that had been taken away that now had to be restored.
Remember that God had destroyed the first earth and all that was within. So man was replacing original life on earth. He was given power over the earth. The earth that had originally belonged to Lucifer was now given to Man for him to multiply and fill the earth.
God provided food for man. Genesis 1:29 and 30 are clear that food was to be obtained from the trees - not from the fish, bird, or animal life that man was protecting, ruling, and subduing. According to the scripture, the fruits and herbs were also provided for the beasts of the earth and fowls of the air and everything that crept on the face of the earth to use as food.
"And God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day." God looked at all He had made, He blessed everything, and He proclaimed it all to be very good. It was absolutely perfect.
Reference
Barnes (2011). Barnes' Notes on the Bible: Genesis 1:5. Retrieved May 20, 2011 from http://bible.cc/genesis/1-5.htm
Biblos.com (2011). Genesis 1:1. Retrieved April 27, 2011 from http://bible.cc/genesis/1-1.htm
Cardinald Joseph Ratzinger (1995). In the Beginning: A Catholic Understanding of the Story of Creation and the Fall. Retrieved April 27, 2011 from http://www.philvaz.com/apologetics/p81.htm
Dictionary.com (2011). Void. Retrieved April 27, 2011 from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/void
Frommert, H. and Kronberg, C., 2007. Galaxies. Retrieved April 27, 2011 from http://messier.obspm.fr/galaxy.html
GraceCentered.Com (n.d.). Commentary on Genesis. Retrieved April 27, 2011 from http://www.gracecentered.com/christian_forums/apologetics-and-faith/commentary-on-genesis/10/?wap2
Internet Encyclopedia of Science, 2005. Big bang. Retrieved April 27, 2011 from http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/B/Big_Bang.html
Pogorzelski, F. (2011). Bible time lunar - solar system. Hebrew months. Retrieved April 27, 2011 from http://www.catholicevangelism.org/bible-time.shtml
No comments:
Post a Comment