Genesis 1

     This first chapter to the book of Genesis is one of the most controversial books in the Bible. Even those who claim to have a strong faith in God and the bible often disagree with its meaning. As for me, I believe that God couldn’t have explained it any clearer than he did and that we really need to be able to take him at his word.

     I once met a scientist by the name of Dr. Curt Wise who shared a theory that he had. He believed that God knew ahead of time all of the creation theories that would develop over the years and as a result sprinkled the scriptures and the world with things that would completely refute these theories.

     I believe that that is precisely what the Lord did in Genesis Chapter 1. When anyone reads this chapter for the first time, they will realize just how repetitive it can be. It would seem as though a lot of useless information was given. Well, it wasn’t. That useless or unnecessary, excessive information is now vitally important to defending the seven day creation against its opposing theories.

     The three main theories that I will talk about today is the Big Bang Theory, the basic Theory of Evolution, and the theory that is often referred to as the Old Earth Theory. I plan on showing you very clearly that you cannot believe in any of these theories and still believe in the Bible.

     First off, the Big Bang Theory believes that all matter started as one central condensed speck of matter and that an explosion of energy created all the stars and planets we now see. Forgetting for a moment the ridiculousness of such a claim, (No matter how much energy you put into a watermelon seed, I promise you it will not blow up and become twenty full grown watermelons.) lets look at the scriptures, because there are some people who claim that they believe that God used the Big Bang to create the universe.

“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 it was good. 19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.”

     We see from this passage that the sun, moon, and stars were all formed on the fourth day of creation. The Fourth Day! But yet, we find that the earth was formed on the very first day, in the very first verse in fact. If all these heavenly bodies were created from one central source through one action, as the Big Bang Theory would have you believe, would they not all come into existence together at the same time? So, no, God did not use a Big Bang. He didn’t have to.

     Now as for Evolution, could it be possible that God used a form of evolution to create all forms of life? Not a chance. First off, the order that life is created does not agree with today’s evolutionary theory. The evolutionists would have you believe that fish became reptiles and that some of these reptiles became birds while others became mammals and that eventually some of these mammals returned to sea to become whales and such. The scripture clearly refutes this idea.

“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.”

     Here we find that God created fish, birds, and whales at the same time and on the same day, even though none of the land dwelling creatures had been created yet.

     Evolutionists would also have us think that species are created by genetic mutation or birth defects. In essence, a chicken would give to something that is not entirely a chicken. Well, it is my belief that God knew that this would be a common theory. As you look through Chapter 1 you will see the phrase “after his kind” or “after their kind” used several times. This is the Hebrew word “miyn” and it literally refers to a genetic species. What he is saying is that the creatures he created will have offspring that are of the same genetic makeup and are in the same biological family as them. No mutation will occur and no new species will develop. So, if you believe that God’s word is true than you can not hold to a belief in evolutionary theory.

     Lastly, there is a theory prevalent among Christians known as the Old Earth Theory. Sadly, it is widely accepted and even taught by some Christian leaders. This is the theory that the seven days of creation are not literal days. These individuals believe that God could have taken thousands of years to create the world and that it is foolish to think that he would do it in only seven days. Often, they will misquote Psalms 90:4 to show that a thousand years is as a single day to God. You see, I believe that God knew that people would make this claim and it is for that reason that every time God refers to a day of creation he clearly states, “And the evening and the morning…” It doesn’t get any clearer than that. Each day of creation had one evening and one morning and therefore was literally one day.

     So, with all of that said, how is a Christian suppose to defend their faith against the science? The evidence for an old Earth is absolutely overwhelming and yet, as Bible-believing Christians, we are supposed to believe that the whole universe is at most only about 7 thousand years old. (This is a number that we get from adding the ages of biblical characters and comparing years of historical events that we see recorded in the Bible.) When a Christian tries to tell someone who is knowledgeable in the field of science that the world and universe are no more than 7,000 years old, they will find themselves mocked profusely. The science is simply undeniable and even though scientists will often disagree on just how old the earth, sun, moon, and stars really are, they will all agree that it is really really old. So how are we as Christians supposed to respond to that?

     Think back to the very first miracle that Jesus ever performed. He turned water into wine at a wedding. When the man in charge of the feast tried the wine he called to the bridegroom saying, “Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.” (John 2:10) And so I ask you now, how old was the wine that that man was praising? Well, we know that Jesus had just created it from the water so we may be tempted to say that it was only just minutes old, but that would in fact, be only partly true. Everyone who knows anything at all about wine knows that it is the aging process that gives it its flavor. The older the wine, the more rich and enjoyable its taste. Here, the man said that it was the best wine at the wedding. How can this be? You see, even though Jesus had just created the wine, he actually created very old wine. Think about it. It was aged to perfection and formulated from the juice of grapes that never grew on any vine.

     When Jesus fed the five thousand, how old were the fish that were being eaten? Well, they were literally created just minutes before and yet we find that they are normal, full grown fish. If you were to walk to the back of the crowd and find a man who did not see the miracle and did not know that these fish were just created at the hand of Jesus and were to ask this man about the history of the fish he was eating, what would he tell you? He would tell you that it started off as an egg, swam in the Sea of Galilee, ate bugs and smaller fish as it grew, and lived this way for a couple of years before it was caught in a fisherman’s net, died in his boat, and was dried, cooked, or salted for eating. Would this man be wrong? Yes. That fish never grew up, never swam in the sea, and never even died, for it had never been alive. Now, try telling that man that. He would laugh at you and think that you were a complete fool. Why? Because he is holding the fish in his hand, and all the evidence points to the story he just told you.

     You see, Jesus created old wine, Jesus created old fish, and at the creation, God did the same thing. We know from science that it takes light thousands of years to reach us from the stars. We know from Genesis that God created the light of the stars before he actually created the stars. (Verses 15-16) Science tells us that we have a middle-aged sun and that if it was only seven thousand years old, it would be incapable of supporting life. We say, “Exactly.” God created a middle-aged sun, because he knew that that’s what we needed. You see, once you realize that God knows what he’s doing and that there is no limit to his power and abilities, Creation really isn’t very difficult to understand.

     Now here’s a free piece of information. According to Dr. Wise, science shows us that it takes about 10,000 years for light created by nuclear fusion in the center of the sun to reach the earth. 10,000 years! Notice in Genesis that God created light before he created the sun. This is why. Had he created the sun first, he would have had to have waited 10,000 years before doing anything else. You know what else this means? Since the earth is only 7,000 years old, the light that warms your face when you go outside was not actually made by the sun. It was formed when God said, “Let there be light.” Just something to think about as you enjoy each day in God’s creation.

One Chapter At A Time

I just wrote a review on Genesis Chapter 1. I plan on recording my thoughts on every book of the Bible. Though it could take me years and years to complete, I think it will be a very fulfilling goal. I will try to make each of them clear, simple, and easy to find here on WordPress. You can find my first one here: http://mwisner.wordpress.com/genesis-1-a-look-at-creation/.