CREATION--- 15 BILLION YEARS EQUALS 6 DAYS

Scientists say that the earth has been in existence for about 15 billion years. The Holy Bible tells us that God created the universe in six days. Actually the truth is that in this case, 15 billion years equals 6 days.

The billions of years that the cosmologists say have followed the big bang and those events of the first six days of Genesis are in fact one and the same. They are identical realities that have been described in vastly different terms.

God's day wasn't made up of 24 hours. The Bible never once says that a day consisted of 24 hours. In fact the sun and the moon, which would have been required to make up a 24 hour day, were not completely formed and visible from the earth until the 4th day of creation. So God looked upon each day as a work day, and that his work day would only be finished when a certain task or job was completed. So each of God's days consisted of an epoch, a flow from disorder towards increasing order in the creation of the universe. In Genesis, at the end of each day God says there is an evening and a morning. In Hebrew the definitions for evening and morning are: "And there was evening and there was morning" is telling us that in each "daily" episode, at a specific location within the universe, order was imposed by God on the disorder that existed there.

But look at the order that evening and morning fall in.

Genesis 1:5 "So there was evening and morning the first day."

Genesis 1:8 "So there was evening and morning the second day."

Genesis 1:13 "So there was evening and morning the third day."

Genesis 1:19 "So there was evening and morning the fourth day."

Genesis 1:23 "So there was evening and morning the fifth day."

Genesis 1:31 "So there was evening and morning the sixth day."

A much more practical way to say the above verses would be, and there was morning and then there was evening, as if the work day or the job were started at the very start of the day, and then completed at the end of the day. But not in Genesis. For in Genesis God says evening first, and then morning. And this is because the Bible is telling us that first there was complete disorder, and then God went to work, and when he was finished there was complete order. And that is understandable because 1 Corinthians 14:33 tells us that God is not a God of disorder but a God of order.

So "evening" can be thought of as the start of a workday when the job ahead is in complete disorder. Evening is the very beginning of a period of creativity. "Morning" on the other hand can be perceived as the "ending" of that period of creativity. Morning is when the work or the job is finished and there is complete order.

God took a full "six work days" to create and design this universe and to allow the earth to form so that it was ready for man's habitation. For Exodus 20:11 tells us, "For six days God made the heavens and the earth". Almighty God created all life within his six work days, and once that life was created he then guided it along its purposeful pathway. Also keep in mind that God created nature, he uses nature, and during creation God directed and guided nature for his own purposes.

This whole concept of work days can be better understood if you consider two Biblical verses. The first verse tells us that the meaning of time is not always the same between God and man. And the second verse involves the "work" that God was doing during the creation.
2 Peter 3:8 "But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord, one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day."
Genesis 2:2 "And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done."
Thus, Genesis 2:2 may very well be telling us that all of God's creation work was broken down into 6 individual "work days".

Also keep in mind that there were no clocks or watches during the creation, and no calendars or seasons either. In fact, as stated above, the sun and moon weren't even visible to the earth until the 4th day, so there was no morning or evening as we know it that could even break up the day into two twelve hour periods. Look at what Genesis 1:14-19 says.
1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years.
1:15 and let them be for lights in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
1:16 And God made the two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: [he made] the stars also.
1:17 And God set them in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth.
1:18 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.
1:19 And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

DAY ONE---VERSES 1-5 IN GENESIS CHAPTER ONE

1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
1:2 And the earth was waste and formless; and darkness was upon the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
1:4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
1:5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

The so called "big bang" occurred on this day. We have no idea what method God used or just how he started the universe. Whether he actually started it from a small little speck which contained everything that was to eventually be found in the universe, or maybe God held in his hands the entire contents of the universe and just threw this material out into space, or possibly he simply "spoke" the universe into existence.

This speaking the universe into existence was probably the way it was created because if you look at the first chapter in Genesis you will find that before God does anything regarding the creation it always says, "And God proceeded to say", or "God went on to say", or God said". You will find the words "he said", nine different times in the first chapter of Genesis. In verses 3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26, and 29. Not only is it incredible to think that the very Words of God brought the entire universe into existence, but just as incredible is the fact that Jesus Christ is spoken of as the Word of God. This means that the will of God, is the Word of God. That Jesus Christ is the very will, of God the Father, and that Jesus Christ acting as God The Father's will and words, created this entire universe.

It is also of interest to note that there are quite a few verses in the Bible that describe God's incredible ability to accomplish something simply by speaking. Below are just three examples of this incredible ability.
Psalms 33:9 "For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast."
Hebrews 1:3 "He is the reflection of his glory and the exact representation of his very being, and he sustains all things by the word of his power."
Hebrews 11:3 "By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the Word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible."

You can call it the big bang if you wish or you can call it the moment of creation. If it was a big bang, then you can be assured that the Creator God was behind it, directing it, and designing it. God is all powerful and what ever method he used, it set the universe on a course that was targeted toward life. God knew that man would be inquisitive and curious and wonder how the universe and life began. God wanted man to have faith and to believe in his creator and to know that someday when the time was right, God would let man know just how he began the creation.

A person cannot look at creation and not see a creator. A person can look at the big bang or any other theory as the moment of creation, but that only gives birth to a great many other questions. For example, where did all that matter come from that made up the big bang? Where did all the many physical laws such as gravity come from which would have been needed to allow all matter to condense into a small sphere which in turn allowed the big bang to occur? There had to be a creator because things just don't suddenly pop into existence.

However it happened, we can be sure that God commanded it to happen. God created everything that is - out of nothing at all. So every material thing that was eventually to exist in the universe was derived from what was created in the first instant of creation. These 7.5 billion years that made up the first day allowed all the elements to form, to allow light to come into existence, to establish all the natural laws and forces of the universe and to allow them to begin to work. For whatever reasons God had, this 7.5 billion year period also allowed the entire universe to expand out into unbelievable distances. This time was also needed to prepare for the formation of the earth and all the other heavenly bodies. Long periods of time were needed to allow molecules to form from individual atoms, for huge clouds of gas to form into solid heavenly bodies, and to allow the tremendous heat from the creation to begin to cool.

In the second verse of Genesis it says, "Now the earth proved to be formless and was waste and there was darkness". For the first one or two days of the six days of Genesis, the earth didn't even exist. Although Genesis 1:1 says "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth", the earth in the beginning was simply a mass of primordial substance, composed mainly of gigantic dust clouds. But in these clouds were all the atoms and molecules that God would use to eventually make up the earth. This primordial substance had to be shaped and re-shaped into substances and materials from which life could be drawn and on which man could exist. If you think about it, God in creating the earth and the universe was much like a carpenter who also builds things from the very rawest of materials.

The composition of the earth would contain the ability to "bring forth life". For example Genesis 1:11 says, "let the earth cause grass to shoot forth and for vegetation to begin to grow". Genesis 1:24 says, "let the earth put forth living animals and wild beasts". The ability for the earth to create these things was already put into place by God. The earth was fine tuned for life. All that was needed for a certain process to begin, was a command from God.

DAY TWO ----VERSES 6-8 IN GENESIS CHAPTER ONE

1:6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, to separate water from water.
1:7 And 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.
1:8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

On day two, matter from the instant of creation continues to spread out and form the universe. Stars, galaxies, and other heavenly bodies begin to form. The forming and shaping of the heavens immediately surrounding the earth occur and this allows the earth to take even greater shape.

DAY THREE---VERSES 9-13 IN GENESIS CHAPTER ONE

1:9 And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: And it was so.
1:10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
1:11 And God said, Let the earth put forth grass, herbs yielding seed, and fruit-trees bearing fruit after their kind, wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth: and it was so.
1:12 And the earth brought forth grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after their kind: and God saw that it was good.
1:13 And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.

On this day dry land appears, and this dry land begins to separate and give borders to the vast seas. Vegetation and plant life begin to form but again, only after a command from God is given. God said, "Let the earth cause grass to shoot forth, vegetation bearing seed, and fruit trees yielding fruit according to their kind". God is causing all these things to happen in preparation for the arrival of mankind.

DAY FOUR---VERSES 14-19 IN GENESIS CHAPTER ONE

1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years.
1:15 and let them be for lights in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
1:16 And God made the two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: [he made] the stars also.
1:17 And God set them in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth.
1:18 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.
1:19 And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

This is the day that the sun and moon begin to take shape and start to become visible. And as they form they begin to shine their light down on the earth. There was light before day four because in verse 3 on the first day of creation the Bible says, "and God said, Let there be light: and there was light."

Also verse 14 tells us that until this 4th work day, there was no chance of there being a 24 hour day, or 365 day year, nor was there any kind of separation between day and night. And of course this was because there was no sun or moon to divide up the day. Also in verse 14, God does not say that from now on there will be a 24 hour day, just that the sun and moon begin to take shape and begin to emit their light upon the earth.

DAY FIVE----VERSES 20-23 IN GENESIS CHAPTER ONE

1:20 And God said, Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
1:21 And God created the great sea-monsters, and every living creature that moveth, wherewith the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind: and God saw that it was good.
1:22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.
1:23 And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

"Let the waters swarm forth with living souls and let flying creatures fly over the face of the earth". Thus, after more commands from God, animal life appear in the waters of the earth and flying birds began to fill the sky.

DAY SIX---VERSES 24-31 IN GENESIS CHAPTER ONE
(DAY SIX WILL BE BROKEN DOWN INTO PART A AND PART B).

1:24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind, cattle, and creeping things, and beasts of the earth after their kind: and it was so.
1:25 And God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creepeth upon the ground after its kind: and God saw that it was good.
1:26 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 birds of the heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
1:27 And God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
1:28 God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.
1:29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food.
1:30 and to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the heavens, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, [I have given] every green herb for food: and it was so.
1:31 And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

PART A
Animals appear on the land masses of the earth. Eventually dinosaurs and mammals appear, but the race between mammals and dinosaurs for dominance goes to the dinosaurs. Then about 65 million years ago, through a divine act of God, the dinosaurs are destroyed, and this act, like all the other divine acts before it are all done with mankind in mind.

As the dinosaurs disappear the primates, having appeared just prior to the demise of the dinosaurs, start their climb to dominance. A succession of further environmental changes, especially the movement of glacial cover, allows the earth to further develop. All these different and various creations and improvements are being guided by God so that the entire earth will be ready for mankind when God feels it is time to create man. The animals, the vegetation, and everything else both on and in this earth, was created by God and allowed to develop and better itself for its eventual use by man. All things came into existence through him, and apart from him not even one thing came into existence. (John 1:3)

A wide range of fossils exist showing that creatures almost identical in shape to humans have existed at least for the past million years and perhaps even longer. However not a single one of these human like animals ever evolved into human beings. They all lacked the image and likeness of God, and they did not have the ability to love God. Those things were given only to man by the creator himself. It is this image of God that allows only mankind to know and to love his creator.

PART B

It is at this point that the physical universe, especially the earth, is completed and God feels that mankind is now ready to be created and put into place.

A rather interesting verse is Genesis 1:28. This verse says the following.

Genesis 1: 28 "God blessed them and said to them, be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.

Here is God's explicit instructions to Adam and Eve. They were to reproduce themselves and populate this earth with other human beings. This was the very first command given to man by God. However, many people believe that in order to do this there had to be other people on the earth. In other words it is the same old question. Where did Cain and Able get their wives?

But you must remember that until that very first sin took place in the Garden, there was no sickness, no inheritable diseases, no birth defects or birth deformities. Since it was a command from God there was no social stigma attached to marrying one's own brother or sister. Cain and Able could marry their sisters, and their offspring could marry each other and not suffer any ill consequences.

We don't know when the forbidden fruit was eaten, but it was very possible that Adam and Eve had a great many offspring by the time that took place. And if the eating of the forbidden fruit did take place early in man's existence, then who is to say that God himself prevented birth defects from occurring because he still wanted the earth populated. His explicit instructions were "be fruitful and increase in number; and fill the earth.

"Image and likeness"
In Genesis 2:7 it is stated that mankind is formed from a previously existing substance, in fact the same substance used to form the fowl and the land animals. However a special ingredient not mentioned before is summoned at this junction. God breathes the "breath of life" into this creature called man, and man becomes a living soul that is created in the "image and likeness" of his creator. None of the other creations that God made were given this breath of life or made in the "image and likeness" of God. Only man. Man was created to be sons and daughters of God and to walk in the ways of God, thereby allowing man to have a peaceful and loving relationship with his creator.

But what does being made "in his image and his likeness" really mean? For no where else in all of the creation work days is anything else made in the image and likeness of God. Only man.

To help explain this, think of a big beautiful pitcher full of clear cool water. The pitcher is made of pure gold, is studded with many incredibly fine jewels, and has beautiful rings of pure silver inlaid within the gold. It is extremely beautiful and is priceless. But as beautiful as the pitcher is, it is still a container. Then take a small rusty weather beaten old tin cup and put it right along side the beautiful pitcher. The cup is also a container. But then fill that old tin cup with that clean clear cool water from the pitcher and you now have the exact same thing in the cup, that is in the pitcher.

So even though the containers are completely different, the exact same water is now in both. And that may be what is meant when he put "his image and his likeness" into man. The same thing that is in God was placed within man. And this may be why God did not say, let us make man in our resemblance. Nor did God say let us make man in our reflection, nor did he say let us make man so he looks like us. Our bodies are simply containers for our souls. Our earthly bodies don't look anything like God. But what is inside of man is exactly what is inside God.

Then God told man to take that "image and likeness" and go out in the world and reproduce it in others.
Genesis 1:28 "Then God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it."
And of course Adam and Eve did just that.

It is also interesting to note that this entire first chapter of Genesis deals with all kinds of things being created by the Great Creator. We are told in verse 27 that when man was created, he was made like God. We were created in his image and in his likeness. Do you realize that God therefore gave mankind the ability to create anything that man could think up? Anything that man could desire was available to him? Not only the ability to create life, but the ability to create anything we can think of. If God wanted us to be like he was, then he would have had to give us his extraordinary creative power.

Man had the ability to create automobiles, airplanes, and microwave ovens back in the 4th century. The reason he didn't was because he hadn't created the technology yet. But those incredible creative powers lived within mankind. The visions of those things burned brightly within the souls of mankind. Likewise, when the start of God's kingdom on earth begins, saved mankind will suddenly find that he is in possession of awesome and incredible creative powers. The same creative powers that the Great Creator has.

So God touched mankind in a way that was unique, and that is why the description of the creation of the universe really starts in the Bible with Adam. It is at this point that God's creation work is finished. God had created the universe and everything in it. His "work days" were over. And that is why there is no further mention of God creating anything else after the creation of man.

So with the creation of man, it was now time to have man measure time in a more human, more earthly measurement. A measurement that man could more easily understand and manage. Instead of measuring time in "God's work days", man was going to measure time in 24 hour periods of measurement. And that is why the Bible starts with Adam and begins with a 24 hour day. What came before Adam and the time involved was of no concern to man. Man was to be concerned only with his conduct and his love toward his creator. From Adam and thereafter, the space and time frames of God and man are the same.

It is also interesting to note that in the first 30 verses of the Bible the phrase, "And it was good" is used by God at the end of each work day. However on the sixth day, at the end of that days work, the phrase, "And it was very good" is used. Creation was finished and ready for mankind, and each and every single thing in those six creation work days was done for the benefit of mankind.

So, "and it was very good" can be interpreted as, "and it was a unified order". The universe had progressed from good to very good. A qualitative change had taken place during those 6 days of creation and it was a change from disorder, without the possibility of life, to order with life. Now man was ready to be placed on the earth. All that was needed was some dust from the creation and breath from God.

Creation and science
Science and religion are two windows that people look through trying to understand the big universe outside. Science deals with the measurable, religion deals with the immeasurable. Science can neither prove nor disprove the existence of God, any more than it can prove or disprove any moral or aesthetic consideration. There is no scientific reason to love one's neighbor or to respect human life. To argue that nothing exists which cannot be proved scientifically is the crudest of errors, because believing that would eliminate almost everything we value in life, not only about God or the human spirit, but about so many other things from love and companionship, to the joy one receives from poetry and music.

The big bang
It may be that the big bang happened 15 billion years ago, but why did it happen? Why does the universe exist? How did the particles get there in the first place? Where were all those particles before? Why did all that matter decide to condense into a very small sphere? As you can see, science will never ever be able to satisfy the human hunger for answers.

If there is a Creator behind the universe, we cannot expect to comprehend him or his purposes by using telescopes, microscopes, or other scientific instruments. Think of a potter and a vase that he has formed. No amount of examination of the vase itself can give an answer as to why it was made. For that, we must ask the potter himself.

Why is the creation of man described twice in the book of Genesis


OTHER TOPICS

salvation: how can I achieve eternal salvation
death: what happens to us at death
god's great love: the nature of god's great love
the holy trinity: what is the holy trinity all about
heavenly rewards: the rewards that are waiting for you
how to pray: the right way to pray
god the father: getting to know god the father
jesus: who is this man called jesus christ
good works: what are good works
baptism: is baptism really necessary
are you saved: are you sure
loneliness: guess who's really lonely
hell: will they really burn for ever
losing salvation: once saved can you become unsaved
rapture: the real truth behind the rapture
bad times: why bad things happen to good people
the holy spirit: proving the existence of the holy spirit
why did jesus have to die: why the cross
listening to god : how to listen and talk to god
timeline: a tour through the end times
beatitudes: their significance and meaning
what does surrender really mean: surrendering to god
Help other Christians : Donate a book of the Bible at no cost to you
Beautiful Stories: Stories that you will love
The importance of baptism : Six very important factors regarding baptism
Does God know who is going to hell : Why does God allow the unsaved to be born
World Trade Towers: Where was God?
The Unforgivable Sin: What is it?

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