Many fundamentalist preachers would insist that God created the world, the planets, and all there is therein in six days. These days, they would insist, are comprised of six twenty-four hour periods. What these ministers fail to realize is that the original manuscripts from whence we derive these passages were written in Hebrew; in the Hebrew language the word for day is yowm. In Hebrew the word yowm can mean a twenty-four cycle of time, but that is only one meaning of the word. The word yowm in Hebrew can also mean a year or a period of time. In the Hebrew language words often carry many meanings, that is why we have to understand what is being said and the text in which it is written.

The book of Genesis, if understood correctly, does not defy the theory of evolution, but rather it embraces it; Genesis describes an evolution. The world was created in six yowms, i.e. six periods of time. The "evening and the morning" describes the passing of one era into another.

Genesis Chapter One

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 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. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light form the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night, and the evening and the morning were the first day" (Genesis 1:1-5).

In this passage we see that God is the power behind the creation. What we must understand is that writing did not come into existence until about three thousand years before the time of Christ. Prior to this, history was related from generation to generation by a process of memorization and oral recital. The most ancient of the human race possessed very limited vocabulary and likewise had a very primitive mindset. The earliest humans would have explained things the way they would have understood them. Since their knowledge was limited, so would their comprehension be. The importance of this first passage is not the length of time, but rather that God was the power which enacted the chain of events that would follow.

The evening and the morning of the first yowm, or time period; this would have embraced many eons. We know that God had never been in a hurry to accomplish anything. If God was in a hurry, then why is the process of cocoon turning into a butterfly a development rather than an instantaneous reaction? Likewise, in the case of a tadpole turning into a frog, it is a process. Or why did Christ wait two thousand years to come to earth to redeem mankind from his sin? God is very patient in all that he does; consider how patient he is with men and their sin.

"And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 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. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day" (Genesis 1:6-8).

Here we see the second stage of the evolutionary process, God of course being the power behind the creation. If we understand the yowm, we can clearly see how this passage coincides with science quite clearly. First the elements came into being, then they began to take shape. The word firmament comes for the Hebrew word raqiya' [raw-kee'-ah] meaning an expanse, a solid flat base. Here the elements take formation. If you watch a rose bud bloom, you can see the bud and a daily observation will reveal the changes as they occur. Science will explain the transformation of the molecules, atoms, and what-not, but it is God that empowers these elements to transform.

"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. And God called the dry land earth: and the gathering together of the waters called he seas: and God saw that it was good. 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. 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. And the evening and the morning were the third day" (Genesis 1:9-13).

Here we have the third yowm, or time period. Here again, this would coincide with science precisely. The vegetation would need the earth to grow in and the water to nourish it, therefore it would only be natural for the waters and the land to come first. The fact that the grass and the trees bear seed after their own kind is also a matter of scientific fact.

"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: 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 14-19).

Now we have the fourth yowm. It is becoming quite evident that we have a progression going on here. We must, however, understand that these time periods are not to be taken in a strict order, rather the original rendering of these passages was intended to describe a development with God supplying the power of this development.

These yowms, as they are, overlap one another, that is, the vegetation of the previous passage could not exist without the light. Therefore, it would seem natural the light would have preceded the vegetation. But this is not the way it was related by the ancient writer. Again we must realize that the order is not the significance here, but rather that a process is being preformed and God is the source of the power behind the development.

If we are to take these statements in their strictest terms, and we assume that the greater and lesser lights would be referring to the sun and the moon, then we are to understand that moon emits light. This, however, we know not to be true, since the moon only reflects the light of the sun.

We should also take note to the statement, "them be for signs, and for seasons." In Levitical law the worship of the moon and the stars was forbidden, "And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven"  (Deuteronomy 4:19). In Genesis we find that the sun, moon, and stars were given for signs, seasons, days, and years. The solar system was designed to be used for these things; it is the pagan worship of these entities that God forbid.

"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. 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. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day" (Genesis 1:20-23).

Here we see the animal life develop after the vegetation which would coincide with science precisely. It is quite clear that the animal life sprung from the water, "Let the waters bring forth abundantly." This is precisely what the evolution theory states, no conflict here.

"And great whales," the word whales here has been translated from the Hebrew word tanniyn (tan-neen), which means dragon, dinosaur, sea or river monster, serpent or venomous snake. Here in this yowm or period of time, no telling how long a period of time, we see the evolvement of animal life from out of the water. Now how does this conflict with the evolution theory?

These are the statements handed down to us from the ancient writer who only had a primitive mindset. Yes, God is the source of power behind the development, but a development did occur as plainly laid out in this text.

"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. 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. 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. 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. 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. And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day" (Genesis 1:24-31).

In verse 24 we see God giving the command, "Let the earth bring forth." This statement again coincides with the evolution theory. The earth brings forth the life, but God is the power source here. In this yowm God creates the higher forms of animal life and man. Again, everything is created after its own kind.

We also see in this passage that man was originally vegetarian. Man did not eat meat until after the violation that shall be discussed in the next chapter. The fact that man was originally vegetarian agrees with the evolution theory if you study the development of hominid.

What we must realize, even though we see the development of the creation in a designed order, is that these yowms overlap each other and the developments which occur, though in a sequence, are not to be interpreted into a strict format. The ancient writer who originally related this development was merely giving and explanation to the creation and told these things as he could perceive them through a primitive mindset.

Genesis Chapter Two

"Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested form all his work which God created and made" (Genesis 2:1-3).

The seventh "day", or yowm, is the period of time we are now living in. In this passage it does not say "the evening and the morning were the seventh day"; this is because God is still at rest from His work of creation. By this we can concur that the seventh "day" is a period of time which is still going on. What we must understand is that God's time clock is not limited to the time we experience. Time as we know it is a result of the curse which came upon man in chapter three of  Genesis.

"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, And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground" (Genesis 2:4-6).

The word "generations" here come from the Hebrew word "towl@dah"  (to-led-aw) which bears the meaning descendants, results, proceeding generations, genealogies, account of men and their descendants, genealogical list of one's descendants, one's contemporaries, or course of history. In this passage it would obviously be referring to the course of history.

We also observe in this passage "there was not a man to till the ground". The last  chapter ended with the creation of man. Obviously the writer of this passage is recapping on a previous period of time. The ancient writer mingles first creation, the creation of the spiritual Eden, with the creation of the carnal world in which we now live. When man sinned against God a new creation took place, the creation of the carnal world. The ancient writer relates  that there was no rain but a mist watered the vegetation. This would have been the way it was in the spiritual Eden.

"And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (Genesis 2:7).

"The dust of the ground" is an interesting statement. The primitive writer who does not have the advantage of  higher education nor an understanding of  the elements of science; he would naturally describe the creation of man with the limited understanding that he had. In his mind the elements of the earth would have been simplified to say "the dust of the earth".

"And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed" (Genesis 2:8).

There has been much speculation as to where the garden of Eden actually was. Some believe it was in Palestine, others believe it was in Babylonia (modern Iraq), others still say it was in Africa. The truth is no one knows for certain. What we do know is that some of the oldest hominid remains are found in Africa. The original Eden, of course, would have been a spiritual place.

"And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil" (Genesis 2:9).

Here we see that God made, first, every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food; second, He made the tree of life; and thirdly, He made the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Later we will discuss the two trees: the tree of life and the tree of knowledge.

"And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; and the gold of that land is good; there is bdellium and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. And the name of the third river is  Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates"

(Genesis 2:10-14).

Of  these rivers, no one is certain of the location of any except the Euphrates; the Hiddekel is believed to be referring to the Tigris. One thing for certain, if you believe a world wide flood occurred, then you would have to except that the geographical landscape would have been changed altering the land formation since the writer is writing about a period prior to the flood. Since the original creation was a spiritual place, it is most likely that the writer is looking at the earth he is living in and trying to describe what he feels the spiritual realm must have been like; this is not necessarily and accurate description.

"And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it."

(Genesis 2:15).

By this verse we can concur that work was not a result of the curse of the fall of man, for man had not yet disobeyed God. God never intended for man to be idle, not in this life of the life to come in the hereafter.

"And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Genesis 2:16,17).

Here we should note that God did not forbid man to eat the tree of life but only the tree of  knowledge of good and evil. Prior to Adam's infraction of God's rule, man was naive and not held accountable for anything except one thing, don't eat the tree of  knowledge of good and evil!

It would also be of interest to point out that Abraham, the father of the Jewish faith, came out of the land of  Ur (Genesis 11:31), which, incidentally, was situated in southern Babylonia. A story from Babylonian mythology relates the Epic of Gilgamesh which predates the life of Abraham. It tells a tale of Gilgamesh on a quest to find eternal live. Gilgmesh consults Utnapishtim, who supposedly survived a great flood, and asks him how to obtain eternal life. Utnapishtim tells him of  a plant that he must obtain. Gilgamesh obtains this plant, and on his return trip home he stops to bathe in a river. A serpent comes along and devours the plant robbing Gilgmesh of this eternal life. It would seem probable that this Babylonian myth was retold through the generations and developed into our Bible story. We have the same basic elements,  an act of neglect, a serpent, and the loss of eternal life.

The story originally was told as a sort of parable to express early beliefs of what God's convictions to men were. These stories should not be taken literally in their strictest sense, but we should understand they were merely a story to express a spiritual truth much the Jesus' parables.

"And the LORD God said, it is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all the cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him" (Genesis 2:18-20).

Here again we see God requiring Adam to perform and act of responsibility. His first requirement was to tend the garden, now he is told to name all the animals and I might say that must have been quite a task. By the time he got to the end of the list he must have been racking his brain (orangutan, opossum). This chore, again, was not a result of the curse.

"And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken for man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of  my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and the shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed"

(Genesis 2:19-25).

This is how the ancient writer relates the creation of the woman. All other animal life was taken  out of the ground (v. 19) including Adam (v. 7), but the woman was taken from Adam's rib. It has often been said that this was to show the woman was not to walk in front of the man, nor behind him, but by his side. This is a good concept. The story, however, leaves one to wonder where did the females of the animal kingdom come from. Did God take a rib from every animal to create their mates? Probably not. This is more likely a story that was told to express a spiritual truth of equality between men and women.

In verse twenty-four is states that "a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh"; this speaks of the unity of marriage. When people get married they should live to serve each other and not their own selfish desires. Divorce occurs mostly due to the fact that people are looking for their own satisfactions; they forget the needs of their spouse. When two individuals start dating, generally in the beginning each partner would bend over backwards to please the other. But as time goes on, and they marry, they loose this initial enthusiasm. This is where the marriage becomes work. To maintain a healthy marriage people must strive to meet the needs of their mate, otherwise the love grows cold.

We also notice in the last verse of this passage that the man and the woman were both naked; this further implies their naive state. It is quite obvious that a development of the human mind has transpired through time. All we need do is look at the accomplishments mankind has made through history. Two hundred years ago we were plowing fields with oxen, today we have internet access, micro-optics, brain surgery, television, radio, and many other scientific developments. Therefore we can conclude that these early stories were told for their spiritual and moral lessons much like the parables of Jesus and they should not be taken literally in any strict sense.

Genesis Chapter Three

"Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be  desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden" (Genesis 3:1-8).

Only until recent times men have pretty much dominated over women. In today's society women are making a stand for women's rights. This story puts the blame on women for the separation of mankind from God. The lesson to be learned here is that at some point men (and women) began to develop a conscience; this conscience, according to the way the ancient writer tells the story, is due to an act of disobedience to God.

We must consider that the act of disobedience took place on a spiritual plane prior to the existence of our current world. The whole message of Jesus coming to redeem man from his sin is to restore mankind to his original state. Therefore, when this act of disobedience took place, corruption engulfed the entire creation bringing us to the beginning of what scientific research can trace. It would be impossible for scientists to trace evidences back to the garden of Eden, for that would have been a spiritual place. Jesus came to redeem man to a place of spiritual perfection. In the book of Revelation we are told of a "new heaven and a new earth" (Revelation 21:1) that are to come. This is a spiritual place we will go to when we die. The original creation was a spiritual earth as will be in the new heaven and new earth that are to come. The creation of the carnal earth is not to be confused with the spiritual earth. We must keep in view the fact that these stories are told and handed down by ancient people who were subjected to myth, superstition and fear. No degree of accuracy can be positively established; these are stories to promote spiritual truths for moral reasons, not to be analyzed into a distinct order of evolvement.

We will also notice that the man and the woman are naked. They were unaware of this prior to the their act of disobedience. This passage makes it seem as if knowledge is a bad thing. Knowledge can be good or bad depending how it is applied. The eighth chapter of Proverbs (among other passages) praises those who would seek knowledge and wisdom. The man and the woman were created, in there original state, naive. God did not intend for them to be stupid, but for them to turn to God for His wisdom. Had they obeyed God in the beginning they would have continued to walk with God in the garden and have learned from him. They took it upon themselves, deceived by the serpent, to seek wisdom on their own. This became sin and for this an eternal punishment came upon them and all their offspring.

"And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And He said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat" (Genesis 3:9-13)?

Prior to the act of disobedience, the man and the woman knew no shame. The fact that they now realized their fallen condition was evidence to God that they had disobeyed him. Sin is like that; when we violate our conscience we feel a sense of guilt and shame. This is a result of disobedience. God did not have to ask if they had eaten the fruit, He already knew, but he confronted the man so the man would make a confession. Only when we confess our faults and turn away from them can God forgive us and begin the healing process.

"And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; and it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel" (Genesis 3:14,15).

The idea that the serpent originally traveled in some other fashion than crawling is a matter of theory. Some commentators try to read much more into this verse than what is actually here. It has been said that the head is a symbol of authority and the serpent represents Satan. Chuck Smith would interpret this to mean that, since the woman does not produce seed only the egg, the seed represents the virgin birth of Jesus Christ and He would dominate over Satan (which he does). The statement "thou shalt bruise his heel" would be a reference to the crucifixion. This could very well be.

"Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee" (Genesis 3:16).

Here the ancient story teller relates why women go through much pain in child bearing. This seems to be more of a mythical tale to explain the agony women endure during this period of time.

The statement that the man would rule over the woman would also be a reflection of man's dominating nature throughout the course of history. Men, generally, motivated by their ego, would love to believe this; however, the woman was created from the rib of man (or so the story goes) to walk by his side as his equal.

"And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of they wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (Genesis 3:17-19).

Here we see the curse upon the land. Whereas in the paradise of Eden, man tilled the garden and  it was a form of pleasure, now he will toil  through the sweat of his brow. The work became an act of bearing the hardship of  labor.

Again the ancient story teller relates man to the dust, the elements that have not, at the time of the rendering of this story, been studied or identified.

"And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them" (Genesis 3:20,21).

Here Adam is credited with naming his wife-Eve. We also see here that it was God who clothed the man with skins making it God who sacrificed the first animals for the clothing of man's sin. Man tried to cover his sin through his own method, but Hebrews 9:22 tells us, "For without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins."

"And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know  good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth form the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life" (Genesis 3:22-24).

First of all, who is God talking to in verse twenty-two? One speculation is He is addressing the other members of the trinity. In the second Psalm, we see a conversation among the members of the trinity. We have God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. All three members jointly comprise the corporate godhead, yet each is unique in their office of administration.

Here we see God sending man from the garden so he does not eat of the tree of life. Prior to man's disobedience, he was free to eat of that tree, only the tree of knowledge of good and evil were forbidden him. But now, since man is in a fallen and sinful state, if he were to eat of the tree of life, he would live forever in this sinful state. Can you imagine what the density of the earth's population  would be if every one that ever lived never died.

God place Cherubims (angels) to guard the way to the tree of life. If we life an obedient life and seek the Lord, when we die we will once again be given the opportunity to eat of this tree. In the vision of John, while in exile on the island of Patmos, the Lord relates to John, "...To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God" (Revelation 2:7). The cherubim were placed there, not to keep man from the tree of life, but to guard the way back to it.