In The Beginning  
– Genesis One –

          The first verse of the Bible is known by memory by almost every Christian. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." (Genesis 1:1) In very simple words the Bible tells us about God and His acts of creation. The heavens and the earth were not made of pre-existing materials. They were created. The act of the creation of heaven and earth took place at the beginning. The psalmist wrote, "Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights. Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts. Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light. Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created." (Psalms 148:1-5) Our Mighty God brought into existence things that had never existed before.

          If the earth is young and its age measured in thousands of years, not billions of years there no room for evolution. An honest reading of Genesis one says that the universe was created in six literal days. We can also observe that this creation took place only a few thousand years ago. There are Biblical genealogies in Genesis 5, Genesis 11 and Luke 3. Where in these would you find time for the billions of years necessary for evolution? Some want the days of Genesis one to be ages of time. The language of Genesis one is simple and clear. An honest Bible student cannot read anything else out of these verses than a day of 24 hours and a week of 7 days. "And the evening and the morning were the first day." It sure sounds like 24 hours to an honest seeker doesn't it? Sense theistic evolutionist (those who try to believe both evolution and believe in God) cannot find their billions of years during or after the seven days of Genesis one, they say there was a gap of billions of years in Genesis 1:1-2. They say, "the "gap" covered in Genesis 1:1-2 contains the story of an original creation, a destruction and ruin of the earth while the verses in Genesis 1:3 through the remainder of the chapter record the story of the Earth's re-creation." They base their theory on the use of two different words, (1) Created, and (2) Made. They say created was the original and made was the re-creation. However, God used both words in connection with the same action. In Genesis 1:26-27 we read, "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." Both words are used when God spoke of making or creating man. No one who believes the gap theory could ever honestly deal with Nehemiah 9:6. "Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee." Genesis 1:1 says that God created the heavens and the earth, and Nehemiah 9:6 says that he made them. There is no justification for thinking that the earth was created and then became void! We are taught that God made the earth empty and formless. "It was simply empty of living things and without the features that it later possessed." It was not yet a suitable place for man to live.

          There are a number of genuine scientific evidences that point to a relatively young earth. Deep in the earth there are reservoirs of oil and water. Many of these reservoirs have high fluid pressures. The rocks above these pockets are porous enough to allow some of the pressure to escape in a matter of several thousand years. Yet the pressure is still there. If there had been billions of years all the pressure would be gone. Those who believe the Bible to be the inspired word of God accept it as the final authority as to when the beginning took place. Moses described the creation of the earth and man as occurring within the same six-day span. "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it." (Exodus 20:8-11) The prophet Isaiah affirmed that sovereignty has been evident to man "from the beginning," even from "the foundations of the earth." How could this statement be remotely accurate if man did not arrive upon the planet until billions of years after earth's creation? "To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains. He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved. Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?" (Isaiah 40:18-21) Observe that "From the beginning of the creation God made them male and female." (Mark 10:6) From the beginning of the creation man has been able to see the eternal power of God. "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse." (Romans 1:20)

          The story of creation, the first day and the second day -- Genesis 1:1-8:  There is no room for evolution in the story of God's creation. God in the beginning created the heavens and the earth. All of this universe and all of the earth and all of what we call space are the work of God. The creation took place in six, 24 hour days. (Exodus 20:8-11) God is self-existent, completely perfect and totally good! Man's sin problem comes when he does not like to retain God in his knowledge. (Romans 1:28) On the first day of creation God commanded light to come forth. He separated light from darkness and named the light "Day" and the darkness He named "Night." Many assume that is all that God created on day one. However, on day one God created the heavens, the earth, the water and the light. It is true that God created light on day one but He also created the heavens and the earth on that same day! On day two of the creation "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." God knew that we would need air to breathe, so He made air. He made this huge space between heaven and earth and filled it with air.

          The third day and the fourth day of creation -- Genesis 1:9-19: On the third creation day God separated water (seas) from dry land. Here God named both the land and the water. God was pleased with what He had created. He said it was good. On day three God made the first living things. He made plants with seed and trees with fruit and that have seed. The seed made it possible for the plants and trees to reproduce. Day three was an amazing creation day. God made seas, dry ground, plants and trees with fruit.  He also named the land and the seas. On day four of the creation God made the sun, moon and stars. He put the sun and moon in the sky to separate light from darkness. On day one God had made light. He is "the Father of lights." (James 1:17) God, who is Himself "light" (1 John 1:5), could easily create light without first having to create the Sun, Moon and stars. These lights were to be for signs. They serve as a continual reminder of God's power and of His tender care for mankind. These lights were also for seasons. Later many of the sacred festivals would be held at certain times of the month. These lights were also for days and years. The length of the day is determined by how long the sun is above or below the horizon. The year refers to a complete revolution of the earth round the sun, which is accomplished in 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 48 seconds. God set this all in order and it is good.

          The fifth day of creation -- Genesis 1:20-23: On the fifth creation day God created something that was living and breathing. The earth was now ready for animals and mankind to survive. The earth had to be just right for living beings to exist. God made creature that had life to live in the water. He created great whales and every living creature that moves in the waters. He also made birds or fowl to fly above the earth. God blessed them. This was God's first blessing. He gave His first blessing to animals as He told them to multiply. The creatures in the sea were to be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters. The fowl was likewise to multiply in the earth. What an amazing and powerful God we serve. Just think of all the different kinds of creatures that He made in the seas and all the different kinds of fouls that He made to fly above the earth. He made sea creatures just right so they could swim and the fowl just right so they could fly. God saw that this was good and "the evening and the morning were the fifth day."     

          The sixth day of creation -- Genesis 1:24-31: On the sixth creation day God commanded the earth to produce all kinds of living creatures. He created livestock, creatures that move along the ground and wild animals. There are all kinds of creatures on the earth. At the climax of God's creation on day six He 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." (Genesis 1:26-27) God told man to have children and fill the earth with people. Man was also told to subdue or rule over the earth. God was making sure that man would be at the top of His creation. At the beginning man was created in God's own likeness. Man was created as male and female. God told the people what He expected of them. He wanted to make sure that they knew that they would rule over the rest of creation. They were to multiply and fill the earth. In the beginning God gave man plants with seed and trees with fruit for food. The animals could eat the plants too. God was pleased with His creation. It was very good. "There was evening, and there was morning. It was day six." God literally created the heavens and the earth and all things therein in 6 days that were 24 hour in length.