God creates the heavens and earth and all living things [before 4,000 BC]
Gen 1:1 In the beginning of when [1] God [2] created [3] the heavens [4] and the earth, [5]
Gen 1:2 the earth was formless and empty, and darkness was upon the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God [6] was moving [7] upon the surface of the waters.
Gen 1:3 And God said, “Let there be light!” and there was light. [8]
Gen 1:4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.
Gen 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!
Day 1: Creation of Light by Gustave Doré
Day 1: The earth was covered with water
Gen 1:6 Then God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters!”
Gen 1:7 And God made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were within the expanse; and it was so.
Gen 1:8 God called the expanse “heaven”; and there was evening and there was morning – the second day!
Day 2: God made an expanse between the waters and called it “heaven”
[Credit: Hurricane Isabel from ISS, NASA]
Gen 1:9 And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered to one place, and let the dry land appear!” and it was so.
Gen 1:10 God called the dry land “earth” and the gathering together of the waters He called “seas”; and God saw that it was good.
Day 3: Creation of land and seas [NASA picture of the earth and the moon]
Gen 1:11 Then God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation: plants yielding seed and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind with seed on the earth!” and it was so.
Gen 1:12 The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed after their kind; and God saw that it was good. [9]
Gen 1:13 And there was evening and there was morning – the third day!
Day 3: Creation of seeds and fruit and vegetation
Day 3: God creates all plants and trees and declares them all “good”!
Collage by Kevin Briggs
Gen 1:14 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to divide the day from the night; let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years;
Gen 1:15 and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth!” and it was so.
Gen 1:16 God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He also made the stars.
Gen 1:17 God set them in the expanse of heavens to give light to the earth,
Gen 1:18 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:19 And there was evening and there was morning – the fourth day!
Day 4: Creation of sun, moon, and stars
Spiral galaxy NGC 2841, which lies 46 million light-years away in the constellation of Ursa Major, reveals a majestic disk of stars and dust lanes. Credits: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration, adapted by Kevin Briggs
Gen 1:20 Then God said, “Let the waters abound with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens!”
Gen 1:21 God created the large sea creatures, and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind. God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:22 God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth!”
Gen 1:23 And there was evening and there was morning – the fifth day!
Day 5: Swarms of fish
[Creative Commons photo by Oliver Dodd]
Day 5: Flocks of birds
[Wild Geese Sunset Autumn, CC0]
Day 5: God creates birds and sea creatures and declares them all “good”!
Collage by Kevin Briggs
Gen 1:24 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind, livestock, crawling things, and animals of the earth after their kind!” and it was so.
Gen 1:25 God made the animals of the earth after their kind, and the livestock after their kind, and everything that moves on the ground after its kind. God saw that it was good.
Elohim God creates humans, male and female, in His own image, as His children
Gen 1:26 Then God said, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness!” [10] And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every living thing that moves on the earth!”
Gen 1:27 Then God created people in His own image. In God’s image He created them: male and female, He created them. [11]
Gen 1:28 And God blessed them and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” [12]
Gen 1:29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your food.
Gen 1:30 To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green plant for food;” and it was so.
Gen 1:31 And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good! [13] And there was evening and there was morning – the sixth day!
God said, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness”
Above illustration by Jim Padgett, courtesy of Sweet Publishing, Ft. Worth, TX, and Gospel Light, Ventura, CA. Copyright 1984. Released under new license, CC-BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org
Day 6: God creates all land creatures and then makes mankind in His image!
Collage by Kevin Briggs
| The six days of God’s creation, and the seventh day, the Sabbath |
| Day 1 – God created light (day) and dark (night) around the sea-covered earth |
| Day 2 – Heaven/sky created that contained the waters above the seas |
| Day 3 – Dry land formed with plants and trees |
| Day 4 – Sun, moon, stars and other heavenly lights like auroras, galaxies and nebulas |
| Day 5 – Sea creatures and birds created |
| Day 6 – Land creatures and mankind created |
| Day 7 – The day of rest – also known as the Sabbath (or in Hebrew: שַׁבָּת, Shabbat) |
Star forming pillars in the Eagle Nebula, as captured by the Hubble Telescope in 1995. Astronomers have long predicted that a supernova blast wave would mean the end for the popular pillars. The region is littered with 20 or so stars ripe for exploding, so it was only a matter of time, they reasoned, before one would blow up. The new Spitzer observations suggest one of these stellar time bombs has in fact already detonated, an event humans most likely witnessed 1,000 to 2,000 years ago as an unusually bright star in the sky.
[Credit: www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/spitzer/news/spitzer-20070109.html ]
[1] Genesis 1:1 – God existed before the beginning of our current universe! Ĕlōhīm (God) created all things, whether time, energy, matter, space, or spirit, but is in no way constrained or changed by His creation. He is the only true Lord of Creation and infinitely controls the ages according to His sovereign will (Psalm 90:2, Isaiah 46:9-10, Daniel 4:34-35, Colossians 1:16, and 1 Timothy 6:16). [Kevin Briggs] ///In the beginning of when – the first word of the verse, “B’rêshîth,” means literally “In beginning,” not “In the beginning,” which would be “Bârêshîth.” Consequently, it is contended that “B’rêshîth,” being grammatically in “the construct state,” should be translated “In the beginning of,” or “In the beginning when”; and not, as if in “the absolute state,” “In the beginning.” [Cambridge Bible]
[2] Genesis 1:1 – The first form of the Divine name in the Bible is אלהים, ‘Ĕlōhīm, ordinarily translated “God” (Gen_1:1). This is the most frequently used name in the Old Testament, as its equivalent θεός, theós, is in the New Testament, occurring in Genesis alone approximately 200 times. It is one of a group of kindred words, to which belong also ‘Ēl and ‘Ĕlōaȟ. (1) Its form is plural, but the construction is uniformly singular, i.e. it governs a singular verb or adjective, unless used of heathen divinities (Psa_96:5; Psa_97:7). It is characteristic of Hebrew that extension, magnitude and dignity, as well as actual multiplicity, are expressed by the plural. It is not reasonable, therefore, to assume that plurality of form indicates primitive Semitic polytheism. On the contrary, historic Hebrew is unquestionably and uniformly monotheistic. … it is a generic, rather than a specific personal, name for Deity [ISBE] /// The original word אלהים Elohim, God, is certainly the plural form of אל El, or אלה Eloah, and has long been supposed, by the most eminently learned and pious men, to imply a plurality of Persons in the Divine nature. As this plurality appears in so many parts of the sacred writings to be confined to three Persons, hence the doctrine of the Trinity, which has formed a part of the creed of all those who have been deemed sound in the faith, from the earliest ages of Christianity. [Clarke] /// אלהים ‘ĕlohı̂̂ym, “God.” The noun אלוה ‘elôah or אלה ‘eloah is found in the Hebrew scriptures fifty-seven times in the singular (of which two are in Deuteronomy, and forty-one in the book of Job), and about three thousand times in the plural, of which seventeen are in Job. The Chaldee form אלה ‘elâh occurs about seventy-four times in the singular, and ten in the plural. … The root probably means to be “lasting, binding, firm, strong.” Hence, the noun means the Everlasting, and in the plural, the Eternal Powers. [Barnes]
[3] Genesis 1:1 – He must be strangely prejudiced indeed who cannot see that the doctrine of a Trinity, and of a Trinity in unity, is expressed in the above words. The verb ברא bara, he created, being joined in the singular number with this plural noun, has been considered as pointing out, and not obscurely, the unity of the Divine Persons in this work of creation. [Clarke]
[4] In the Hebrew it is, the heavens and the earth. For there are three heavens mentioned in Scripture: the aerial; the place of birds, clouds, and meteors, Mat 26:64 Rev 19:17 Rev 20:9. The starry; the region of the sun, the moon, and stars, Gen 22:17. The highest or third heaven, 2Co 12:2; the dwelling of the blessed angels. [JFB]
[5] Genesis 1:1 – See John 1:1-5 and Colossians 1:16-17 to see Jesus’ role in creation. Also see Hebrews 11:3, 1 Peter 4:19, and Revelations 4:11 and 5:13 for added insights. [Kevin Briggs]
[6] Genesis 1:2 – Some think a violent wind is meant, because רוח, ruach often signifies wind … But it is sufficiently evident from the use of the word in other places, that the Holy Spirit of God is intended; which our blessed Lord represents under the notion of wind, Joh_3:8; and which, as a mighty rushing wind on the day of Pentecost, filled the house where the disciples were sitting, Act_2:2 [Clarke]
[7] Genesis 1:4 – … was brooding over; for the word expresses that tremulous motion made by the hen while either hatching her eggs or fostering her young. [Clarke]
[8] Genesis 1:3 – See 2 Corinthians 4:6 to see how Paul relates this verse to the light of Christ; see also John 1:4. [Kevin Briggs] /// let there be light, and there was light: it at once appeared; “God commanded light to shine out of darkness”; as the apostle says, 2 Corinthians 4:6 this was the first thing made out of the dark chaos; as in the new creation, or work of grace in the heart, light is the first thing produced there: what this light was is not easy to say. [Gill]
[9] Genesis 1:12 – All creation shows the handiwork of God, the all-wise, all-powerful Creator. In numerous cases, God designed extraordarily complex male and female plants that required each other to reproduce. Likewise, in numerous cases, these plants are miraculously designed by God to attract specifically designed insects or animals to them to help them to either fertilize their eggs or to spread their seeds. The fact that many plants cannot reproduce without their corresponding male or female counterpart and likewise need specifically designed insects and/or animals to reproduce, shows how God created them together in a short period of time as a clear and certain testimony to His wisdom and power (Romans 1:20, Colossians 1:23). Indeed, the fossil records, to include the presence of pollen in “Precambrian” soil layers, declare that there was a spontaneous explosion of life on this earth and do not support the full scope of required evolutionary assertions {see www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v24/i1/plants.asp accessed on 1/17/2011 and http://creation.com/fossil-pollen-in-grand-canyon-overturns-plant-evolution for some background on this subject}. [K. Briggs]
[10] Genesis 1:26 – The “Let Us make …” in this verse, along with Genesis 1:1, form some of the earliest and clearest foundations for the Bible’s teaching regarding the Trinity, or triune God. The one God, in His three Persons (that is, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) speak into existence the heavens and the earth (see also Psalm 33:9 and Romans 4:17). When God said “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness”, God declared a unique relationship to mankind … that of being our Father. As children, we bear our Father’s image and likeness. This does not mean mankind was originally equal with God, but rather that He chose a special relationship with Adam and Eve and all their children (the entire human race). Hence, Jesus directs us to pray: “Our Father” (see Matthew 6:9) and the Apostle John declares “See how great a love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God!” (see 1 John 3:1, and also Paul in Acts 17:29). [Kevin Briggs]///The plural form of the sentence raises the question, With whom took he counsel on this occasion? Was it with himself, and does he here simply use the plural of majesty? Such was not the usual style of monarchs in the ancient East. Pharaoh says, “I have dreamed a dream” Gen_41:15. Nebuchadnezzar, “I have dreamed” Dan_2:3. Darius the Mede, “I make a decree” Dan_6:26. Cyrus, “The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth” Ezr_1:2. Darius, “I make a decree” Ezr_5:8. We have no ground, therefore, for transferring it to the style of the heavenly King. Was it with certain other intelligent beings in existence before man that he took counsel? This supposition cannot be admitted; because the expression “let us make” is an invitation to create, which is an incommunicable attribute of the Eternal One, and because the phrases, “our image, our likeness,” when transferred into the third person of narrative, become “his image, the image of God,” and thus limit the pronouns to God himself. Does the plurality, then, point to a plurality of attributes in the divine nature? This cannot be, because a plurality of qualities exists in everything, without at all leading to the application of the plural number to the individual, and because such a plurality does not warrant the expression, “let us make.” Only a plurality of persons can justify the phrase. Hence, we are forced to conclude that the plural pronoun indicates a plurality of persons … in the Divine Being. [Barnes]
[11] Genesis 1:27 – The New Testament sheds light on the meaning of “image”. Romans 8:29 states: “For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son …” It is evident from this verse and Genesis 1:27 that God is speaking of both males and females. Adam and Eve were made in God’s image, which was declared “very good” in verse 31. The implications for us are profound. Adam and Eve uniquely reflected God’s image, and we, who would later be born, were (in a real sense) with Adam and Eve in the garden and in the mind of God. Just as Paul declares in Acts 17:28-29, all people are God’s offspring. Hence, all people are made in God’s image, but not with His deity or perfection. Sadly, we all fell with Adam and Eve’s sin and died spiritually with them (see Genesis 3 and Romans 5:17-19). Adam, like the prodigal son in Luke 15, chose to separate himself from his Father. But God never stopped loving Adam’s race and chose to rescue us and destroy all the works of the Devil (1 John 3:8). God sent Jesus, His beloved Son, into the world as the second “Adam” (see I Corinthians 15:45-49). Jesus was the Great Mediator, being fully man and God (1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 9:15). Jesus came from heaven to earth to save us. Through His atoning death on the cross, Jesus opened up a way for all of Adam’s race to come back to the Father, through faith in Chist. Anyone who puts their hope in Christ payment for our sins, will not be disappointed, and will become God’s adopted child (Matthew 1:21, John 1:12; 3:17, 1 John 3:8, and Romans 8:15-17). Thus, all people have God as our Father-Creator; but it is only when we receive Christ as Lord, that we have God as both Father and Savior. The “good news” is that our Father-Creator loved us so much, that He sent His beloved Son Jesus to pay the penalty for our sins, so that those who worship Jesus and accept His atoning sacrifice on their behalf, will become His brothers and sisters, adopted into His family as beloved children (John 3:16). [K. Briggs]
[12] Genesis 1:28 – God’s first recorded commandment to mankind. This command is that a husband and wife should have children if possible, and multiply the human race, as well as exercise loving, godly dominion over the creatures on earth, for God’s glory! [K. Briggs]/// 28. Be fruitful, &c.—The human race in every country and age has been the offspring of the first pair. Amid all the varieties found among men, some black, some copper-colored, others white, the researches of modern science lead to a conclusion, fully accordant with the sacred history, that they are all of one species and of one family (Ac 17:26). What power in the word of God! “He spake and it was done. He commanded and all things stood fast” [Ps 33:9]. “Great and manifold are thy works, Lord God Almighty! in wisdom hast thou made them all” [Ps 104:24]. We admire that wisdom, not only in the regular progress of creation, but in its perfect adaptation to the end. God is represented as pausing at every stage to look at His work. No wonder He contemplated it with complacency. Every object was in its right place, every vegetable process going on in season, every animal in its structure and instincts suited to its mode of life and its use in the economy of the world. He saw everything that He had made answering the plan which His eternal wisdom had conceived; and, “Behold it was very good” [Ge 1:31]. [JFB]
[13] Genesis 1:31 – And God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good! – There are some wonderful truths wrapped up in this verse! First, God made mankind “very good” initially, with no exceptions! Second, we were originally sinless, within God’s family, before the fall. And third, God promises a “restoration of all things” (Acts 3:21), and hence, when we are restored when Christ returns, we shall return to the “very good” through God’s mercy in Christ! We will not only be reconciled (Colossians 1:20) through Christ, but will also have an inheritance as joint-heirs with Christ if we follow Him! (Romans 8:17, Galatians 3:29, and 1 Peter 1:4) [Kevin Briggs]
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