When God created the heavens and the Earth, He brought everything into existence in one almighty act of power......but we Earthlings have no way to know how he did it, or how long it took him in earth time. To an infinite God, time is not relevant.
Other verses in the Bible complete the Genesis picture of events, so it is apparent that the earth was at first an empty world, completely covered by water and in total darkness. If God had already created all our sources of light, (stars and planets including our sun and moon) what was preventing the light from reaching the earth's surface? We can find the answer in Job.....
Job 38:4-10....God asked Job....
"Where were you when I founded the earth?
Tell me, if you think you understand.
5 Who set its measurements, in case you know,
Or who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 Into what were its pedestals sunk,
Or who laid its cornerstone,
7 When the morning stars joyfully cried out together,
And all the sons of God began shouting in applause?
8 And who barricaded the sea behind doors
When it burst out from the womb,
9 When I clothed it with clouds
And wrapped it in thick gloom,
10 When I established my limit for it
And put its bars and doors in place."
Can we see why the light didn't penetrate the darkness until God somehow removed "the clouds and thick gloom" that prevented the light from striking the earth? Now that light was visible, it made night and day distinguishable. But there was apparently still some impediment to land dwellers being able to see the stars and the sun and moon clearly. There was enough light for photosynthesis but more was to be revealed in its due time....not until day 4. So when God created the flying creatures of the heavens and the marine creatures that swarmed in the oceans, cycles that govern life on earth would have been well established.
God created Earth's atmosphere which formed a barrier that would contain both oxygen and water so that it never escaped...and he provided the means to permanently recycle both......precipitation by evaporation of water into the clouds from the salty oceans, and dropping it as fresh water onto the dry land......and oxygen renewal by the trees and other means, taking in carbon dioxide and giving out oxygen....brilliant! No life can survive without either.
On the Earth God brought land masses together so that dry land came up out of the water. This in turn formed seas and oceans. Once the dry land was established, it was time to provide the means to feed a vast variety of creatures who would enjoy life here on this earth with humankind to follow.
How incredible is this planet? Everything that was needed to sustain life was in evidence before sentient life was created. Bacteria and vegetation were apparently early forms of life, but the first humans would not be aware of them....we would learn about those things as we continued our journey of discovery on this unique planet. We are naturally curious about the world around us.....but look how long it took us to find out about that microscopic life! Thousands of years. Imagine what thousands more will reveal....?
A lot of sentient creation was here a "day" before humans and animals arrived on the scene.....but the creative "days" could not have been 24 hour periods..... both science and the Bible make allowance for this. Science can prove that the earth is very ancient, and that its creatures are not recent arrivals....some long extinct well before man arrived. And the Bible uses the word "day" (yôm) as meaning not only a period of 24 hours, but also as a word for a period of undetermined length.
Those creative periods could well have been millions of years long....long enough for dinosaurs to have lived and died to fulfill the purpose for which they were created. Only God knows why he made them.....but we can be sure that no dinosaurs were on the ark.
Who could imagine this was all just the product of blind chance? :shrug: Only the godless.
Just the earth itself.....its size, its shape, the speed of its rotation, and its distance from the sun....the mixture of gases that form our atmosphere.....all of these are very necessary things in their own right but they all came together with the placement of this planet in one particular galaxy, in one particular solar system, and on one particular planet among billions.
What a fascinating journey we have been granted. Life was not meant to be boring, but full of amazing things to explore and to to be thankful for....how sad for those who walk around with their eyes closed....
I am looking forward to the world to come, (2 Peter 3:13) when the awful things of this world will be nothing but a distant memory....and we can enjoy creation as we were meant to...
Other verses in the Bible complete the Genesis picture of events, so it is apparent that the earth was at first an empty world, completely covered by water and in total darkness. If God had already created all our sources of light, (stars and planets including our sun and moon) what was preventing the light from reaching the earth's surface? We can find the answer in Job.....
Job 38:4-10....God asked Job....
"Where were you when I founded the earth?
Tell me, if you think you understand.
5 Who set its measurements, in case you know,
Or who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 Into what were its pedestals sunk,
Or who laid its cornerstone,
7 When the morning stars joyfully cried out together,
And all the sons of God began shouting in applause?
8 And who barricaded the sea behind doors
When it burst out from the womb,
9 When I clothed it with clouds
And wrapped it in thick gloom,
10 When I established my limit for it
And put its bars and doors in place."
Can we see why the light didn't penetrate the darkness until God somehow removed "the clouds and thick gloom" that prevented the light from striking the earth? Now that light was visible, it made night and day distinguishable. But there was apparently still some impediment to land dwellers being able to see the stars and the sun and moon clearly. There was enough light for photosynthesis but more was to be revealed in its due time....not until day 4. So when God created the flying creatures of the heavens and the marine creatures that swarmed in the oceans, cycles that govern life on earth would have been well established.
God created Earth's atmosphere which formed a barrier that would contain both oxygen and water so that it never escaped...and he provided the means to permanently recycle both......precipitation by evaporation of water into the clouds from the salty oceans, and dropping it as fresh water onto the dry land......and oxygen renewal by the trees and other means, taking in carbon dioxide and giving out oxygen....brilliant! No life can survive without either.
On the Earth God brought land masses together so that dry land came up out of the water. This in turn formed seas and oceans. Once the dry land was established, it was time to provide the means to feed a vast variety of creatures who would enjoy life here on this earth with humankind to follow.
How incredible is this planet? Everything that was needed to sustain life was in evidence before sentient life was created. Bacteria and vegetation were apparently early forms of life, but the first humans would not be aware of them....we would learn about those things as we continued our journey of discovery on this unique planet. We are naturally curious about the world around us.....but look how long it took us to find out about that microscopic life! Thousands of years. Imagine what thousands more will reveal....?
A lot of sentient creation was here a "day" before humans and animals arrived on the scene.....but the creative "days" could not have been 24 hour periods..... both science and the Bible make allowance for this. Science can prove that the earth is very ancient, and that its creatures are not recent arrivals....some long extinct well before man arrived. And the Bible uses the word "day" (yôm) as meaning not only a period of 24 hours, but also as a word for a period of undetermined length.
Those creative periods could well have been millions of years long....long enough for dinosaurs to have lived and died to fulfill the purpose for which they were created. Only God knows why he made them.....but we can be sure that no dinosaurs were on the ark.
Who could imagine this was all just the product of blind chance? :shrug: Only the godless.
Just the earth itself.....its size, its shape, the speed of its rotation, and its distance from the sun....the mixture of gases that form our atmosphere.....all of these are very necessary things in their own right but they all came together with the placement of this planet in one particular galaxy, in one particular solar system, and on one particular planet among billions.
What a fascinating journey we have been granted. Life was not meant to be boring, but full of amazing things to explore and to to be thankful for....how sad for those who walk around with their eyes closed....
I am looking forward to the world to come, (2 Peter 3:13) when the awful things of this world will be nothing but a distant memory....and we can enjoy creation as we were meant to...