VIEWS OF CREATION
EXISTENCE
WARNING: Please don't get off ended (offended) -- Some of the points are just possible explanations. I will discuss/clarify misunderstandings after church if necessary.
New explanations sometimes cause misunderstandings, fears, etc. Ex: Galileo -- Roman Catholic Church believed in the Geocentric model which puts Earth at the center of the universe with everything revolving around it. Aristotle and Ptolemy had supported this idea and it had been accepted for centuries. The church used the Scripture Joshua 10:13 that the "sun stood still" when Joshua battled with the Amorites.
Galileo invented the telescope and made observations of the sky which supported the idea of Nicholas Copernicus that stated that the Earth revolved around the sun, not the sun around the Earth. Galileo believed the Heliocentric model which states that the Earth revolves around the Sun. Church forbade Galileo from teaching this idea. He renounced the Copernican idea of the Heliocentric model in 1616 before the Inquisition of the Church. He continued however in his Copernican beliefs and argued against the Geocentric model. He wrote a book which was published in 1632 supported the Copernican idea of the Heliocentric model. He went before the Church again and was placed under a form of house arrest until he died because he would not renounce the idea. (See articles from internet on Galileo.)
Analysis and Significance:
(1) Galileo was wrong.
(2) Or the Bible was wrong.
(3) Or the church was wrong.
(4) Or the church's interpretation of the Bible was wrong.
I for one am not going to argue that:
(1) The earth is flat vs. round.
(2) Or that men have never gone to the moon
(3) Or that men have never sent satellites and exploratory vehicles to other planets.
(4) Or that dinosaurs are a hoax.
However, we must be careful how we interpret Scriptures and how we try to compare it to science.
Then, two things to think about:
(1) We must be careful when the Bible and Science cross paths. The Bible is accepted by and based on faith which can be supported by fact, whereas, science is supposed to be based on fact alone.
(2) New things can often be strange things. We must examine new ideas critically to see whether they be so. Study to show thyself approved.
With that said, we now enter a very controversial topic concerning the views of creation. We are here, yet humans can not agree as to how we got here. I would like to take this time to examine the different answers to the question, "Did humans evolve, or were they created.?"
Should we avoid the topic due to the arguments, fears, and tensions that it stimulates? What impact does this topic have on our lives? Is it significant enough to consider? Why use so much time and energy when there seems to be no end to the argument?
JUSTIFICATION FOR TEACHING: Creation or Evolution -- Atheism ?
Johnny starts school believing God created everything because of the stories he heard in Sunday School. However, the church fails to supply Johnny with more in depth theology as he grows up. We suspect the Bible stories will be sufficient.
John graduates high school -- "I believe in God but there is a lot of scientific evidence that may prove God uses evolution in creation." If John goes on to college at this point without help to understand creation, the humanism taught in learning institutions may be fatal to John's faith.
Ex: Earth age, Fossils, Stars (children of), Miller-Urey experiment, Dinosaurs -- not in the Bible
"But we taught Johnny about God all of his life. Where did we go wrong?" -- "In the beginning."
REAL-LIFE SITUATION
E.O. Wilson Evolutionary Entomoligist and Sociobiologist said,
"As were many persons from Alabama, I was a born-again Christian. When I was fifteen, I entered the Southern Baptist Church with great fervor and interest in the fundamental religion; I left at seventeen when I got to the University of Alabama and heard about evolutionary theory." pg 19-20 Refuting Evolution
I. GOD CREATED
A. Absolutely & Directly
1. Young Earth -- less than 10,000 yrs. old -- created 6,000 yrs ago -- 4000 B.C.
Based on genealogies from Adam to all the begats recorded in the Bible.
Accepts a literal 7 day original creation.
Groups that defend this position are:
Answers In Genesis (AiG) and Institute for Creation Research (ICR)
2. Old Earth -- millions to billions of yrs old
a. Day-Age Theory -- Each creative day was an age of time
Based on:
Psalms 90:4 "For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night."
II Peter 3:8 "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day."
b. Gap Theory Gen. 1:1-2
States that the Earth and its inhabitants, called pre-Adam man, existed for an unknown period of time until a cataclysmic event, brought on by the fall of Lucifer, destroyed the earth and all of the inhabitants thereof. Fossils and other remains belong to this period and were formed by the destruction.
God then, in verse 3, took what is known as the chaotic pre-Adamite earth, restored ordered and created Adam and Eve on the 6th day, telling them to "replenish the earth". And then God rested on the 7th day.
B. Indirectly
Theistic Evolution-- God used processes described as evolution -- combining religion & science
"Pope John Paul II, perhaps the most influential theistic evolution, had this to say on April 16, 1986, on the subject of evolution:
It can be therefore said that, from the viewpoint of the doctrine of faith, there are no difficulties in explaining the origin of man, in regard to the body, by means of the theory of evolution." wchat.on.ca/humanist/creation.htm John Paul II April 16, 1986
“Man in the image of God is a spiritual and corporeal being General Audience" no.
According to the National Center for Science Education (www.natcenscied.org/continuum.htm), theistic evolution in some form is taught at mainline Protestant seminaries. They also report that in 1996, Pope John Paul II reiterated the Catholic position in which God created, evolution happened, humans may indeed be descended from more primitive forms, but the hand of God was needed for the creation of the human soul.
While attending college, professors of science suggested to me that I could reconcile the two thoughts of evolution and creation without any problems.
II. NO GOD INVOLVED
Evolutionary View (Modern):
A. Big Bang 18-20 Billion yrs ago -- Matter of universe the size of a period
1. Red-shift -- Universe is expanding; Galaxies are moving apart
2. Nebular Theory -- Star explodes 4.6 billion yrs ago -- Solar system
-- Swirling matter/gases -- condense/collect
[Problems: Venus has retrograde rotation--east to west (Sun rises in west)
Uranus rotates on its side]
B. Cooling Planet
1. Elements combine in primordial seas through random atomic collisions to
form proteins and nucleic acids -- DNA & RNA
2. A protocell is formed (like a cell)
3. Simple cells form, bacteria-like -- similar to present-day archaebacteria
-- prokaryotic 3.9 to 3.5 billion yrs ago -- anaerobic -- no Oxygen
4. Later become photosynthetic, 3.5 billion yrs ago, due to competition for
food sources.
5. Oxygen is released This is called the oxygen revolution and is
stated to have been underway 2.8 billion yrs ago.
6. Lightning produced ozone from the oxygen and the ozone layer that protects the planet from harmful UV light was formed.
7. Eukaryotic life forms arise
8. More and more life forms survive becoming increasingly more complex,
"fit for survival."
C. Evolutionary thought began with Charles Darwin and others
1. In 1831, at the age of 21, Darwin was recommended for the position of naturalist on H. M. S. Beagle, a ship chartered for a five-year collecting and mapping expedition to South America and South Pacific.
2. His job was to collect, study, and store biological specimens discovered along the journey.
3. For Darwin's hypothesis, observations made in the Galapagos Islands were among the most important. This is a group of small islands about 1000 km off the west coast of South America.
4. Darwin studied and compared species of reptiles, insects, birds, and flowering plants that are unique to the islands, yet similar to species seen in other parts of the world.
5. By the end of his trip, Darwin was convinced that evolution [macroevolution]
occurs---that species can and do change.
6. Darwin returned from his voyage in 1836, and spent the next 22 years studying his collections and conducting experiments.
7. Darwin began to form this well-known idea of evolution by natural selection.
Natural selection is a mechanism for change in populations that occurs when organisms with favorable variations for a particular environment survive, reproduce, and pass these variations on to the next generation.
8. In the 1850's, Darwin began work on a detailed, multivolume book to present his idea of natural selection to the scientific community. In 1859, he published, On the Origin of Species by Natural Selection.
GOD AND SATAN: THROUGH THE AGES
I. ALPHA -- THE BEGINNING (Forever before)
A. The Eternal God Deut. 33:27
“The eternal God [is thy] refuge, and underneath [are] the everlasting (5769) arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy [them].”
05769 `owlam {o-lawm'} or `olam {o-lawm'} from 05956; TWOT - 1631a; n m
AV - ever 272, everlasting 63, old 22, perpetual 22, evermore 15, never 13, time 6, ancient 5,
world 4, always 3, alway 2, long 2, more 2, never + 0408 2, misc 6; 439
1) long duration, antiquity, futurity, for ever, ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual, old, ancient, world
1a) ancient time, long time (of past)
1b) (of future)
1b1) for ever, always
1b2) continuous existence, perpetual
1b3) everlasting, indefinite or unending future, eternity
B. The Eternal Son John 1:1-3
v. 1 “In the beginning (746) was the Word (3056), and the Word was with God (2136), and the Word was God.”
beginning -- 746 arche {ar-khay'} from 756; TDNT - 1:479,81; n f
AV - beginning 40, principality 8, corner 2, first 2, misc 6; 58
1) beginning, origin
2) the person or thing that commences, the first person or thing in a series, the leader
3) that by which anything begins to be, the origin, the active cause
4) the extremity of a thing
4a) of the corners of a sail
5) the first place, principality, rule, magistracy
5a) of angels and demons
Word -- 3056 logos {log'-os} from 3004; TDNT - 4:69,505; n m
AV - word 218, saying 50, account 8, speech 8, Word (Christ) 7,
thing 5, not tr 2, misc 32; 330
1) of speech
1a) a word, uttered by a living voice, embodies a conception or idea
1b) what someone has said
1b1) a word
1b2) the sayings of God
1b3) decree, mandate or order
1b4) of the moral precepts given by God
1b5) Old Testament prophecy given by the prophets
1b6) what is declared, a thought, declaration, aphorism, a weighty saying, a dictum, a maxim
1c) discourse
1c1) the act of speaking, speech
1c2) the faculty of speech, skill and practice in speaking
1c3) a kind or style of speaking
1c4) a continuous speaking discourse - instruction
1d) doctrine, teaching
1e) anything reported in speech; a narration, narrative
1f) matter under discussion, thing spoken of, affair, a matter in dispute, case, suit at law
1g) the thing spoken of or talked about; event, deed
2) its use as respect to the MIND alone
2a) reason, the mental faculty of thinking, meditating, reasoning, calculating
2b) account, i.e. regard, consideration
2c) account, i.e. reckoning, score
2d) account, i.e. answer or explanation in reference to judgment
2e) relation, i.e. with whom as judge we stand in relation
2e1) reason would
2f) reason, cause, ground
3) In John, denotes the essential Word of God, Jesus Christ, the personal wisdom and power in union with God, his minister in creation and government of the universe, the cause of all the world's life both physical and ethical, which for the procurement of man's salvation put on human nature in the person of Jesus the Messiah, the second person in the Godhead, and shone forth conspicuously from His words and deeds.
++++
A Greek philosopher named Heraclitus first used the term Logos around 600 B.C. to designate the divine reason or plan which coordinates a changing universe. This word was well suited to John's purpose in John 1.
2316 theos {theh'-os} of uncertain affinity; a deity, especially (with 3588) the
supreme Divinity; TDNT - 3:65,322; n m
AV - God 1320, god 13, godly 3, God-ward + 4214 2, misc 5; 1343
1) a god or goddess, a general name of deities or divinities
2) the Godhead, trinity
2a) God the Father, the first person in the trinity
2b) Christ, the second person of the trinity
2c) Holy Spirit, the third person in the trinity
3) spoken of the only and true God
3a) refers to the things of God
3b) his counsels, interests, things due to him
4) whatever can in any respect be likened unto God, or resemble him in any way
4a) God's representative or viceregent
4a1) of magistrates and judges
v.2 “The same was in the beginning with God.”
v. 3 “All things were made (1096) by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.”
1096 ginomai {ghin'-om-ahee} a prolongation and middle voice form of a primary verb;
TDNT - 1:681,117; v
AV - be 255, come to pass 82, be made 69, be done 63, come 52, become 47,
God forbid + 3361 15, arise 13, have 5, be fulfilled 3, be married to 3, be preferred 3,
not tr 14, misc 4, vr done 2; 678
1) to become, i.e. to come into existence, begin to be, receive being
2) to become, i.e. to come to pass, happen
2a) of events
3) to arise, appear in history, come upon the stage
3a) of men appearing in public
4) to be made, finished
4a) of miracles, to be performed, wrought
5) to become, be made
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
Commentary Critical and Explanatory
on the Whole Bible (1871)
Jhn 1:1-14 . THE WORD MADE FLESH.
1. In the beginning--of all time and created existence, for this Word gave it being ( Jhn 1:3, 10 ); therefore, "before the world was" ( Jhn 17:5, 24 ); or, from all eternity.
was the Word--He who is to God what man's word is to himself, the manifestation or expression of himself to those without him. (See on JF & B for Joh 1:18). On the origin of this most lofty and now for ever consecrated title of Christ, this is not the place to speak. It occurs only in the writings of this seraphic apostle.
was with God--having a conscious personal existence distinct from God (as one is from the person he is "with"), but inseparable from Him and associated with Him ( Jhn 1:18 Jhn 17:5 1Jo 1:2 ), where "THE FATHER" is used in the same sense as "GOD" here.
was God--in substance and essence GOD; or was possessed of essential or proper divinity. Thus, each of these brief but pregnant statements is the complement of the other, correcting any misapprehensions which the others might occasion. Was the Word eternal? It was not the eternity of "the Father," but of a conscious personal existence distinct from Him and associated with Him. Was the Word thus "with God?" It was not the distinctness and the fellowship of another being, as if there were more Gods than one, but of One who was Himself God--in such sense that the absolute unity of the God head, the great principle of all religion, is only transferred from the region of shadowy abstraction to the region of essential life and love. But why all this definition?
Not to give us any abstract information about certain mysterious distinctions in the Godhead, but solely to let the reader know who it was that in the fulness of time "was made flesh." After each verse, then, the reader must say, "It was He who is thus, and thus, and thus described, who was made flesh."
2. The same, &c.--See what property of the Word the stress is laid upon--His eternal distinctness, in unity, from God--the Father ( Jhn 1:2 ).
3. All things, &c.--all things absolutely (as is evident from Jhn 1:10 1Cr 8:6 Col 1:16, 17 ; but put beyond question by what follows).
without Him was not any thing--not one thing.
made--brought into being.
that was made--This is a denial of the eternity and non-creation of matter, which was held by the whole thinking world outside of Judaism and Christianity: or rather, its proper creation was never so much as dreamt of save by the children of revealed religion.
C. The Eternal Spirit Heb 9:14
“How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal (166) Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
166 aionios {ahee-o'-nee-os} from 165; TDNT - 1:208,31; adj
AV - eternal 42, everlasting 25, the world began + 5550 2,
since the world began + 5550 1, for ever 1; 71
1) without beginning and end, that which always has been and always will be
2) without beginning
3) without end, never to cease, everlasting
D. Other Scriptures: Ps 90:2; Ps 93:2; Rev. 1:8
Psalms 90:2 “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou [art] God.”
everlasting = for ever, always (Strong’s 5769)
Psalms 93:2 “Thy throne [is] established of old: thou [art] from everlasting.”
Revelations 1:8 “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”
1 a {al'-fah} of Hebrew origin; TDNT - 1:1,*; letter
AV - Alpha 4; 4
1) first letter of Greek alphabet
2) Christ is the Alpha to indicate that he is the beginning and the end
5598 omega {o'-meg-ah} a primitive word; TDNT - 1:1,*; n
AV - Omega 4; 4
1) the last letter in the Greek alphabet
2) the last
II. THE ETERNAL PLAN
A. Belongs to the Lord -- Deut 29:29
“The secret (5641) [things belong] unto the LORD our God: but those [things which are] revealed [belong] unto us and to our children for ever, that [we] may do all the words of this law.”
05641 cathar {saw-thar'} a primitive root; TWOT - 1551; v
AV - hide 72, secret 4, close 2, absent 1, conceal 1, surely 1,
variant 1; 82
1) to hide, conceal
1a) (Niphal)
1a1) to hide oneself
1a2) to be hidden, be concealed
1b) (Piel) to hide carefully
1c) (Pual) to be hidden carefully, be concealed
1d) (Hiphil) to conceal, hide
1e) (Hithpael) to hide oneself carefully
01540 galah {gaw-law'} a primitive root; TWOT - 350; v
AV - uncover 34, discover 29, captive 28, carry away 22, reveal 16,
open 12, captivity 11, shew 9, remove 6, appear 3, misc 18; 188
1) to uncover, remove
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to uncover
1a2) to remove, depart
1a3) to go into exile
1b) (Niphal)
1b1) (reflexive)
1b1a) to uncover oneself
1b1b) to discover or show oneself
1b1c) to reveal himself (of God)
1b2) (passive)
1b2a) to be uncovered
1b2b) to be disclosed, be discovered
1b2c) to be revealed
B. Known from the beginning to the end -- Isa 46:10; Acts 15:18
Isa 46:10 “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times [the things] that are not [yet] done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:”
Acts 15:18 “Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.”
The proof of prophecy defines the accuracy and divine influence of the Bible.
C. Purposed in Christ Eph 3:1-12 (READ)
1. The Revelation to Paul
a. Revelation Defined
602 apokalupsis {ap-ok-al'-oop-sis} from 601; TDNT - 3:563,405; n f
AV - revelation 12, be revealed 2, to lighten + 1519 1, manifestation 1, coming 1, appearing 1; 18
1) laying bear, making naked
2) a disclosure of truth, instruction
2a) concerning things before unknown
2b) used of events by which things or states or persons hitherto withdrawn from
view are made visible to all
3) manifestation, appearance
b. Mystery Defined
3466 musterion {moos-tay'-ree-on} from a derivative of muo (to shut the mouth); TDNT - 4:802,615; n n
AV - mystery 27; 27
1) hidden thing, secret, mystery
1a) generally mysteries, religious secrets, confided only to the initiated and not to ordinary mortals
1b) a hidden or secret thing, not obvious to the understanding
1c) a hidden purpose or counsel
1c1) secret will
1c1a) of men
1c1b) of God: the secret counsels which govern God in dealing with the righteous, which are hidden
from ungodly and wicked men but plain to the godly
2) in rabbinic writings, it denotes the mystic or hidden sense
2a) of an OT saying
2b) of an image or form seen in a vision
2c) of a dream
Paul speaks of a mystery, but "In English a 'mystery' is something dark, obscure, secret, puzzling. What is 'mysterious' is inexplicable, even incomprehensible. The Greek word mysterion is different, however. Although still a 'secret', it is no longer closely guarded but open. . . More simply, mysterion is a truth hitherto hidden from human knowledge or understanding but now disclosed by the revelation of God." (Stott) David Guzik
c. What is the Mystery? The mystery described by David Guzik
This mystery is not one to be solved, but to be revealed by God.
Simply put, the mystery is that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs of the same body; the Jews and Gentiles would be joined together into one Body of Christ, into one Church, and no longer separated before God as such. This makes Gentiles partakers of His promise in Christ, something that is no longer reserved only for the Jew. This can only happen through the gospel, where all men have an equal standing in Jesus; the same gospel Paul is a servant of, because of the gift of grace given to him by the working of God's power.
[I Cor. 15:51 “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep.”]
d. How long has this mystery existed? “from the beginning of the world”
165 aion {ahee-ohn'} from the same as 104; TDNT - 1:197,31; n m
AV - ever 71, world 38, never + 3364 + 1519 + 3588 6, evermore 4, age 2, eternal 2, misc 5; 128
1) for ever, an unbroken age, perpetuity of time, eternity
2) the worlds, universe
3) period of time, age
e. Who holds and reveals the mystery? God “who created all things by Jesus Christ” --
Define created:
936 ktizo {ktid'-zo} probably akin to 2932 (through the idea of proprietor-ship of the manufacturer); TDNT - 3:1000,481; v
AV - create 12, Creator 1, make 1; 14
1) to make habitable, to people, a place, region, island
1a) to found a city, colony, state
2) to create
2a) of God creating the worlds
2b) to form, shape, i.e. to completely change or transform
God's creation of the world and all things therein is the foundation of the rest of the "economy," which is freely dispensed according to the universal power of God [BENGEL]. AS God created "the whole range of things" (so the Greek), physical and spiritual alike, He must have an absolute right to adjust all things as He will. Hence, we may see His right to keep the mystery of world-wide salvation in Christ "hidden in Himself," till his own good time for revealing it. The oldest manuscripts omit "by Jesus Christ."
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
2. II Tim 1:8-10 His purpose
2Ti 1:8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
2Ti 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called [us] with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
2Ti 1:10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:
3. Titus 1:2 “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised
before the world began;”
4. Other Scriptures
a. Eph. 1:4-12 (READ) He hath chosen us
b. Eph. 2:7 “in the ages to come”
“That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in [his] kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.”
c. I Peter 1:20
“Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these
last times for you,”
D. God created the material universe to be inhabited with intelligent, free moral agents, to whom He could reveal Himself, and who could enjoy all the rich blessings of life and the goodness of the Creator forever. Then too, God created plant and animal life as well as all other things necessary for sustaining life. (Dake)
III. THE CREATION
The Father willed it. The Son planned, programmed and was the architect of it. He was the agent and purpose of it. The Spirit is the executor. The Spirit carried it out. He made it appear. (Ray Stedman)
A. Created by Christ Col. 1:13-19; (Remember John 1:1-3)
Col 1:13 “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated [us]
into the kingdom of his dear Son:”
Col 1:14 “In whom we have redemption through his blood, [even] the forgiveness of sins:”
Col 1:15 “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:”
David Guzik --Image (eikon) expresses two ideas: likeness, as in the image on a coin or the reflection in a mirror; and manifestation, with the sense that God is fully revealed in Jesus.
(1) If Paul meant that Jesus was merely similar to the Father, he would have used homoioma, which speaks of similar appearance
(2) "God is invisible, which does not merely mean that He cannot be seen by our bodily eye, but that He is unknowable. In the exalted Christ the unknowable God becomes known." (Peake)
(3) Philo equated the eikon of God with the Logos
David Guzik -- Firstborn (prototokos) can either denote priority in time, or supremacy in rank; this probably has both ideas in mind, with Christ being before all created things, and of a supremely different order than all created things
(1) Firstborn is also used of Jesus in Colossians 1:18; Romans 8:29, Hebrews 1:6
and Revelation 1:15
(2) The ancient Rabbis called Yawhew Himself "Firstborn of the World"
(Rabbi Bechai in Lightfoot)
(3) Rabbis used firstborn as a Messianic title: "God said, As I made Jacob a first-born (Exodus 4:22), so also will I make king Messiah a first-born (Psalm 89:28)"
(R. Nathan in Shemoth Rabba, cited by Lightfoot)
(4) "The use of this word does not show what Arius argued that Paul regarded Christ
as a creature like 'all creation' . . . It is rather the comparative (superlative) force
of protos that is used" (Robertson)
The word "image" comes from the Greek word eikon, a document that described a person in photographic detail. Jesus was the "image" or manifestation of God. The word "firstborn" comes from the Greek word prototokos and signifies "preeminence" rather than first
in order of birth. "The Creator, First, Beginning of every creation" would be a
correct translation. Chuck Smith
Col 1:16 “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether [they be] thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all
things were created by him, and for him:”
The "Colossian Heresy" seemed taken with an elaborate angelology, which effectively placed angels as mediators between God and man; Paul emphasizes that whatever ranks of spirit beings there may be, they are all created by Christ and they all ultimately answer to Him.
There is no doubt that Jesus is the author of all creation; He Himself is not a created being.
David Guzik
Col 1:17 “And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.”
Arius and his modern disciples teach that there was a time when Christ was not; this is explicitly refuted by He is before all things and who is the beginning. David Guzik
Col 1:18 “And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all [things] he might have the preeminence.”
Col 1:19 “For it pleased [the Father] that in him should all fulness dwell;”
B. Created by the word of God Heb 11:3 atoms -- not seen?
“Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.”
1. Through faith we understand
3539 noeo {no-eh'-o} from 3563; TDNT - 4:948,636; v
AV - understand 10, perceive 2, consider 1, think 1; 14
1) to perceive with the mind, to understand, to have understanding
2) to think upon, heed, ponder, consider
Faith demonstrates to the eye of the mind the reality of those things that cannot be discerned by the eye of the body. Matthew Henry
we understand--We perceive with our spiritual intelligence the fact of the world's creation by God, though we see neither Him nor the act of creation as described in Gen 1:1-31 . The natural world could not, without revelation, teach us this truth, though it confirms the truth when apprehended by faith ( Rom 1:20 ). [Bolded portions from Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown]
2. Faith gives understanding to the invisible world -- David Guzik
a. How were the worlds . . . framed by the word of God? When God simply commanded Let there be light (Genesis 1:3); it happened. As the Psalmist explains: By the word of the Lord the
heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. . . . For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast." (Psalm 33:6,9)
worlds--literally, "ages"; all that exists in time and space, visible and invisible, present and eternal.
framed--"fitly formed and consolidated"; including the creation of the single parts and the harmonious organization of the whole, and the continual providence which maintains the whole throughout all ages. As creation is the foundation and a specimen of the whole divine economy, so faith in creation is the foundation and a specimen of all faith [BENGEL].
by the word of God--not here, the personal word (Greek, "logos," Jhn 1:1 ) but the spoken word
(Greek, "rhema"); though by the instrumentality of the personal word ( Hbr 1:2 ).
b. We did not see this act of creation; we only know of it by faith
c. This text does not say that God created the world with faith; since God sees and knows all things, "faith" in a human sense is superfluous to Him
d. Most scientists at the time Hebrews was written believed the universe was created out of existing matter, not out of nothing, not out of the invisible
not made, &c.--Translate as Greek, "so that not out of things which appear hath that which is seen been made"; not as in the case of all things which we see reproduced from previously existing and visible materials, as, for instance, the plant from the seed, the animal from the parent, &c., has the visible world sprung into being from apparent materials. So also it is implied in the first clause of the verse that the invisible spiritual worlds were framed not from previously existing materials. BENGEL explains it by distinguishing "appear," that is, begin to be seen (namely, at creation), from that which is seen as already in existence, not merely beginning to be seen; so that the things seen were not made of the things which appear," that is, which begin to be seen by us in the act of creation. We were not spectators of creation; it is by faith we perceive it.
God created the world from materials that are invisible to the naked eye. Chuck Smith
We have here one of the first acts and articles of faith, which has a great influence on all the rest, and which is common to all believers in every age and part of the world, namely, the creation of the worlds by the word of God, not out of pre-existent matter, but out of nothing, v. 3. M. H.
That God made the world by his word, that is, by his essential wisdom and eternal Son, and by
his active will, saying, Let it be done, and it was done, Ps. 33:9. 5. That the world was thus framed out of nothing, out of no pre-existent matter, contrary to the received maxim, that "out of nothing nothing can be made,’’ which, though true of created power, can have no place with God, who can call things that are not as if they were, and command them into being. These things we understand by faith. The Bible gives us the truest and most exact account of the origin of all things, and we are to believe it, and not to wrest or run down the scripture-account of the creation, because it does not suit with some fantastic hypotheses of our own, which has been in some learned but conceited men the first remarkable step towards infidelity, and has led them into many more. M. H.
C. Creative Order:
1. Third Heaven -- God's Abode
2. Angels -- Lucifer
3. Second Heaven -- Space, stars, etc.
4. First Heaven and Earth
5. Pre-Adam "Man"?
6. Man
D. Gen. 1:1 Heaven?
1. Heavens--more than one
I Chron 16:26 “For all the gods of the people [are] idols: but the LORD made the heavens.”
Ps 102:25 “Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens [are] the work of thy hands.”
Prov. 8:27 “When he prepared the heavens, I [was] there: when he set a compass upon the face
of the depth:”
Isa 40:22 “[It is] he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof [are] as
grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:”
Ps 33:6 “By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.”
2. Three Heavens
a. The third Heaven
(1) God's Abode
Ps 33:13-14 “The LORD looketh from heaven [08064]; he beholdeth all the sons of men.”
(v. 14) “From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth.”
08064 shamayim {shaw-mah'-yim} dual of an unused singular shameh
{shaw-meh'} from an unused root meaning to be lofty; TWOT - 2407a; n m
AV - heaven 398, air 21, astrologers + 01895 1; 420
1) heaven, heavens, sky 1a) visible heavens, sky 1a1) as abode of the stars
1a2) as the visible universe, the sky, atmosphere, etc
1b) Heaven (as the abode of God)
Job 22:12 “[Is] not God in the height of heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high they are!”
Is not God in the height of heaven? Yes, no doubt he is. No heaven so high but God is there; and in the
highest heavens, the heavens of the blessed, the residence of his glory, he is present in a special manner. There he is pleased to manifest himself in a way peculiar to the upper world, and thence he is pleased to manifest himself in a way suited to this lower world. There is his throne; there is his court: (M. H.)
Ps 2:4 “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.”
Ps 102:19 “For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary [06944]; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth;”
06944 qodesh {ko'-desh}from 06942; TWOT - 1990a; n m
AV - holy 262, sanctuary 68, (holy, hallowed,...) things 52, most 44, holiness 30, dedicated 5, hallowed 3, consecrated 1, misc 3; 468
1) apartness, holiness, sacredness, separateness
1a) apartness, sacredness, holiness
1a1) of God
1a2) of places
1a3) of things
1b) set-apartness, separateness
Ps 103:19 “The LORD hath prepared his throne [03678] in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.”
03678 kicce' {kis-say'} or kicceh {kis-say'} from 03680; TWOT - 1007; n m
AV - throne 127, seat 7, stool 1; 135
1) seat (of honour), throne, seat, stool
1a) seat (of honour), throne
1b) royal dignity, authority, power (fig.)
* I Kings 8 -- Solomon discusses God‘s habitation when he dedicates the temple.
(2) Visited by Paul II Cor. 12:2 - 4
“I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven [3772].” (v. 3) “And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) (v. 4) “How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.”
3772 ouranos {oo-ran-os'} perhaps from the same as 3735 (through the idea of elevation);
the sky; TDNT - 5:497,736; n m
AV - heaven 268, air 10, sky 5, heavenly + 1537; 284
1) the vaulted expanse of the sky with all things visible in it
1a) the universe, the world
1b) the aerial heavens or sky, the region where the clouds and the tempests gather, and where thunder and lightning are produced
1c) the sidereal or starry heavens
2) the region above the sidereal heavens, the seat of order of things eternal and consummately perfect where God dwells and other heavenly beings
Paul is using a common reference to the first heaven as the "blue sky," the second heaven as the "starry sky," and the third heave as the place where God dwells. He identifies this third heaven as Paradise; the word is taken from the Persian word for an enclosed, luxurious garden (as a king
would have) (David Guzik)
(3) No Sin Rev. 21:27 -- New Jerusalem
“And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither [whatsoever] worketh abomination, or [maketh] a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.”
b. The second heaven -- Stars, heavenly bodies and space
*Ps 8:1-3 “O LORD our Lord, how excellent [is] thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. (v. 2) Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. (v. 3) When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;”
Gen 1:14 - 17 “And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: (v. 15) And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. (v. 16) 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. (v. 17) And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,”
Now unclean Job 15:15 Job 25:5 (Probably Skip at this time.)
c. The first heaven -- Earth and atmosphere
--Again Gen 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
Gen. 7:11 “In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.”
Gen. 8:2 “The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained;”
d. Old Heaven(s) II Peter 3:5 “For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:”
e. New Heaven(s) Rev. 21:1 “ And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first
heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.”
Isa. 65:17 “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
Isa. 66:22 “For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.”
E. Angels Created Beings
1. Angels (means messenger) --at first -- in third Heaven Ps. 148:1-5
(v. 1) “Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights.”
(v. 2) “Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts.”
(v. 3) “Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.”
(v. 4) “Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that [be] above the heavens.”
(v. 5) “Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created.”
Col. 1:16 "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether [they be] thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:”
Job 38
(v. 4) “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.”
(v. 5) “Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?”
(v. 6) “Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;”
(v. 7) “When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”
a. Multitude of Angels Rev. 5:11
“And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;”
b. Two Orders
(1) Seraphims (burning ones) Isa 6:1-3, 6-7
v. 1 “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.”
v. 2 “Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.”
v. 3 “And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, [is] the LORD of hosts: the whole earth [is] full of his glory.”
Seraphims -- majestic beings with 6 wings, human hands or voices in attendance upon God.
(2) Cherubims
Gen. 3:24 “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.”
Ezek. 1:5-28 -- Ezekiel describes creatures believed to be Cherubims
c. Activities, Etc.
(1) Appear as men in real spirit bodies Genesis 19 (Lot)
(2) Can wage physical combat
II Kings 19:35 “And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they [were] all dead corpses.”
(3) Can be bound with chains and confined
Jude v. 6 “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.”
Rev 9:14 “Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.”
Rev 20:2 “And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,”
(4) Sing praise and worship Luke 2:13-14
v. 13 “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,”
v. 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
(5) They drive horses, keep gates, etc
II Kings 2:12 “And Elisha saw [it], and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.”
(6) Protect saints
Ps. 34:7 “The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.”
d. Free moral agents
2. Angels named
a. Michael -- Archangel (chief)
Dan. 10:13 “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.”
Who is Michael, specifically? (David Guzik)
(1) He is mentioned by name in four passages of the Bible: Dan 10, Dan 12, Rev 12 and here.
(2) Every time he is presented in the context of battle, or readiness to fight.
(3) He is an archangel, or a leading angel; we don't know for certain if he is the only archangel.
Michael seems to be the angelic representative of Israel, battling against the demonic representative of Persia; on earth, Israel seemed lowly and weak; but in the heavens, it had the mightiest representative
of all. (David Guzik)
Dan. 10:21; Dan. 12:1;
Jude v. 9 “Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.”
b. Gabriel -- Messenger Dan. 8:16; Dan. 9:21; Luke 1:19
Dan 8:16 “And I heard a man’s voice between [the banks of] Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this [man] to understand the vision.”
Luke 1:18 “And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.”
Luke 1:19 “And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.”
c. Abaddon -- Some say this is Satan.
Rev. 9:11 “And they had a king over them, [which is] the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue [is] Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath [his] name Apollyon.”
Perhaps Apollyon is Satan himself, or another high-ranking leader of demons. (David Guzik)
d. Lucifer ? -- "the anointed cherub" Ezek. 28:14 [No name given here.]
Law of Double Reference according to Dake: A visible person is immediately addressed while at the same time an invisible person who is using the visible person as a tool to hinder the plan of God is also addressed. pg 118 God’s Plan for Man
Example: Jesus said to Peter, “Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou art an offense to me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men” Matt. 16:23
“Thou [art] the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee [so]: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.”
03742 k@ruwb {ker-oob'} of uncertain derivation; TWOT - 1036; n m
AV - cherubims 64, cherub 27; 91
1) cherub, cherubim (pl)
1a) an angelic being
1a1) as guardians of Eden
1a2) as flanking God's throne
1a3) as an image form hovering over the Ark of the Covenant
1a4) as the chariot of Jehovah (fig.)
3. Lucifer? -- According to Ezekiel
a. Wiser than Daniel Ezek. 28:3
“Behold, thou [art] wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee:”
Remember the dream interpretations of Daniel and the visions (secrets). The person being addressed is no ordinary person to be wiser than Daniel. Or, he only thinks within himself that he is wiser than Daniel.
b. Perfect in beauty Ezek. 28:12
“Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum [high above all], full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.”
c. Hast been in Eden (Pleasure) v. 13a --Not Adam's Eden
“Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone [was] thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.”
d. Dressed [man]or implanted [angel] with stones, etc. v. 13b
“every precious stone [was] thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold”
He [Lucifer] was clothed in a garment that was covered with the most rare and precious gems,
(Clarence Larkin pg 112)
e. Musical Ezek. 28:13c
“the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes [holes] was prepared in thee”
pipes--literally, "holes" in musical pipes or flutes.
“musical instruments built into his being” pg 134 Charles K. Ramsden Sr. The Prehistoric Ages
f. Created Ezek 28:13c “in the day that thou wast created.”
Men are not created beyond Adam. This is not a man being addressed.
g. Anointed Ezek 28:14
anointed cherub--GESENIUS translates from an Aramaic root, "extended cherub." English Version, from a Hebrew root, is better. "The cherub consecrated to the Lord by the anointing oil" [FAIRBAIRN].
covereth--The imagery employed by Ezekiel as a priest is from the Jewish temple, wherein the cherubim overshadowed the mercy seat, as the king of Tyre, a demi-god in his own esteem, extended his protection over the interests of Tyre. The cherub--an ideal compound of the highest kinds of animal existence and the type of redeemed man in his ultimate state of perfection--is made the image of the king of Tyre, as if the beau ideal of humanity. The pretensions of Antichrist are the ulterior reference, of whom the king of Tyre is a type. Compare "As God . . . in the temple of God"
( 2Th 2:4 ).
Cover -- To entwine, fence in, defend or hedge in, protect and rule. (Dake)
h. Perfect in ways -- free will v. 15
“Thou [wast] perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created,”
Men are not perfect. Again, this individual was created.
i. Iniquity found in v. 15 (Later)
“till iniquity was found in thee.”
Psa 51:5 “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.”
He was the Guardian of the throne of God. The probability is that the original Earth was placed under his governship, and was the scene of the first rebellion against the Kingdom of God, for which Satan was responsible. For this sin, Satan was deposed from the governorship, and is now the Prince of the powers of the air, the earth being thrown into a chaotic state. (Clarence Larkin pg 110 Dispensational Truth)
j. Cast out to the mountain of God v. 16
“By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned:
therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.”
No angel was in the mountain of God when an earthly king of Tyre ruled, so the reference is to the eternal past when the cherub himself had a literal throne on Earth on the holy mountain of God. Here we have insight into the position of Lucifer before his fall, and a revelation regarding the cause of his fall. (Dake)
4. Lucifer -- According to Isaiah [Named specifically. Only occurrence of the word “Lucifer”.
THE SCENE CHANGES FROM EARTH TO HELL. Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
Isaiah 14:9 “Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet [thee] at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, [even] all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.”
07585 sh@'owl {sheh-ole'} or sh@ol {sheh-ole'} from 07592; TWOT - 2303c; n f
AV - grave 31, hell 31, pit 3; 65
1) sheol, underworld, grave, hell, pit
1a) the underworld
1b) Sheol - the OT designation for the abode of the dead
1b1) place of no return
1b2) without praise of God
1b3) wicked sent there for punishment
1b4) righteous not abandoned to it
1b5) of the place of exile (fig)
1b6) of extreme degradation in sin
Hades (the Amenthes of Egypt), the unseen abode of the departed; some of its tenants, once mighty monarchs, are represented by a bold personification as rising from their seats in astonishment at the descent among them of the humbled king of Babylon. This proves, in opposition to WARBURTON [The Divine
Legation], that the belief existed among the Jews that there was a Sheol or Hades, in which the "Rephaim" or manes of the departed abode.
9. moved--put into agitation. [waken, arouse, incite]
for thee--that is, "at thee"; towards thee; explained by "to meet thee at thy coming" [MAURER].
chief ones--literally, "goats"; so rams, leaders of the flock; princes ( Zec 10:3). The idea of wickedness on a gigantic scale is included ( Eze 34:17 Mat 25:32, 33 ). MAGEE derives "Rephaim" (English Version, "the dead") from a Hebrew root, "to resolve into first elements"; so "the deceased"
( Isa 26:14 ) "ghosts" ( Pro 21:16 ). These being magnified by the imagination of the living into gigantic stature, gave their name to giants in general ( Gen 6:4 14:5 Eze 32:18, 21 ). "Rephaim," translated in the Septuagint, "giants" (compare see on JF & B for Job 26:5, 6). Thence, as the giant Rephaim of Canaan were notorious even in that guilty land, enormous wickedness became connected with the term. So the Rephaim came to be the wicked spirits in Gehenna, the lower of the two portions into which Sheol is divided.
Isa 14:10 “All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?”
10. They taunt him and derive from his calamity consolation under their own (Eze 31:16 ).
weak--as a shade bereft of blood and life. Rephaim, "the dead," may come from a Hebrew root, meaning similarly "feeble," "powerless." The speech of the departed closes with Isa 14:11 .
Isa 14:11 “Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, [and] the noise of thy viols [harp, lute, guitar, musical instrument]: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.”
01347 ga'own {gaw-ohn'} from 01342; TWOT - 299e; n m
AV - pride 20, excellency 10, majesty 7, pomp 5, swelling 3, arrogancy 2, excellent 1, proud 1; 49
1) exaltation, majesty, pride
1a) majesty, exaltation, excellence
1a1) of nations
1a2) of God
1a3) of the Jordan
1b) pride, arrogance (bad sense)
11. "Pomp" and music, the accompaniment of Babylon's former feastings (Isa 5:12 24:8 ), give place to the corruption and the stillness of the grave ( Eze 32:27 ).
worm--that is bred in putridity.
worms--properly those from which the crimson dye is obtained. Appropriate here; instead of the crimson coverlet, over thee shall be "worms." Instead of the gorgeous couch, "under thee" shall
be the maggot.
Isa 14:12-15 . THE JEWS ADDRESS HIM AGAIN AS A FALLEN ONCE-BRIGHT STAR.
The language is so framed as to apply to the Babylonian king primarily, and at the same time to shadow forth through him, the great final enemy, the man of sin, Antichrist, of Daniel, St. Paul, and St. John; he alone shall fulfil exhaustively all the lineaments here given.
Isa 14:12 “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! [how] art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!”
01966 heylel {hay-lale'} from 01984 (in the sense of brightness); TWOT - 499a; n m
AV - Lucifer 1; 1 Lucifer = "light-bearer"
1) shining one, morning star, Lucifer
1a) of the king of Babylon and Satan (fig.)
2) (TWOT) 'Helel' describing the king of Babylon
12. Lucifer--"day star." A title truly belonging to Christ ( Rev 22:16 ), "the bright and morning star," and therefore hereafter to be assumed by Antichrist. GESENIUS, however, renders the Hebrew here as in Eze 21:12 Zec 11:2 , "howl."
weaken--"prostrate"; as in Exd 17:13 , "discomfit."
Isa 14:13 “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:”
13. above . . . God--In Dan 8:10 , "stars" express earthly potentates. "The stars" are often also used to express heavenly principalities ( Job 38:7 ).
mount of the congregation--the place of solemn meeting between God and His people in the temple
at Jerusalem. In Dan 11:37 , and 2Th 2:4 , this is attributed to Antichrist.
sides of the north--namely, the sides of Mount Moriah on which the temple was built; north of Mount Zion ( Psa 48:2 ). However, the parallelism supports the notion that the Babylonian king expresses himself according to his own, and not Jewish opinions (so in Isa 10:10 ) thus "mount of the congregation" will mean the northern mountain (perhaps in Armenia) fabled by the Babylonians to be the common meeting-place of their gods. "Both sides" imply the angle in which the sides meet; and so the expression comes to mean "the extreme parts of the north." So the Hindus place the Meru, the dwelling-place of their gods, in the north, in the Himalayan mountains. So the Greeks, in the northern Olympus. The Persian followers of Zoroaster put the Ai-bordsch in the Caucasus north of them. The allusion to the stars harmonizes with this; namely, that those near the North Pole, the region of the aurora borealis (compare see on JF & B for Job 23:9; Job 37:22 )
[MAURER, Septuagint, Syriac].
Isa 14:14 “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.”
14. clouds--rather, "the cloud," singular. Perhaps there is a reference to the cloud, the symbol of the divine presence ( Isa 4:5 Exd 13:21 ). So this tallies with 2Th 2:4 , "above all that is called God"; as here "above . . . the cloud"; and as the Shekinah-cloud was connected with the temple, there follows, "he as God sitteth in the temple of God," answering to "I will be like the Most High" here.
Moreover, Rev 17:4, 5 , represents Antichrist as seated in BABYLON, to which city, literal and spiritual, Isaiah refers here.
Isa 14:15 “Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.”
15. to hell--to Sheol ( Isa 14:6 ), thou who hast said, "I will ascend into heaven" ( Mat 11:23 ).
sides of the pit--antithetical to the "sides of the north" ( Isa 14:13 ). Thus the reference is to the sides of the sepulcher round which the dead were arranged in niches. But MAURER here, as in
Isa 14:13, translates, "the extreme," or innermost parts of the sepulchre: as in Eze 32:23
(compare 1Sa 24:3 ).
F. Earth Gen. 1:1“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
If you believe Genesis 1:1, you really have no problem believing the rest of the Bible.
David Guzik --Could all this happen by accident? Not a chance. What did God create the world out of? The Hebrew word bara [Gen. 1] (create) is specific: He created the world out of nothing; not out of Himself. God is separate from His creation; unlike Eastern and pantheistic perceptions of who god is, the Bible teaches that the universe could perish, yet He would remain. Men cannot "create" in the sense the term is used in Genesis 1:1. We can only "fashion" or "form" things out of existing material. The closest we come to creating is in reproducing ourselves sexually. This is perhaps one reason why Satan wants to pervert and destroy God's plan and standard for sexuality; it is deeply connected to our being made in the image of God.
Some 100 years ago, there was a great German philosopher named Arthur Schopenhauer. By habit, he usually dressed like a bum, and one day he was sitting on a park bench in Berlin, deep in thought. His appearance made a policeman suspicious, so the policeman asked the philosopher "Who are you?" Schopenhauer answered, "I would to God I knew."
Genesis shows us the origins of: the universe, order and complexity, the solar system, the atmosphere and
hydrosphere, the origin of life, man, marriage, evil, language, government, culture, nations, religion. It is precisely because people have abandoned the truth of Genesis that society is in such disarray.
(David Guzik)
Jean-Paul Sarte stated the essential problem of philosophy: that there is something, instead of nothing. Why? Everything else in our life flows from the answer to this question. If everything around us, including ourselves, is the result of random, meaningless occurrences, apart from the work of a creating God, then it says something about who I am - and where I, and where the whole universe is going. Then the only dignity or honor we bestow upon men is pure sentimentality, because I don't have any more significance than an amoeba; then there is no greater law in the universe than survival of the fittest. (David Guzik)
Job 38:4-7“Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.”
(v. 5) “Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?”
(v. 6) “Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;”
(v. 7) “When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”
Ps 104:5 “[Who] laid the foundations of the earth, [that] it should not be removed for ever.”
Hebrews 1:1 “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, (v. 2) Hath in these last days spoken unto us by [his] Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds [165];”
165 aion {ahee-ohn'} from the same as 104; TDNT - 1:197,31; n m
AV - ever 71, world 38, never + 3364 + 1519 + 3588 6, evermore 4, age 2, eternal 2, misc 5; 128
1) for ever, an unbroken age, perpetuity of time, eternity
2) the worlds, universe
3) period of time, age
worlds--literally, "ages"; all that exists in time and space, visible and invisible, present and eternal.
(Same word as in Hebrews 11:3.)
G. A paradise state is created on Earth and populated with Pre-Adam Man ? Genesis 1:1
1. Not in the image of God
2. Did not have dominion
(We are not given the details of the creation of the old world and pre-Adam "man".)
3. Pre-Adam Civilization is destroyed.
H. Restoration of the Solar System, Plants and Animals, etc. are re-Created
I. Man Created in the Image of God
IV. SOME OF THE BIG QUESTIONS ABOUT THE EARTH’S HISTORY
A. Fossils? -- 3 billion yrs old -- bacteria
1. Man
a. What about “Lucy”?
Discovered in East Africa in 1974 by American paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson. This fossil has been dated to be 3.5 million years old, and was nicknamed “Lucy” after a song by The Beatles, a popular rock group around the world, that was often played on a tape deck at the campsite.
b. What about Australopithecus afarensis, Australopithecus africanus, Homo habilis, Homo erectus, Neanderthals, Cro-Magnons?
c. Modern human species evolved perhaps as early as 200,000 yrs ago. (Sci. says)
2. Plant fossils
a. Buried deep in the earth.
b. Petroleum & Coal deposits? 50,000,000 yrs. to form from plants (Instant oil in labs?)
B. Dinosaurs?
1. When did they live? According to Science-- During the Mesozoic Era, 248 - 65 mya
2. When did they die? According to Science-- 65 million years ago
3. How did they die?
If the Bible mentions dinosaurs what does it say?
If dinosaurs were in the garden, when did they die? The flood? Two by two into the ark. Ark too small? Was God too little to save the dinosaurs?
C. Mastodons and Mammoths?
D. Earth deformations such as:
1. Grand Canyon? -- Million years or one sudden event?
2. Twisted layers (strata) of rock?
3. Various fossils, both buried under mountains, and on top of mountains?
V. SOME OF THE BIG QUESTIONS ABOUT SATAN’S HISTORY
A. Did Satan fall from some original state? Jesus tells us that Satan did fall.
Luke 10:18 “And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.”
B. Why did Satan fall? Scriptures indicate that it was due to pride.
Ezek. 28:14 “Thou [art] the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee [so]: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.”
Ezek. 28:15 “Thou [wast] perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.”
Ezek. 28:16 “By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.”
Ezek. 28:17 “Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
I Tim. 3: 6 “Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.”
I Tim. 3:7 “Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.”
C. Where did he fall to, or where does he now abide?
Job 2:2 “And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.”
I Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”
Rev. 12:12 “Therefore rejoice, [ye] heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.”
D. Why did he fall to the earth? Why was he not sealed up in heaven or on some other planet?
Unless, his early history involved the early earth?
E. When did Satan fall?
1. Did he fall before the garden of Eden and Adam?
2. Did he fall after the garden of Eden was created and before Adam was created?
3. Did he fall after the garden of Eden and Adam were created?
We do know that he had fallen prior to man’s fall as he instigated the fall of man.
F. Why was hell prepared for the devil and his angels in the earth?
Matt. 25:41 “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:”
G. Why is Satan so interested in the earth?
Why all this desire to usurp man’s dominion on earth? Dake’s Bible pg 54 O. T.
Could it be his struggle to regain, or at least destroy the earth (If I can‘t have it nobody can.)?
Could earth have been one time under the rulership of Lucifer who became Satan at his fall?
VI. LUCIFER'S ORIGINAL POSITION -- The Light Bearer -- “anointed cherub”
A. Perfect and Powerful -- Already discussed
B. Free Moral Agent -- "I will" Isa. 14:13-15
Isa 14:13 “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
Isa 14:14 “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.”
Isa 14:15 “Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.”
C. Had a Throne Isa. 14:13 (Scripture above.)
D. Able to travel expanse of stars and space? Isa. 14:13-14 (Scripture above.)
E. Given dominion of first and second heavens
In Eden Ezek. 28:13 Stones of fires Earth Ezek. 28:14
Eze 28:13 “Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone [was] thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.”
Eze 28:14 “Thou [art] the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee [so]: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.”
F. Under God Isa. 45:18 "I am the Lord, and there is none else."
G. Over 1/3 of the angels -- free moral agents
VII. THREE HEAVENS, EARTH, ANGELS AND (Pre-Adam) MEN
Long before a man called Adam walked with God in the gardens of Eden, longer still before the flood of Noah covered the face of the earth, in a time called “the beginning,” God created the heavens and the earth. A grand and beautiful design, the earth as conceived by the Creator was an exquisite home for the creatures he had fashioned. The earth itself was a magnificent garden where life flourished in a dazzling display of variety. The ground trembled with the footsteps of the largest creatures (those we now call dinosaurs). Animals filled the trees, the skies and the oceans. From eternity God had planned this creation, and it was perfect in every way. God created men and they began to settle in villages, cities and nations. Angels, a part of this new creation, were given dominion over the earth, to rule with the authority of their Creator. It was the archangel Lucifer who ruled over the nations in all the splendor of the greatest of God’s creations. Every creature fashioned by the hand of God acted in perfect obedience to the will of their Creator. Angels and men knew God as a friend and drew their life from Him. There was no sickness or disease, no hunger or death, for there was no sin----
----Until Lucifer, the closest to the throne of God, the archangel who “walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire,” let the seed of pride find fertile ground in his heart. Pride led to rebellion, and rebellion to judgment. Lucifer and the nations following him were placed under a curse, and the earth itself was judged for their sin.
All of this happened before Genesis 1:2. Another Time, Another Place, Another Man Based on the writing of Finis Dake, Edited by Mark Allison and David Patton
A SUMMARY OF WHAT IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN LIKE according to
"The Prehistoric Ages In The Bible" by Charles K. Ramsden, Sr.
SUN Constant Light Earth Constant Dark
Tropical Paradise Likely Ice -- No Life
A. Growth of Layer of Plants -- Coal, etc
B. Perfect Reign of a Perfect Ruler
C. How long? thousands, millions, billions of years?
D. Rebellion Plot
1. Pre-Adam "men" and angels flattered by Lucifer's perfection
2. Lucifer should rule over all creation -- Lucifer "wiser than Daniel" "there is no secret that they can hide from thee" was aware of the thoughts
3. Pride -- Rebellion -- sin of omission -- did not stop thoughts Ezek. 28:17
4. Next trip to 3rd Heaven -- not allowed to enter -- no sin entering in
-- “Satan falls as lightning”
E. Deterioration and Destruction of Pre-Adam World
1. Pre-Adam man, animals, plants, etc. were buried in the earth by a great cataclysm.
2. Satan is dethroned as his kingdom, the earth, is destroyed.
VIII. OVERTHROW OF THE PRE-ADAM WORLD (The earth in chaos.)
A. According to Genesis
1. Gen 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
Gen 1:2 “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.”
a. According to the traditional understanding of the passage, the description is that of some amorphous mass, awaiting the hand of the Creator to give it definition.
Another Time, Another Place, Another Man
b. It would be in the sense that a sculptor sits and looks at a lump of clay and envisions what it can become in his hands.
c. But, why was the earth created in darkness and under water (or ice)?
d. And, why is it “without form, and void”? Couldn’t God speak it into existence with form just as easily as speaking it into existence without form and void?
e. Other translations may yield some insight:
Noah Webster (1833) Gen. 1:2 “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.”
Robert Young (1862, 1887, 1898) Gen. 1:2 “the earth hath existed waste and void, and darkness [is] on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God fluttering on the face of the waters,”
J. N. Darby (1890) Gen. 1:2 “And the earth was waste and empty, and darkness was on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”
American Standard Version (1901) Gen. 1:2 “And the earth was waste and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters”
Amplified Bible Gen. 1:2 “The earth was without form and an empty waste, and darkness was upon the face of the very great deep. The Spirit of God was moving, (hovering, brooding) over the face of the waters.”
f. Again, why is the earth waste and empty?
There could be a gap in time between the first verse and the rest of the chapter. In the first verse, the Hebrew word translated "create" is "bara" meaning "to make something out of nothing". Thereafter, the word "asah" is used, which means "to assemble existing materials into an order". "But the earth became wasteful and desolate" is another reading of the second verse. (Chuck Smith)
2. Gen. 1:2 "was" (hayah) -- to become, became
01961 hayah {haw-yaw} a primitive root [compare 01933]; TWOT - 491; v
AV - was, come to pass, came, has been, were happened, become, pertained, better for thee; 75
1) to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out
1a) (Qal)
1a1) -----
1a1a) to happen, fall out, occur, take place, come about, come to pass
1a1b) to come about, come to pass
1a2) to come into being, become
1a2a) to arise, appear, come
1a2b) to become
1a2b1) to become
1a2b2) to become like
1a2b3) to be instituted, be established
1a3) to be
1a3a) to exist, be in existence
1a3b) to abide, remain, continue (with word of place or time)
1a3c) to stand, lie, be in, be at, be situated (with word of locality)
1a3d) to accompany, be with
1b) (Niphal)
1b1) to occur, come to pass, be done, be brought about
1b2) to be done, be finished, be gone
3. "without form" (tohu) -- waste, desolation, of confusion
08414 tohuw {to'-hoo} from an unused root meaning to lie waste; TWOT - 2494a; n m
AV - vain 4, vanity 4, confusion 3, without form 2, wilderness 2, nought 2, nothing 1, empty place 1,
waste 1; 20
1) formlessness, confusion, unreality, emptiness
1a) formlessness (of primeval earth)
1a1) nothingness, empty space
1b) that which is empty or unreal (of idols) (fig)
1c) wasteland, wilderness (of solitary places)
1d) place of chaos
1e) vanity
The Hebrew word tohuw, rendered “without form” in the KJV, occurs 19 times in the O.T. Its root idea is that of emptiness or waste. Another Time, Another Place, Another Man pg 22
4. "void" (bohu) -- empty, ruin, or void
0922 bohuw {bo'-hoo} from an unused root (meaning to be empty); TWOT - 205a; n m
AV - void 2, emptiness 1; 3
1) emptiness, void, waste
the earth was without form and void--or in "confusion and emptiness," as the words are rendered in
Isa 34:11 . This globe, at some undescribed period, having been convulsed and broken up, was a dark and watery waste for ages perhaps, till out of this chaotic state, the present fabric of the world was made to arise. (Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown)
Did God create the earth “without form and void” --or in "confusion and emptiness“?
Isa 45:18 “For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain (tohuw), he formed it to be inhabited: I [am] the LORD; and [there is] none else.”
08414 tohuw {to'-hoo} from an unused root meaning to lie waste; TWOT - 2494a; n m
AV - vain 4, vanity 4, confusion 3, without form 2, wilderness 2, nought 2, nothing 1, empty place 1, waste 1; 20
1) formlessness, confusion, unreality, emptiness
1a) formlessness (of primeval earth)
1a1) nothingness, empty space
1b) that which is empty or unreal (of idols) (fig)
1c) wasteland, wilderness (of solitary places)
1d) place of chaos
1e) vanity
Now, if God did not create it “without form” (tohuw), how is it that the earth is “without form” (tohuw) in Genesis chapter 1, verse 2?
the Spirit of God moved--literally, continued brooding over it, as a fowl does, when hatching eggs. The immediate agency of the Spirit, by working on the dead and discordant elements, combined, arranged, and ripened them into a state adapted for being the scene of a new creation. The account of this new creation properly begins at the end of this second verse; and the details of the process are described in the natural way an onlooker would have done, who beheld the changes that successively took place. (Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown)
5. Created (bara‘) vs. Made (‘asah)
It would seem bara‘ and ‘asah are synonymous or interchangeable, both referring to acts of creation.
Another Time, Another Place, Another Man pg 26
Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” The first occurrence of bara‘.
01254 bara' {baw-raw'} a primitive root; TWOT - 278; v
AV - create 42, creator 3, choose 2, make 2, cut down 2, dispatch 1, done 1, make fat 1; 54
1) to create, shape, form
1a) (Qal) to shape, fashion, create (always with God as subject)
1a1) of heaven and earth
1a2) of individual man
1a3) of new conditions and circumstances
1a4) of transformations
1b) (Niphal) to be created
1b1) of heaven and earth
1b2) of birth
1b3) of something new
1b4) of miracles
1c) (Piel)
1c1) to cut down
1c2) to cut out
2) to be fat
2a) (Hiphil) to make yourselves fat
The usage of bara’ throughout the O. T. indicates new or original creation, bringing things into existence without the use of pre-existing material. It seems that the actual substance God used to create the material universe was His spoken word. Physical matter was the result of spiritual utterance; the visible was fashioned from the invisible. Another Time, Another Place, Another Man pgs 25 -26
The word bara’ is primarily used in two ways: first, with respect to the creation of the material universe; and second, with specific regard to the creation of man who is the unique focus of the Creator’s attention.
Another Time, Another Place, Another Man pg 27
Gen 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.”
First usage of “made” (‘asah).
06213 `asah {aw-saw'} a primitive root; TWOT - 1708,1709; v
AV - do 1333, make 653, wrought 52, deal 52, commit 49, offer 49, execute 48, keep 48, shew 43, prepare 37, work 29, do so 21, perform 18, get 14, dress 13, maker 13, maintain 7, misc 154; 2633
1) to do, fashion, accomplish, make 1a) (Qal)
1a1) to do, work, make, produce 1a1a) to do
1a1b) to work 1a1c) to deal (with)
1a1d) to act, act with effect, effect 1a2) to make
1a2a) to make 1a2b) to produce
1a2c) to prepare 1a2d) to make (an offering)
1a2e) to attend to, put in order 1a2f) to observe, celebrate
1a2g) to acquire (property) 1a2h) to appoint, ordain, institute
1a2i) to bring about 1a2j) to use
1a2k) to spend, pass 1b) (Niphal)
1b1) to be done 1b2) to be made
1b3) to be produced 1b4) to be offered
1b5) to be observed 1b6) to be used
1c) (Pual) to be made 2) (Piel) to press, squeeze
Rather than creation out of nothing by the raw power of God’s spoken word, the idea here is that of appointment. Another Time, Another Place, Another Man pg 29
07549 raqiya` {raw-kee'-ah} from 07554; TWOT - 2217a; n m
AV - fi0rmament 17; 17
1) extended surface (solid), expanse, firmament
1a) expanse (flat as base, support)
1b) firmament (of vault of heaven supporting waters above)
1b1) considered by Hebrews as solid and supporting 'waters' above
The firmament was appointed to its specific task of dividing waters. Beyond that, it is the place where the heavenly bodies are set (vv. 14 -18). So it appears atmospheric when directly related to earth (separating oceans from clouds), but it expands to include outer space itself, containing the sun, moon and stars. Yet God has already created the heaven and the earth (v.1). Another Time, Another Place, Another Man pg 29
Now, God had already said, “Let there be light,” and He had already “divided the light from the darkness,” distinguishing night and day (Gen. 1:3-5). Therefore, Genesis 1:16-18 does not reveal the creation of the sun, moon and stars, but rather their appointment to specific tasks. Another Time, Another Place, Another Man pg 30
6. There were days (evening and morning) before the sun and moon are mentioned? How can this be unless . . . they were already there?
Gen. 1:14 let there be lights in the firmament--The atmosphere being completely purified, the sun, moon, and stars were for the first time unveiled in all their glory in the cloudless sky; and they are described as "in the firmament" which to the eye they appear to be, though we know they are really at vast distances from it. (Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown)
Gen. 1:16 two great lights--In consequence of the day being reckoned as commencing at sunset--the moon, which would be seen first in the horizon, would appear "a great light," compared with the little twinkling stars; while its pale benign radiance would be eclipsed by the dazzling splendor of the sun; when his resplendent orb rose in the morning and gradually attained its meridian blaze of glory, it would appear "the greater light" that ruled the day. Both these lights may be said to be "made" on the fourth day--not created, indeed, for it is a different word that is here used, but constituted, appointed to the important and necessary office of serving as luminaries to the world, and regulating by their motions and their influence the progress and divisions of time.
(Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown)
The appearance of the sun and moon on the Fourth day was not a new creation. They had existed in connection with the Pre-Adamite Earth and had not been destroyed when it was made waste. The words translated “made” in the 16th verse is not the same word as translated “created” in verse one, and does not imply a “creative” act. What is meant is that the clouds broke away and permitted the sun and moon to be seen, and that from that time they were appointed to measure the days, and years, and seasons as we have them today. In other words, on the Fourth day “Time” in contrast with “Eternity” began.
Dispensational Truth by Clarence Larkin pg 26
Some would say, “The light on day one was the light of God.” Because I John 1:5 “God is light, and in him is on darkness at all.” But, being that “God is light” and God was there, then the light of God was already present and God would never have to say, “Let there be light” in the sense of the light of God.
Neither in Gen. 1:3, nor in verses 14-18 is an original creative act implied. A different word is used. The sense is, made to appear; made visible. The sun and moon were created "in the beginning." The "light" of course came from the sun, but the vapour diffused the light. Later the sun appeared in an unclouded sky. Scofield Study Bible
"Let" is used 14 times in this chapter, 1,497 times elsewhere, and in no case is an original creative act implied. The sense is "made appear" or "made visible," expressing permission and purpose in connection with already existing things. The light, firmament, waters, earth, darkness and all other things mentioned here were already in existence but had been thrown into chaos, and the laws which previously governed them had been made void. The purpose of their existence had been annuled because of sin. Dake
7. Genesis 1:21 “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.”
Here the word "created" is used for the first time since Gen. 1:1 (see Bara' -- "Create", Defined. All that was done in the interval was a rearrangement and restoration of matter. Now life is introduced, requiring not simply constructive, but creative power. All forms of animal life -- in both air and water -- are embraced in this verse. In the first creative acts of God in Gen. 1:1, the universe was brought into existence. In the second creative acts, thousands of bodies were formed out of the ground and given self-existent and self-productive life, each "after his kind" (Gen. 1:21; Gen. 2:19). Gen. 1:1 gives the origin of the pre-Adamite world, and Gen. 1:3-31 portrays the earth's restoration to a second habitable state and the origin of the Adamite world. Dake’s Notes
8. Replenish
a. Gen. 1:28 Adam -- “replenish”
“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.”
04390 male' {maw-lay'} or mala' (Esth. 7:5) {maw-law'} a primitive root; TWOT - 1195; v
AV - fill 107, full 48, fulfil 28, consecrate 15, accomplish 7, replenish 7, wholly 6, set 6,
expired 3, fully 2, gather 2, overflow 2, satisfy 2, misc 14; 249
1) to fill, be full
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to be full
1a1a) fulness, abundance (participle)
1a1b) to be full, be accomplished, be ended
1a2) to consecrate, fill the hand
1b) (Niphal)
1b1) to be filled, be armed, be satisfied
1b2) to be accomplished, be ended
1c) (Piel)
1c1) to fill
1c2) to satisfy
1c3) to fulfil, accomplish, complete
1c4) to confirm
1d) (Pual) to be filled
1e) (Hithpael) to mass themselves against
Same word is translated “fill” in Gen 1:22.
Man is created in the image of God. The order to "replenish the earth" could indicate a
pre-existence upon the earth. (Chuck Smith)
b. Gen. 9:1 Noah -- “replenish” Same Hebrew word used in Gen. 1:28
“And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and
replenish the earth.”
Not just fill the earth but refill it, as Adam was commanded (Gen. 1:28). If this command proves
an Adamite world prior to Noah's flood, the same command to Adam in 1:28 proves a
pre-Adamite world. Dake’s Notes
B. According to Isaiah Ch. 14:9-15
1. Satan and the King of Babylon addressed -- Law of Double Reference
(Again) A visible person is immediately addressed while at the same time an invisible person who is using the visible person as a tool to hinder the plan of God is also addressed. Ex. Matt. 16:23 Satan -- Peter
2. v. 12 Lucifer -- fallen -- from Heaven (How could this be a man alone?)
Luke 10:18 “And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.” Past, present, or future?
According to David Guzik on Luke 10:18-- Jesus responds by noting that He saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven; what is Jesus talking about? There are actually four falls of Satan:
a. From glorified to profane (Ezek 28:14-16)
b. From having access to heaven to restriction to the earth (Rev 12:9)
c. From the earth to bondage in the bottomless pit for 1,000 years
(Rev 20:1-3)
d. From the pit to the lake of fire (Rev 20:10)
Here, Jesus is either speaking of Satan's "first" fall, from glorified to profane; what Jesus has just seen in the disciples is evidence that Satan had already lost his position of power. He is a conquered enemy, and when we act in the name of Jesus, victory is assured.
3. v. 13 "my throne"
Lucifer had a throne, obviously signifying rulership or kingship. Likewise, rulership implies subjects to rule. Furthermore, since Lucifer is charged with weakening the nations, there must have been nations in existence for him to weaken. Another Time, Another Place, Another Man pg 39
4. Rebellion after created heavens and earth, but before Adam.
In the sense of a visible, personal rule on earth, Lucifer had no kingdom at the time of Adam’s creation and hasn’t had one since; he has only ruled through others since Adam’s day.
Another Time, Another Place, Another Man pg 39 - 40.
According to Isaiah, the ground, clouds, stars and heaven were already created before Lucifer’s rebellion. And we’ve already seen that Lucifer’s fall occurred before his temptation of Adam in the garden. Therefore, these events must have taken place on the earth, but before Adam was created. Even if this rebellion could have occurred during the six days of creation (though there appears to be no time for it), it is conspicuously absent from the creation narrative. Consequently, Lucifer must have rebelled prior to the six days of creation. Another Time, Another Place, Another Man
5. Isa. 24:1 “Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.”
This could mean a polar-axis flip of the earth. -- Chuck Smith
However, he refers to it as future prophesy dealing with the Tribulation Period. Could this be past prophesy, dealing with the first destruction of earth the rule of Lucifer?
C. According to Ezekiel 28: 3-6
1. Law of Double Reference -- 11-18 King of Tyre and Satan
Here (vs. 12-15), as in Isa 14:12 the language goes beyond the king of Tyre to Satan, inspirer and unseen ruler of all such pomp and pride as that of Tyre. Instances of thus indirectly addressing Satan are: Gen 3:14, 15; Mat 16:23 The unfallen state of Satan is here described; his fall in Isa 14:12-14 (See Note for Rev 20:10) But there is more. The vision is not of Satan in his own person, but of Satan fulfilling himself in and through an earthly king who arrogates to himself divine honours, so that the prince of Tyrus foreshadows the Beast. Dan 7:8; Rev 19:20 Scofield Notes
2. Facts of Lucifer already discussed
3. v. 13 Eden -- Not Adam's No throne, no cherub in Adam's Eden
The dwelling place of Lucifer was “Eden, the garden of God.” This was not a mere summer residence of some earthly king of Tyre, but the garden of God as referred to in other Old Testament passages. Another Time, Another Place, Another Man pg 42
The Eden described by Ezekiel, however, was not the garden in which God placed Adam, for in Adam’s Eden, “every precious stone” was not the covering of Satan, nor was he the perfect, sinless guardian cherub. Therefore, this must have been a pre-Adamite Eden, the garden that God made was the location of Lucifer’s earthly kingdom, long before Adam walked the Eden of his day. Another Time, Another Place, Another Man pg 42 - 43
4. Iniquity -- Rebellion -- Pride
5. Feud between God and a King (God and Satan)
D. According to Jeremiah 4:23-29
(v. 23) “I beheld the earth, and, lo, [it was] without form, and void; and the heavens, and they [had] no light.”
(v. 24) “I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.”
(v. 25) “I beheld, and, lo, [there was] no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.”
(v. 26) “I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place [was] a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, [and] by his fierce anger.”
(v. 27) “For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.”
(v. 28) “For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken [it], I have purposed [it], and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.”
(v. 29) “The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they shall go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city [shall be] forsaken, and not a man
dwell therein.”
1. (v. 23a) "without form and void" --“tohuw va bohuw” Same terminology as Gen 1:2
"The earth became wasted and desolate." -- Chuck Smith
Not just Israel but the earth.
2. (v. 23b) “the heavens, and they [had] no light.” -- not Noah’s flood -- no light
3. (v. 24) “the mountains, and, lo, they trembled” -- Noah’s flood?
4. (v. 25) “[there was] no man” -- not the flood -- Noah and family were present during flood
5. (v. 26) “the fruitful place [was] a wilderness”
Isa 14:12 “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! [how] art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!”
Isa 14:17 “[That] made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; [that] opened not the house of his prisoners?”
6. cities broken -- desolate--fierce anger--II Sam. 22:8-15 "He was wroth" Ps.18:8-14
a. v. 10 bowed the heavens -- changed stars and space
b. v. 12 dark waters, and thick cloud
c. v. 15 scattered them
7. Jeremiah 4:29
a. horsemen and bowmen -- angels of God?
b. not a man left
The whole land of Palestine will become desolate, yet I will not make a full end as I did of the social system on earth before Adam's time (in the chaos of Gen. 1:2). The comparison here is that God would make the land of Judah desolate and empty as He had made the once-inhabitated original earth desolate and empty through the chaos of Gen. 1:2, but He would not make a full end of the land as in the curse of the pre-Adamite world. Dake’s Notes
E. According to Peter II Peter 3:3-7
(v. 3) “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,”
(v. 4) “And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.”
(v. 5) “For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:”
(v. 6) “Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:”
(v. 7) “But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”
1. (v. 4) “from the beginning of the creation” -- When was this beginning of creation?
Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
2. (v. 5) "heavens were of old" (written 2000 yrs. ago)--This refers to God speaking the materials into existence out of which He then formed the heavens and the earth. Dake
3. (v. 5) “standing out of the water and in the water” -- This proves the earth was not created all wet as in Gen. 1:2, but dry, then flooded, and later restored to a dry state as in Gen. 1:9-10.
4. (v. 6) "the world that then was"-- If “the world that then was” is the same as that which existed between Adam and the flood of Noah, then God made “the heavens and the earth which are now” since the flood of Noah. Although this is a popular interpretation of the passage, it is not taught anywhere in Scripture. There is no statement in either Old or New Testaments that indicates that the heavens and the earth “which are now” differ from what they were between the time of Adam and Noah.
Another Time, Another Place, Another Man pg 87
Refers to the pre-Adamite world or social system which was destroyed by a great universal flood before Adam -- Dake’s Notes
5. (v. 6) “world” = Greek: kosmos (GSN-2889), social system. The one that then was, being deluged with water, perished. This refers to the pre-Adamite world that totally perished by the flood of Gen. 1:2; Ps. 104:5-9. There was no man, bird, or any other life left after this flood (Jer. 4:23-26, notes). This was when Lucifer rebelled. Dake’s Notes
There was no change in the earth’s social system after Noah’s flood, for the society that followed was merely an extension through which Noah’s family of the system which was started with Adam. Another Time, Another Place, Another Man pg 87
6. (v. 6) “that then was” Three periods of the heavens and earth: Dake’s Notes
a. The world that then was (2Pet. 3:6; Gen. 1:1-2)
b. The heavens and the earth which are now (2Pet. 3:7; Gen. 1:3 -- Gen. 2:25)
c. The new heavens and new earth (2Pet. 3:13; Isa. 65:17; Isa. 66:22-24; Rev. 21-22)
7. (v. 6) Perished -- Noah's world did not perish
8. (v. 7) “heavens (atmosphere and space) and Earth which are now” -- Are the heavens different than in Noah's days? No. Floods don't change the heavens.
The heavens and the earth which are now were restored from chaos and judgment about 6,000 years ago in Adam's day. Dake’s Notes
12 Things that People are Willingly Ignorant Of Dake’s Notes
1. That by the Word of God the heavens were created of old (2Pet. 3:5; Ps. 68:33; Ps. 93:2; Ps. 102:25; Mic. 5:2).
2. That the earth was established in and out of water (2Pet. 3:5; Ps. 24:2; Ps. 136:6).
3. That "the world that then was" refers to the pre-Adamite world or social system which was destroyed by a great universal flood before Adam (2Pet. 3:6; Gen. 1:2; Ps. 104:5-9; Jer. 4:23-26; Isa. 14:12-14; Ezek. 28:11-17). See notes on these scriptures.
4. That the heavens and the earth which are now were restored from chaos and judgment about 6,000 years ago in Adam's day (2Pet. 3:7; Gen. 1:3-2:25).
5. That the heavens and the earth entered their second sinful career through Adam and are now reserved for a second universal renovation (by fire) at the time of the great white throne judgment at the end of the Millennium (2Pet. 3:7, 10-12; Rom. 8:18-25; Heb. 1:10-12; Heb. 12:25-28; Rev. 20:7-15).
6. That with God a thousand years is like a day and a day like a thousand years. He inhabits eternity and is not subject to time to get His work done before death as is the case with us (2Pet. 3:8-9;
Isa. 57:15; Eph. 3:11).
7. That the Lord is not slack concerning His promises but is longsuffering to all men, wishing that all would come to repentance (2Pet. 3:9; 1Tim. 2:4; Rev. 22:17).
8. That the day of the Lord is to come as a thief in the night, in which day (the end of it) the heavens and the earth will be renovated and made new a third time (2Pet. 3:10-13; Isa. 65:17; Isa. 66:22-24; Rev. 21-22).
9. That all rebellion will then be put down (2Pet. 3:13; 1Cor. 15:24-28).
10. That the righteous natural people left on earth after the rebellion of Rev. 20:7-10 will multiply and replenish the new earth forever, carrying out God's original program for Adam, as would have been done if man had not sinned (2Pet. 3:13; Gen. 1:26-31; Gen. 8:22; Gen. 9:12; Isa. 9:6-7; Isa. 59:20; Dan. 2:44-45; Dan. 7:13-14, 27; Mt. 25:34, 46; Lk. 1:32-33; Rev. 11:15; Rev. 21:1 -- Rev. 22:5).
11. That God will move His capital city from the planet heaven to the planet earth to dwell with men forever and administer the affairs of the universe from the earth (2Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1 --
Rev. 22-5).
12. That the resurrected saints, saved from Abel to the Millennium, will be heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ and will reign as kings and priests on earth helping God administer the affairs of the universe forever (2Pet. 3:13; Ps. 149:5-9; Dan. 7:18-27; Mt. 19:28; Rom. 8:17; 1Cor. 4:8;
1Cor. 6:2; Eph. 2:7; 2Tim. 2:12; 2Th. 1:4-10; Rev. 1:6; Rev. 2:26-27; Rev. 5:9-10; Rev. 11:15; Rev. 12:5; Rev. 20:4-6; Rev. 22:5).
This ignorance of the Biblical facts is not forced upon man. They are willingly ignorant, preferring to remain in darkness, even scoffing at the second coming of Christ and denying Him who bought them with His own blood (2Pe 2:1-2; 2Pe 3:5, 8). They shut their eyes against light and refuse all evidence.
F. According to Job
1. Job 12:14 shutteth up the pre-Adam "man"?
“Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: he shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening.”
a. Bodies could have been burned. Atomic bomb -- leaves only a shadow of closest individual's.
b. Buried in the Earth -- Sea? Rev. 20:13 "And the sea gave up the dead which were in it" First in rebellion, first in judgment.
c. Buried in Ice? Ex: Iceman-- Found Sept. 19, 1991 in Alps of Austria and Italy country line. (101 yds in Italy) 5300 yrs old according to radiocarbon dating; hair cut 3 1/2 inches long
Some Egyptian mummies are older.
2. Job 12:15 (Job was written 1520 B. C. ? approx. 1000 yrs after the flood)
“Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth.”
a. Waters overturn the Earth? or angels?
b. The earth was not overturned in Noah's flood.
3. Job 22:15-17 out of time? -- Prehistoric?
(v. 15) “Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden?“
(v. 16) “Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood:”
(v. 17) “Which said unto God, Depart from us: and what can the Almighty do for them?”
Amplified Bible v. 16 "Men who were snatched away before their time, whose foundation was poured out as a stream."
4. Job 38:13-15
(v. 13) “That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?
(v. 14) “It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment.”
(v. 15) “And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm shall be broken.”
a. Wicked shaken out
b. light withholden -- Noah's flood? -- Gen 1:2 “darkness was upon the face of the deep”
c. (v. 16) What's in the depths?
“Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?”
5. Job 38:29-30
(v. 29) “Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?”
(v. 30) “The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.”
“The face of the deep”? Where have we seen this before? Genesis 1:2 “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.”
G. According to Psalms
1. Ps. 60:2 “Thou hast made the earth to tremble; thou hast broken it: heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh.”
2. Ps. 104:5-9
(v. 5) “Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.”
(v. 6) “Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains.”
(v. 7) “At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away.”
(v. 8) “They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them.”
(v. 9) “Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth.”
This refers to the first universal flood on earth -- the flood of Lucifer's time (Gen. 1:2; Jer. 4:23-26; 2Pet. 3:5-7). It is clear here and elsewhere that the earth was created as dry land (Gen. 1:1, 9-10), was inhabited (Isa. 45:18), and later covered with water, with the deep, or with the flood of Gen. 1:2; 2Pet. 3:5-8. Dake
a. (v. 6) [deep] Hebrew: tehowm (HSN-8415), the depth of a surging mass of water (Gen. 1:2; Gen. 7:11; Gen. 8:2; Pr. 8:28; Isa. 51:10). This is what God covered the whole earth with as one would cover with a garment. During this flood the waters stood above the mountains, which proves the whole earth was covered (Ps. 104:6; Gen. 1:2; 2Pet. 3:5-7). This was not an act of creation, but of judgment on the earth because of sin, just as in the days of Noah. Whose sin? That of Lucifer and the pre-Adamites who rebelled against God long before Adam. See notes on Gen. 1:1-2; Isa. 14:12-14; Jer. 4:23-26; Ezek. 28:11-17; 2Pet. 3:5-7. Dake’s Notes
The psalmist here speaks about the Flood in Noah's time. (Chuck Smith)
b. (v. 7) [rebuke] Hebrew: ge'arah (HSN-1606), translated rebuke in Ps. 104:7; Ps. 18:15;
Ps. 76:6; Ps. 80:16; 2Sam. 22:16; Isa. 50:2; Isa. 51:20; Isa. 66:15. The fact that the flood was rebuked proves both that it was a judgment of sin and that this flood was distinct from that in Noah's day. The waters of Noah's flood weren't rebuked, but receded naturally from the earth over a period of 150 days (Gen. 8:1-5). Here God commanded the waters to return to where they belonged -- in the earth's basins, in the clouds, and in the bowels of the earth where they were before He caused them to flood the earth and destroy all the
pre-Adamites. Dake’s Notes
The only time God ever rebuked the waters and "they fled" and "hasted away" was during the work of days two and three of Gen. 1:6-13. Day two was when God commanded part of the flood of Gen. 1:2 to return to the clouds so it could rain again (Gen. 1:6-8;
Isa. 14:12-14). Day three was when God commanded the rest of the flood waters to return to the earth's basins and bowels (Gen. 1:9-13). Dake’s Notes
c. (v. 9) This is a fixed law for the oceans, but any time God chooses to set it aside to punish sin by a flood, He is free to do so. Noah's flood occurred after this law, and many local floods as well. What God promised in Noah's time was that there would be no other universal floods (Gen. 9:11-12). Dake’s Notes
IX. Why The Gap Theory Won't Work by Henry M. Morris
http://www.icr.org/pubs/btg-a/btg-107a.htm
A. Those who advocate the gap theory agree that the six days of the creation week were literal days, but they interpret them only as days of recreation, with God creating again many of the kinds of animals and plants destroyed in the cataclysm.
B. What is the Purpose of the Gap Theory?
The gap theory was developed mainly for the purpose of accommodating the great ages demanded by evolutionary geologists. This idea was first popularized by a Scottish theologian, Thomas Chalmers, early in the 19th century. In this country, the famous Scofield Study Bible made it an almost universally accepted teaching among fundamentalists.
C. However, serious conflicts do remain.
In fact, there are few, if any, professionally trained geologists and astronomers (to my knowledge there are none) who accept the gap theory. The promoters of this theory have mostly been Bible teachers who hoped they could place these great ages in a gap between the first two verses of Genesis, and thus not have to deal with them at all.
D. Is the Gap Theory Scientific?
The reason why geologists will not accept the gap theory is that it contradicts their assumption that the past is continuous with the present. There is no room in their naturalistic approach to science for a global cataclysm that would destroy all life and then require a new creation of plants, animals, and people such as the gap theory proposes.
Any cataclysm that would leave the earth "without form and void" (or "a shapeless chaotic mass" as The Living Bible expresses it), with "darkness on the face of the deep" everywhere, would require a worldwide nuclear or volcanic explosion that would effectively disintegrate the whole crust of the earth. All pre-cataclysm mountains would be blown into the sea and billions of tons of rocks and dust blown into the atmosphere, leaving the earth covered with "the deep" everywhere and "darkness" covering the
deep everywhere.
Such a cataclysm would disintegrate any previously deposited sedimentary deposits with their fossils and thus obliterate all evidence of any previous "geological ages." Thus the gap theory, which is supposed to accommodate the geological ages, requires a cataclysm which would destroy all evidence for the geological ages.
E. Is it Theologically Sound?
The God of Creation is an omnipotent and omniscient God, and is also a God of grace, mercy, and love. The very concept of the geological ages, on the other hand, implies a wasteful and cruel "god," and therefore probably no god at all.
The supposed geologic ages are identified in terms of the fossils found in the earth's sedimentary rocks, and there are multiplied billions of them there. But fossils speak of death—even violent death. The preservation of dead animals requires rapid burial if they are to last very long. There are many regions, for example, where there are millions of fossil fish preserved in the rocks. There are dinosaur fossil beds on every continent, as well as great beds of fossil marine invertebrates practically everywhere. These may
indeed speak of cataclysmic death and burial, but not a cataclysm operating slowly over billions of years, as the geological ages imply. If the gap theory were valid, it would mean that God had instituted an ages-long system of suffering and death over the world, before there were ever any men and women to place in dominion over that world, and then suddenly destroy it in a violent cataclysm. Why would an omnipotent, merciful God do such a wasteful and cruel thing as that?
They cannot blame Satan, either. According to the gap theory, Satan's fall took place at the end of the geological ages, followed by the great pre-Adamic cataclysm on the earth. Thus the geological ages, with their eons of cruelty and waste, took place even before Satan's sin. God Himself would be solely responsible for the whole debacle, if it really happened.
F. But is the Gap Theory Biblical?
If there really had been billions of years of animals suffering and dying before Genesis 1:2, why would God say nothing about it? The best they can offer in support of such a notion are some out-of-context quotes from Isaiah and Jeremiah, along with an ad hoc translation of Genesis 1:1,2.
And why would God send such a devastating cataclysm at all? Satan's fall did not occur until after the creation week of Genesis 1, for at that time God had pronounced the whole creation "very good" (Genesis 1: 31). [Satan was not created during the six days of creation documented in Genesis. All of that creation was very good, and Satan is not good. Owen Weber http://pages.prodigy.net/owebr/gap.htm] At present, however, "the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together" (Romans 8:22) because of the great curse pronounced by God on man's dominion (Genesis 3:17-19), as a result of sin.
This groaning creation has indeed experienced one global cataclysm—one not inferred from vague hints in out-of-context quotes, but rather one described in great detail in Genesis 6-9 and referred to often and unambiguously in later passages—namely, the worldwide Flood in the days of Noah. Most of the vast fossil graveyards in the earth's crust can best be explained as one of the results of the Flood.
This awesome spectacle of destruction and death was not part of God's "very good" creation. There was no death in the world until sin was in the world (Romans 5:12; I Corinthians 15:21; etc.). In fact, death itself is "the wages of sin" (Romans 6:23). Our future deliverance from sin and death has been purchased by the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ, who is "the propitiation for our sins and ... also for the sins of the whole world" (John 2:2).
But if "death reigned" not "from Adam to Moses," as the Bible says (Romans 5:14), but had already reigned for billions of years before Adam, then death is not the wages of sin but instead was part of God's creative purpose. How then could the death of Christ put away sin? The gap theory thus undermines the very gospel of our salvation, as well as the holy character of God.
The fact is that no such gap exists between the first two verses of Genesis at all. The second verse merely describes the initial aspect of the creation as "without form and void"—that is, with neither structure nor inhabitants. The rest of the chapter tells how God produced a marvelous structure for His created universe, with multitudes of plant and animal inhabitants for the earth, all to be under the dominion of its human inhabitants created in the image of God. It was only then that God pronounced the creation "finished" (Genesis 2:1).
It is time for those who believe the Bible and in the goodness and wisdom of God to abandon the gap theory once and for all (as well as the day-age theory, which is even worse) and simply believe what God has said. The gap theory has no scientific merit, requires a very forced Biblical exegesis, and leads to a God-dishonoring theology. It does not work, either Biblically or scientifically.
[Respected theologians Thomas Chalmers, A.W. Pink, C.S. Lewis, M.R. DeHaan, and Donald Grey Barnhouse have all shared an interest in this theory. Even Francis Schaeffer is sympathetic to points of
their argument. But perhaps the most important member of this school is the one who popularized it widely: C.I. Scofield. Yes, he is the author of the notes to the Study Bible of the same name. Now, some of you will appreciate the next fact with more humor than others because of our ongoing discussion of application of such notes. In the Masoretic text of Genesis, ancient Jewish scholars attempted to incorporate "indicators" or notes to guide the reader in proper pronunciation and interpretation of Hebrew
text. Following verse one in their text is a small mark known as a rebhia which serves to inform the reader that there is a break in the narrative at this point. Thus, the Gap theory so popularized in Scofield's study Bible was itself the result of one of the very first Jewish Study Bibles published in antiquity!
by Max A Forsythe http://www.tulip.org/trf/gen2.htm]
X. YOUNG EARTH AND ARGUMENTS AGAINST GAP-THEORY
A. "without form and void"
1. Cataclysm would destroy records of geologic time-- Earth’s crust would disintegrate which would destroy all evidence for the geological ages.
2. Earth was created covered by water -- without form
3. Void = no living inhabitants -- yet
B. Creation with "Apparent Age"
1. Adam -- a man not a baby
2. Animals Adult -- Matured
3. Trees -- Mature -- Rings
4. Rocks -- Appear with age
5. Sand by the seashore -- Would assume long period of time to produce.
6. Adam could look up and see the stars on his first day. Light from stars would have been created as if present for thousands/millions of years.
C. Replenish Gen. 1:28 and 9:1 -- Should be to "fill"; incorrect translation of the Hebrew
(http://www.icr.org/pubs/btg-a/btg-014a.htm BTG NO. 14a Closing The Gap by Ken Ham)
That the word "replenish" in Genesis 1:28 in the King James Version does not mean, "refill?" (Researched by Dr. Charles Taylor, linguist with the Creation Science Foundation of Australia).
Some have used the word "replenish" to support the Gap Theory, which makes it necessary for God to refill the earth after "pre-Adamites" perished due to Satan's fall. Does "replenish" really mean "refill?"
1. The Hebrew word translated "replenish" simply means "fill"—not "refill"! The Hebrew word
occurs 306 times in the Old Testament and in not one instance does it mean, "refill."
2. The Latin prefix "re" originally meant "again," but then it lost this meaning. At the time the King James Bible was translated in 1611,"replenish" was just a scholarly word for "fill." They almost certainly came to use it because an old word, "plenish," was dying out.
3. An examination of the Oxford English dictionary shows the English word "replenish" was used to mean "fill" from the 13th to the17th Centuries.1n no case, during these five centuries does it mean "refill."
4. In the 17th century, English scholars began trying to restore original meanings to words and prefixes, so "re" in English once more came to mean "again." Today, most words with "re" do mean again, such as "rewrite," etc. There are other instances, however, as in "replete," where there is no such meaning.
In the King James Version, Genesis 1:28 means "fill the earth," not "refill the earth"!
D. Death before Sin--Romans 5:12 “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”
Fossils speak of death -- Disease, decay and death are evident -- this is supposedly ages before man brought sin into the world, and death by sin. Death could not come before Adam because
it could not come before Adam’s sin.
E. Satan's sin and fall -- In Heaven, not on Earth. Ezek 28 "I will cast thee to the ground" (or earth) (use pages 55-56 "The Beginning of the World" ? Can’t find book from last study.)
F. Satan was not on Earth, at least not as a wicked rebel against God prior to Adam's creation. Gen. 1:31 “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, [it was] very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.” Everything made -- it was very good. Satan had to fall after Adam was created.
G. Cataclysm would have destroyed geologic record -- rock strata intact Job 12:15 “Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth.” Underground cavities emptied of water during Noah’s flood -- earth sinks in --turns over
H. Flood is described -- reasons, causes, and effects are given; pre-Adamic cataclysm is
never mentioned (Henry Morris)
I. Gap-Theory tried to reconcile with geologic ages and therefore the basis of evolution (H.Morris)
J. Jeremiah 4:23 “I beheld the earth, and, lo, [it was] without form, and void; and the heavens, and they [had] no light.”-- to be fulfilled -- Jacob's trouble Jer 30:7 “Alas! for that day [is] great, so that none [is] like it: it [is] even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.”
K. Isa 24:1 “Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.” -- Prophecy of coming judgment upon the land and the people of Israel, not a hypothetical race of pre-Adamites
L. II Peter 3:5-6 “For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:” (v.6) “Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:” -- Flood of Noah
XI. SCIENTIFIC REASON OF YOUNG EARTH
A. Influx of meteoric material from space (space dust)
1. At 5 billion years -- 182 feet thick
2. At 5 million years -- 2 inches thick
Lunar Dust (http://www.icr.org/research/df/df-r01.htm)
Back in the 1960's estimates of the depth of the dust on the moon were made. This was important information to know during the Apollo program, because if there were a thick layer, the lunar landers could have sunk and disappeared. The dust on the moon results from meteors falling onto the surface. Each meteor strike, no matter how small, knocks some debris from surface rocks, and this gradually accumulates along with the incoming material. If we can measure the rate at which meteors are falling today, then we can estimate how much should accumulate over 4.6 Gyr. Actually, this would be an upper estimate since the meteor flux would have been greater in the past. Measurements of the meteor flux made nearly 40 years ago indicated that the lunar dust should be many meters thick. The actual depth is only a few centimeters, consistent with a recent creation but not an old one.
This remained a mystery until new meteor flux measurements in the early 1970's were far lower, consistent with the measured depth of lunar dust and an old age. Creationists apparently were ignorant of these newer
measurements that were consistent with an ancient moon, and were rightly criticized [52, pp. 143-145], [53, pp. 67-82] for this lapse. Snelling and Rush [49] have reevaluated this issue, and they recommended against using this argument for recent creation.
Many creationists have abandoned this argument, but some continue to use it. It seems that there are some
questions about the more recent meteor flux measurements, especially when one considers that the earlier
measurements that were supposedly too high have never been explained. About the time that the paper by
Snelling and Rush appeared, a new, more direct, and higher measurement of meteoroid influx was published [34]. This has been one factor in the rejection of some creationists to the warning by Snelling and Rush against this argument. The newer measurements should not be taken as the final word in this matter, and future measurements should be carefully monitored.
B. Influx of materials into the ocean
1. Chemical Elements
2. Sediments Both inconsistent with 5 billion years.
C. Dating Techniques -- Based on "assumptions"
D. Population Statistics-- If humans were on Earth 500,000 -- 1 million yrs., why are the population problems just occurring?
XII. AFTER NOAH'S FLOOD
Earth's Physical features were vastly changed and many of its physical processes were modified in various ways:
A. The oceans were much more extensive (after the flood), since they now contained all the flood waters.
B. The thermal vapor blanket had been dissipated, so that strong temperature differentials were inaugurated.
C. Mountain ranges uplifted after the flood emphasized the more rugged topography of the post-
diluvian continents.
D. Winds and storms were possible for the first time, as well as rain and snow.
E. The environment was much more hostile to man, especially because of the harmful radiations from space no longer filtered out by the vapor canopy, resulting in gradual reduction in human longevity after the flood.
F. Tremendous glaciers, rivers, and lakes existed, with the world only gradually approaching its present state of semi-aridity.
G. The lands were barren, until plant life could be re-established through the sprouting of seeds and cuttings buried near the surface.
XIII. DINOSAURS, MAMMOTHS, AND MASTODONS
[Notes are incomplete beyond this point.]
A. Dinosaurs? Ps 74:13 “Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters. (v. 14) “Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.”
[leviathan] Hebrew: livyathan (HSN-3882), great sea serpent, a symbol of Satan (Ps. 74:14; Ps. 104:26; Job 41:1; Isa. 27:1). The language here is figurative of the defeat of satanic powers. Just as a great dragon would be killed and be given to the people of the wilderness for meat, so God defeated Satan and his hosts and caused Israel to triumph over them in the wilderness (Ex. 14 -- Ex. 15). In Rev. 12:1-17; Rev. 13:2-11; Rev. 16:13-16; Rev. 20:2, Satan is symbolized by a great dragon with seven heads and ten horns, picturing his power over the great world empires that have persecuted and will persecute Israel in The Times of the Gentiles. Dake’s Notes
-- Read 3-4 paragraphs of "Why the Dinosaurs Died"
-- Read "At Last the Smoking Gun" -- possible impact
-- 1989 close call -- spend $1 million /yr watching
-- Explanations/Possibilities of "The Great Death"
-- Supernova; average 1 per galaxy per 300 yrs.
-- 5 in our Milky Way during the last 1000 yrs
-- most recent 1987 -- "Death of a Star" (1987A)
-- "Searching for Life" NASA article; Watching and Listening for Signs
Scriptures: Ps. 74:13-14; PS. 104:26-30 v. 30 renewest face of earth
Job 40:15-24; Job 41:1-2, 26-34
B. Mastodons and Mammoths Ps 74:14; Ps 104:26-30;
Job 40:15-24; Job 41:1-2,26-34
