Genesis Chapters 1-2 Creation: Foundation of Our Faith
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Transcript of Genesis Chapters 1-2 Creation: Foundation of Our Faith
Genesis Chapters 1-2Creation:
Foundation of Our Faith
Dr. Heinz [email protected]
www.osta.com/messages
Biblical Creation The 7 C’s of History Comparing Gen. 1-2 and Rev. 21-22 Creation According to Gen. Chapters 1-2 OT/NT References to Gen. Chapters 1-11 Compromising Theories
Gap Theory Theistic Evolution Theory Progressive Creationism Day-Age Theory Framework Hypothesis
Conclusions Questions and Answers
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The 7 C’s of History Creation – Ex Nihilo, Gen. 1-2 Corruption – The Fall Catastrophe – Noah’s Flood Confusion – Tower of Babel Christ – First Coming Cross – Sacrifice Consummation – New Creation, Rev. 21- 22
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Contrasts Between Old & New Worlds
Probationary World (Gen.) Eternal World (Rev.)Division of light and darkness (1:4) No night there (21:25)
Division of land and sea (1:10) No more sea (21:1)
Rule of sun and moon (1:16) No need of sun or moon (21:23)
Man in a prepared garden (2:8,9) Man in a prepared city (21:2)
River flowing out of Eden (2:10) River flowing from God’s throne (22:1)
Gold in the land (2:12) Gold in the city (21:21)
Tree of life in midst of the garden (2:9) Tree of life throughout the city (22:2)
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The Author of Genesis “These are the generations of
...” marks termination of one narrative, beginning of another
Different original authors, Moses the editor Gen 2:4 “this is the account of the heavens
and the earth when they were created” Gen. 5:1 “This is the book of the
generations of Adam. ...” Gen. 6:9 “These are the records of the
generations of Noah. ...” etc.
Creation According to Gen. 1-2 Gen. 1:1, In the beginning
God created the heavens and the earth.
Significance of 1st verse Written by God Refutes false religions and gods
Three key concepts:1. Days of Creation2. Kinds of living organisms3. And God said …
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To Begin the Discussion …• In 1903, a British philosopher, Herbert Spencer, made
a profound scientific statement:“Everything in the universe can be explained by five basic things - space, matter, time, force, and action.”
• Spencer, an evolutionist, was a contemporary of Charles Darwin, the British scientist credited with popularizing the concept of evolution. He (Spencer) was given a prestigious award by the British Science Society at the time. This was considered to be a major contribution to science. And it is, until you realize that …
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What Does The 1st Bible Verse Say? Moses, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote in
Gen. 1:1:“In the beginning (time) God (force) created (action) the heavens (space) and the earth (matter).”
What makes this even more remarkable is the fact that Moses was educated in the tradition of the Egyptians. They believed that only the ocean existed at first. An egg/flower appeared and the sun god was born. The sun god had four children, of whom one was Geb (the earth). They believed that the earth was a flat disk afloat on the river of the ocean. None of this mythology of the time was included in the book of Genesis.
Gen. 1:1 Refutes Man’s False PhilosophiesPhilosophy Refuted Because:Atheism The universe was created by God Pantheism God is transcendent to that which
He created Polytheism One God created all things Materialism Matter had a beginning Dualism God was alone when He created Humanism God, not man, is the ultimate
reality Evolution God created all things
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Model of Creation The Bible is the inerrant Word of God God is Creator
Six days of Creation – Gen. 1:1 – 2:3; Ex. 20:11 Creatures created/reproduce after their kind – Gen. 1 (10 x)
Man is created In God’s image – Gen. 1:26-27
Creation is dependent on God Man is fallen and dependent on God Creation and Science must be coherent and consistent
God reveals Himself in Scripture (Special Revelation) God reveals Himself in nature (General Revelation)
Jesus and NT authors refer to Gen. 1-11 as history
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Two Creation Accounts Gen. 1:1 -> Gen. 2:3. Written entirely by God Gen. 2:4 -> Gen. 5:1. Written by Adam
These two accounts appear to contradict each other in the order of certain creation events Gen. 2:19 “And out of the ground the Lord God
formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them ...”
This seems to conflict with Gen. 1:24-27 where God clearly created animals before He created man
However, the proper translation of Gen. 2:19 states that “God had formed” since there is no distinction in Hebrew between the past tense and the past perfect, since the context provides the real meaning
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Created in Six Days Gen. 2:1, “Thus the heavens and
the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventhday God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.”
Ex. 20:11, “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, all that is in them, and rested the seventh day.”
Ex. 31:17, “… for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day …”
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The Creation Days Evolution demands long ages Bible: literal days
Meaning of ‘Yom’ Yom with a number Evening and morning Gen. 1:14, “Let there be lights in the firmament … “ Ex. 20:11, “For in six days the LORD made …” Words used to indicate time
Narrative versus poetry (VSO v. SVO) In the beginning created God the heavens… = VSO
Genealogies (Gen. 5, 1 Chron. 1, Luke 3)
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Creation Days Quote“Probably so far as I know, there is no professor of Hebrew or Old Testament at any world-class university who dares not believe that the writer(s) of Gen. 1-11 intended to convey to their readers the ideas that creation took place in a series of six days which are the same as the days of 24 hours we now experience…”
Professor James Barr, Professor of Hebrew at the University of Oxford.
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Creation Days Quote 2“To summarize, liberal scholars of both 19th and 20th centuries admit that the text of Genesis is clearly meant to be taken in a literal, historical sense, although they deny its claims to speak accurately to our space/time cosmos.”
Douglas F. Kelly (Professor of Systematic Theology) , Creation and Change, 1997, p. 51.
Creation of Distinct Kinds Gen. 1: 11(1), 12(2), 21(2), 24(2),
25(3) Ten major categories of organic life
created “after its kind” Plant kingdom - grass, herbs, fruit trees Animal kingdom - sea monsters, other marine
animals, birds, beasts, cattle, crawling animals Man “kind”
One kind cannot transform itself into another kind Definite and distinct categories There is variation within a kind These “kinds” still recognized today
And God Said … And God said:
Gen. 1: 3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26, 28, 29 (10x) e.g. “let there be light”, Gen. 1:3
And it was so: e.g. “and there was light”, Gen. 1:3
And God saw that it was good: e.g. “the light was good”, Gen. 1:4
Gen. 1:31, “And God saw everythingthat He had made, and behold, it was very good.”
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Creation Principles Appearance of age/history
Mature from its birth, including Adam and Eve Gen 2:1, Thus the heavens and the earth were
finished, and all the host of them, were finished. Death came with sin
Fossils appeared after the curse Rom. 5:12, Therefore, just as sin
came into the world through oneman, and death through sin, andso death spread to all men because all sinned—
Rom. 6:23, For the wages of sin is death, but …
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OT References to Creation Ex. 31:17 (Moses) “It is a sign between Me and the
children of Israel forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth …” - six-day literal creation
Josh. 24:2-4 (Joshua) “ … your fathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, …” - accepts Gen. 11 account of Abraham’s ancestors
II Kings 19:15 (Hezekiah) “You have made heaven and earth.” - speaks of creation
1 Chron. 1:1-28 “Adam, Seth, Enoch, …”repeats genealogies of Gen. 5, 10, 11
Neh. 9:6 (Nehemiah) “You have made heaven, … the earth and everything on it, the seas and all that is in them, …” - refers to Creation
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NT Referencesto Gen. 1-11
Every NT writer refers to the early chapters of Genesis
Jesus Christ referred to each of the first 7 chapters of Genesis
e.g. Mark 10:6-9 -> Gen. 1:27 Almost all NT books have references to
Genesis 1-11, especially Gen. 1-2 Every chapter of Genesis 1-11 except
chapter 8 is referred to somewhere in NT Every NT writer accepted these early
chapters as historically accurate
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Removing Genesis 1-11 Removes true history Removes the foundation
from all future history Rejects the teachings of
Peter, Paul, other Biblicalwriters, Christ Himself
e.g. in the Gospels, Acts, Romans, Corinthian letters,Hebrews, Revelation
Eventually leads to apostasy
Compromising Theories Genesis 1-11 as our foundation Compromises and the
Problems with them: Gap Theory Theistic Evolution Progressive Creation Day-Age Theory Framework Hypothesis
Conclusions22@ Dr. Heinz Lycklama
Which Foundation Do You Trust?
Genesis 1 As Allegorical? Make the account figurative, a-
historical, or supra-historical, and ultimately non-descriptive
This treats the Genesis account as a demythologized poem, sung to the glory of the creator God
Or a cosmology, like many other epic and legendary cosmologies of the day
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Genesis 1 As Historical Accept Gen. 1 as a chronological
account of something that actually happened in creation
Gen. 1 and 2 offer us correct and satisfactory information concerning prehistoric time
It goes beyond the reach of available historical sources and offers not mythical suppositions, not poetical fancies, not vague suggestions, but a positive record of things as they actually transpired
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Compromising Theories Many people believe that God used
evolution as His means of creating the universe and everything in it
Numerous attempts have been made to reinterpret the Bible in order to make it compatible with the theory of evolution
The problem is that of TIME! How to get a few billion years
into the first chapter of Genesis?26@ Dr. Heinz Lycklama
Compromising Theories (cont’d) Dr. Duane Gish:
“The concept of a frog being turned into a prince in an instant is a fairy tale, but the assertion that a frog, given 300 million years, can turn into a man, is considered science.”
Many “Christians” are so convinced that evolution is true that they feel they need to harmonize the Scriptures with “science”
Are we willing to change the Scriptures every time a scientific theory is debunked or modified?
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Gap Theory Gap between Gen. 1:1 & 1:2 Earth populated long ago by
organisms that were destroyedand preserved as fossils
Is. 45:18; 2 Pet. 3:5-6 used as “proof texts”
Assumes that the geological agesoccurred before the creation week
Assumes that a cataclysm terminated the geological ages
After a long time, God then proceeded to re-make or re-create the earth in the six literal days described in Gen. 1:3-31
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Problems With Gap Theory Death before sin
Organic evolution produces death The fall of Satan after the geological ages
Gen. 1:31 makes clear that Satan had not yet rebelled
Scientific problems with the Gap Theory No evidence of a monstrous cataclysm
Biblical problems with the Gap Theory Ex. 20:11, “… in six days the Lord made
heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is …”
Sun needed for life, but not created until 4th day, Gen. 1:14-18
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Theistic Evolution Creation by continuous
evolutionary processes, initiated by God
God revealed the fact of Creation in Scripture, but left the method of Creationto be worked out by scientists
Attempt to accept the “fact” of Evolution Approved by none other than the Pope! Sometimes referred to as “Biblical
evolution”, creative Evolution, etc.30@ Dr. Heinz Lycklama
Problems With Theistic Evolution Creation of distinct kinds precludes
transmutations between kinds: Ten major categories/kinds identified
in Genesis 1 (“after his kind”) 1 Cor. 15:38,39 “... one kind of flesh
of men, another flesh of beasts ...” No concept of evolutionary continuity
Too many missing fossil links Mutations appear to be undirected Humans are modified animals,
rather than created in God’s image31@ Dr. Heinz Lycklama
Theological Contradictions God’s omnipotence - can create in an instant,
does not need eons of time God’s personality - “man in His own image”, why
wait until the tail end of “geologic time”? God’s omniscience - fossils indicate extinctions,
misfits, and other evidences of “poor planning” God’s nature of love - “natural selection” is not
loving God’s purposiveness - creation and redemption
of man. Why waste billions of years? Grace of God - struggle for survival, fits with
“humanistic” salvation by works
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Progressive Creationism God created universe via Big Bang Over billions of years, our solar system formed,
resulting in the formation of Earth Diversity of life on Earth is a result
of God creating “kinds” of organismssequentially
Due to their sequential creation thesevarious “kinds” of organisms appearin the fossil record in the order we observe
The newer species still in existence were “specially” created and not genetically related to the older kinds
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Progressive Creationism (cont’d) Semantic variant of “Theistic
Evolution” God intervened on various occasions
to create something new, i.e. evolution needed some help
God placed an eternal soul in a humanoid form at the proper time
Implies that God’s creative forethought was insufficient
Involves discontinuous evolutionary processesinitiated by God
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Day–Age Theory Attempt to accommodate Genesis to
geology Interpret creation so that ages of geology
correspond to the history of creation, i.e. days must correspond (more or less) to geologic ages
Events occur in the same order as Gen. 1: Inorganic universe Simple forms of life More complex
forms of life Man
But time periods much longer than a day: 2 Pet. 3:8 “… a day is as a thousand years …”
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Problems With Day–Age Theory Proves nothing because assumptions cannot
be validated Must accompany “Day-Age” with “Theistic
Evolution” or theory of “Progressive Creation”
Unacceptable on exegetical orscientific grounds: Proper meaning of “day” and “days” [Hebrew yom] Contradiction between Genesis and geological ages Identification of geological ages with evolutionary suffering Variations of “Day-Age”
“A text without a context is a pretext.”, Henry Morris36@ Dr. Heinz Lycklama
Proper Meaning of “Day”/“Days”
Hebrew “yom” does not have to mean a literal day, could mean a “very long time” 2 Pet. 3:8, “thousand years as one day”
Translated as “time” 65 times Translated as “day” 1200 times Plural translated as “days” 700 times Literal meaning is usually best Other meanings can be gained from the
context Genesis 1 is written very carefully using
words/phrases such as “first day”, “second day”, “evening and morning”
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Meaning of “Day”/“Days” (cont’d)
When limiting numeral is used in OT (200 times), it always means literal day
God called the light day, and the darkness night (Gen. 1:5)
Precludes a geologic age Vegetation can’t survive for a geologic age
without sunshine Gen. 1:14-19 -> divide day from night Ex. 20:8-11, fourth commandment “six
days, ... seventh day ...” 2 Pet. 3:8 “a text without a context is a
pretext”38@ Dr. Heinz Lycklama
Contradictions Between Genesis and Geological Ages
Uniformitarianism/Evolution
Bible/Catastrophism/Creation
Matter existed in the beginning Matter created by God in the beginning
Sun and stars before the earth Earth before the sun and starsContiguous atmosphere/hydrosphere
Atmosphere between two hydrospheres
Land before the oceans Oceans before the landSun, earth’s first light Light before the sunFishes before fruit trees Fruit trees before fishesWoman before man (by genetics) Man before woman (by creation)Rain before man Man before rain“Creative” processes still continuing
Creation completed39@ Dr. Heinz Lycklama
Identification of Geologic Ages With Evolutionary
Suffering Evolution is random, wasteful, cruel Inconsistent with nature of God Geological ages provide framework for
evolution Geologic systems and epochs are identified on
the basis of fossils found in the rocks Evolution is the basis for interpreting the fossil
record, and the fossil record is the basis for establishing and identifying the geologic ages
An example of circular reasoning! God is not the author of confusion
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What The Bible Says AboutDeath and Suffering
God pronounced it all very good in Gen. 1:31
No death and suffering before the fall: Gen. 3:14-19 “... cursed is the ground ...” Rom. 5:12 “through one man sin entered, ...
so death spread to all men” Rom. 8:20-23 “... whole creation groans ...” 1 Cor. 15:21-22 “... by a man came death, for
as in Adam all die ...” Rev. 21:4-5 “... no longer any death ...”
No fossils before the fall41@ Dr. Heinz Lycklama
Framework Hypothesis Does not treat Genesis as history Treats Genesis as a literary framework Hebrew poetry comprised of parallelism
e.g. synonymous parallelism in Ps 19:1-2 e.g. antithetical parallelism in Prov. 28:1
Alleged stylized framework in Gen. 1 Days 4-6 parallel days 1-3 Days 1-3 refer to days of the Kingdom Days 4-6 refer to days of the Rulers
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Summary Even professing Christians seek to
harmonize Scripture with the assumed evolutionary history of the earth and man
Gap Theory, Theistic Evolution, Progressive Creation, Day-Age Theory and the Framework Hypothesis all fall short of this goal
Some treat Genesis 1-11 as allegorical, liturgical, poetic, supra-historical
These force one to reject Genesisas either scientific or historical
Expunging Genesis 1-11 cuts out the foundation of the entire Biblical system
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Genesis 1-11 As Literal History
The style of these early chapters of Genesis does not suggest a mythical, allegorical, or poetical approach
The view entertained by our Lord Jesus Christ The inspired writers of the NT not only referred
often to the narrative, but made doctrinal arguments which depend upon the historical validity of the Genesis account
The Bible teaches that the Creation of the heavens, the earth, and the inhabitants thereof, was for the glorification of Almighty God
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Suffering and DeathClothing
WorkCrime & Punishment
Freewill OfferingsGod’s Universal Judgment
The Fossil RecordThe Rainbow
Weather PatternsChange of Seasons
LanguagesAgricultureCivilization
Heavenly BodiesThe Earth
Animal / Plant LifeHuman Life
LawMarriage
SexRoles in the Family
ChildbearingSin (need for Salvation)
ForgivenessGod as Provider of
the Sacrifice
Origins Found in Genesis 1-11
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ConclusionCreation is an essential truth
spoken of in the Bible
Col. 2:8 “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to theelementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.”
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Questions?
Dr. Heinz [email protected]
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