The Genius of Genesis Part 1 - In the Beginning
GENESIS 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven(s) and the earth.
Comment 1: In the beginning The issue that divides young-earth and old-earth or gap theory Christians begins here.
When was 'the beginning'? Was it six thousands years ago, or possibly millions? According to the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary, 'the beginning denotes a period of remote and unknown antiquity, hid in the depths of eternal ages'.
During that period of time a series of important events occurred and God's Kingdom project was begun.
For example, Proverbs 8:22-31 describes an event in the beginning- where Wisdom says: 'I was brought forth before He made the earth.
' So that Wisdom was with God in the beginning but before the earth was made.
Reaching even further into antiquity, we read in John 1:2 that Jesus was with God in the beginning.
And since Jesus was the actual creator of all things (Ephesian 3:9, Hebrew 1:2), then again that period must extend back before the creation of the earth.
And referring to the beginning of God's dealing with man, Jesus tells us that Adam and Eve were created in the beginning (Mark 10:6), but clearly some time after the initial creation of the earth.
So again, the scriptures suggest that the beginning was an extended period, a series of key events, not an instant in time.
Comment 2: The heaven(s) and the earth Although the King James Version has heaven in the singular in this verse, most translations agree with the Adam Clarke Commentary that the Hebrew word so translated is in the plural - heavens.
Clarke comments that we may rest assured that the heavens means more than the atmosphere, probably the whole solar system.
If writing today, I imagine he would expand that to include the 'universe.
Did the universe begin with a 'Big bang' as science claims? Clearly, that is a possibility.
Could God make 'something out of nothing'? Yes, of course.
The closest scripture would seem to be Paul's comment in Hebrews 11:13 that 'By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.
' Could that invisible something be what physics now calls 'Energy'? Does Paul's use of the plural 'worlds' or 'ages' here also suggest that there is more to the first verse of Genesis that many scholars have suspected? Comment 3: God created Scholars tell us that the Hebrew word 'bara' used here means to bring something into existence from nothing - to 'create' it.
If I wanted to say, in Hebrew, that I had 'made' a table, this word would not be appropriate because I did not create the wood, but only rearranged and shaped it.
I simply 'made' the table.
Adam Clarke comments that: 'The rabbins, who are legitimate judges in a case of verbal criticism on their own language, are unanimous in asserting that the word "bara"expresses the commencement of the existence of a thing.
' This fine distinction will be important when we come to Day 3 of creation week.
Comment 4:Biblical language Much scriptural confusion arises from imposing much more rigid meanings onto words and phrases than God intends.
An interesting illustration is found in 1 Corinthians 15:27, where Paul states that in the final outcome, 'all things' will be subject to Jesus.
Then, perhaps because he himself had once been a technically minded, hair splitting Pharisee, Paul adds that of course 'all things' does not include God the Father.
Words can be elastic, which is why scriptures can be twisted.
In Galileo's time, theologians rejected his new helio-centric theory on the basis of scripture by quoting Psalm 93:1 which says the earth 'cannot be moved.
' They took this as absolute proof that the earth could not possibly be moving around the sun.
However, science proved them wrong.
The intent of the psalm was simply that God has made the earth and put it in space and nobody could "move" it to another location or remove it.
It is important to consider words in their context.
Comment 5: Problem for Young-earth Creationists A key outcome of this section, which troubles young-earth creationists, is that the physical planet and the universe were plainly in existence before the first day of creation week had even begun - and may, as modern geology suggests, be millions of years old.
Comment 1: In the beginning The issue that divides young-earth and old-earth or gap theory Christians begins here.
When was 'the beginning'? Was it six thousands years ago, or possibly millions? According to the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary, 'the beginning denotes a period of remote and unknown antiquity, hid in the depths of eternal ages'.
During that period of time a series of important events occurred and God's Kingdom project was begun.
For example, Proverbs 8:22-31 describes an event in the beginning- where Wisdom says: 'I was brought forth before He made the earth.
' So that Wisdom was with God in the beginning but before the earth was made.
Reaching even further into antiquity, we read in John 1:2 that Jesus was with God in the beginning.
And since Jesus was the actual creator of all things (Ephesian 3:9, Hebrew 1:2), then again that period must extend back before the creation of the earth.
And referring to the beginning of God's dealing with man, Jesus tells us that Adam and Eve were created in the beginning (Mark 10:6), but clearly some time after the initial creation of the earth.
So again, the scriptures suggest that the beginning was an extended period, a series of key events, not an instant in time.
Comment 2: The heaven(s) and the earth Although the King James Version has heaven in the singular in this verse, most translations agree with the Adam Clarke Commentary that the Hebrew word so translated is in the plural - heavens.
Clarke comments that we may rest assured that the heavens means more than the atmosphere, probably the whole solar system.
If writing today, I imagine he would expand that to include the 'universe.
Did the universe begin with a 'Big bang' as science claims? Clearly, that is a possibility.
Could God make 'something out of nothing'? Yes, of course.
The closest scripture would seem to be Paul's comment in Hebrews 11:13 that 'By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.
' Could that invisible something be what physics now calls 'Energy'? Does Paul's use of the plural 'worlds' or 'ages' here also suggest that there is more to the first verse of Genesis that many scholars have suspected? Comment 3: God created Scholars tell us that the Hebrew word 'bara' used here means to bring something into existence from nothing - to 'create' it.
If I wanted to say, in Hebrew, that I had 'made' a table, this word would not be appropriate because I did not create the wood, but only rearranged and shaped it.
I simply 'made' the table.
Adam Clarke comments that: 'The rabbins, who are legitimate judges in a case of verbal criticism on their own language, are unanimous in asserting that the word "bara"expresses the commencement of the existence of a thing.
' This fine distinction will be important when we come to Day 3 of creation week.
Comment 4:Biblical language Much scriptural confusion arises from imposing much more rigid meanings onto words and phrases than God intends.
An interesting illustration is found in 1 Corinthians 15:27, where Paul states that in the final outcome, 'all things' will be subject to Jesus.
Then, perhaps because he himself had once been a technically minded, hair splitting Pharisee, Paul adds that of course 'all things' does not include God the Father.
Words can be elastic, which is why scriptures can be twisted.
In Galileo's time, theologians rejected his new helio-centric theory on the basis of scripture by quoting Psalm 93:1 which says the earth 'cannot be moved.
' They took this as absolute proof that the earth could not possibly be moving around the sun.
However, science proved them wrong.
The intent of the psalm was simply that God has made the earth and put it in space and nobody could "move" it to another location or remove it.
It is important to consider words in their context.
Comment 5: Problem for Young-earth Creationists A key outcome of this section, which troubles young-earth creationists, is that the physical planet and the universe were plainly in existence before the first day of creation week had even begun - and may, as modern geology suggests, be millions of years old.
