First, we talked about the creation of the sky on the second day. We discussed the reasons why the original text used singular and plural forms. We also saw that from the context we can tell that the word sky is sometimes plural and sometimes singular. Second, we spoke of the making of the sea on the third day and the principle of separation about ‘after their kind.’ Third, it mentions the sun, moon and stars were made on the fourth day. Fourth, the Bible states that birds and fish were created on the fifth day. Finally, we talked about the making animals on the sixth day. God first created a good living environment for people to live in, and then created humans to be shared next time. We don’t know exactly how God made plants and animals; we can only speculate the possibilities based on current technology.
1. Creation of the heaven on the second day
“Then God (H430, plural) said, “Let there be an expanse (H7549, singular) in the midst of the waters (H4325, plural), and let it separate the waters from the waters.” God made (H6213) the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so. God called the expanse heaven (H8064). And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.”(Genesis 1:6-8)
Regarding waters (H4325), the plural form is used because water has three forms: ordinary water, ice, and water vapor. This is the same word used previously in Genesis 1:2, “…and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters (H4325, plural).”(Genesis 1:2) So the surface of the waters should refer to ordinary water and ice, and water vapor also exists because it means dividing the waters into upper and lower parts. The word God here is plural, so it refers to the Triune God. Here we see that God made (H6213) the singular air (H7549) and separated the upper and lower waters. Since the air is the same throughout the world, the singular is used.
Last time we talked about Genesis 1:2, we only mentioned that the Holy Spirit was involved in the creation of the present world. In fact, this creation involved all three persons of the Trinity. Although many scriptures mention that the other two were involved, we can understand this by looking at the following two scriptures. One is, “In the beginning was the Word (the Lord Jesus Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”(John 1:1-3) Another place is, “Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb,
“I, the LORD, am the maker of all things, Stretching out the heavens by Myself And spreading out the earth all alone.”(Isaiah 44:24) In the original text of the Strong’s Concordance, there is no suck word ‘alone.’ Another version of original text has the word ‘all alone, H905.’ However, since “What God tells us through the Bible is consistent,” we know that the other original version is wrong. The Triune God is not an ambiguous God.
In these scriptures, what we should actually ask about is the word “heaven (H8064)”. We mentioned in the first section that heaven (H8064) is used in the plural, which means that the heavens were created, which means that each planet has its own sky. There is only one sky on earth, so the word “sky” (H7549) is singular, but the word “sky” (H8064) is used, so it should obviously be singular. Therefore, the only logical explanation is that the word “sky” (H8064) can be singular or plural, depending on the context and “what God tells us through the Bible is consistent.” No wonder English translations sometimes use the singular and sometimes the plural, just as English has words that have the same singular and plural forms. In Chinese some single characters, the same character can even have different meanings and pronunciations. .
2. Creation of the sea on the third day and the principle of separation
“Then God said, “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them”; and it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good. There was evening and there was morning, a third day.”(Genesis 1:9-13)
First there was water but no dry land, so there was no sea in the beginning. Now some parts of the earth have risen up to form dry land, and the sea has formed as a result of the collection of water. Therefore, these were all made from existing things, and God saw that it was good.
We then see “after their kind” repeated many times. For example, an orange tree cannot become an apple tree, otherwise there will be chaos in the world. On the fifth and sixth days it also says that each should be “after their kind” (see Genesis 1:21, 25). Therefore, we can be absolutely certain that God’s original will was to “after their kind,” and this is also a principle of separation by which God does things. And from observation, we can also see that there are many kinds of things, and the world was originally harmonious when it was created.
Regarding the principle of separation, we can give an example to illustrate. The Bible often speaks of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Let us look at this one. First, Abraham was chosen by God and set apart. Then, Isaac was born according to the promise. Jacob was separated from Esau. Later, among the tribes of Jacob’s twelve sons, the tribe of Levi was separated, and then among Levi’s sons, the tribe of Kohath was separated. The clan after Aaron’s sons of Kohath, all priests were from the tribe of Aaron, and only the eldest son of the tribe of Aaron could be the high priest.
Please note that we see that the plants that were made and not “created” but simply “bring forth (H1876)”. This is different from what happened on the fifth day, when “God created (H1254) the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, …”(Genesis 1:21) The word created is used here, so when the word created is needed, the Bible will clearly state it. Since “what God tells us through the Bible is consistent,” plants must have been made, otherwise the word “created” would have been used as in Genesis 1:21. Please also note that plants have seeds, which can be used for reproduction.
3. The sun, moon and stars were made on the fourth day
“Then God said, “Let there be lights (H3974) in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years; and let them be for lights (H3974) in the expanse of the heavens to give light (H215, verb) on the earth”; and it was so. God made the two great lights
(H3974), the greater light (H3974) to govern the day, and the lesser light (H3974) to govern the night; He made the stars also. God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light (H216) from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day (H3117).”(Genesis 1:14-19)
These scriptures explain the purpose of making light bodies. The original word for “light” is H216. We discussed this last time. Basically, what is being made (H6213) now are light bodies (H3974), namely the sun, moon and stars. By using the word “made” we know that the sun, moon and stars had already been created (H1254) and existed in the previous world, so we will not discuss this further here.
4. Creation of birds and fish on the fifth day
“Then God said, “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.” God created (H1254) the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.”(Genesis 1:20-23)
Birds and fish are created, not made, and God blesses birds and fish to multiply. Isn’t this the same principle as the ability of plants to reproduce? The principle of separation “after their kind” is mentioned again here and repeated again and again.
5. Making animals on the sixth day
“Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind”; and it was so. God made (H6213) the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.”(Genesis 1:24-25)
God first created a good living environment for people to live in, and then created humans, which we will share next time. That is, we will share what happened on the sixth day in two parts. Regarding the point of planning a good environment in advance, we can see it from the following verses, ““The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old. “From everlasting I was established, From the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth. …Then I was beside Him, as a master workman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him, Rejoicing in the world, His earth, And having my delight in the sons of men.”(Proverbs 8:22-31) We see that God created our world in order, otherwise how could it be possible that “…I have given every green plant for food…”(Genesis 1:30) So the green plants had to be made first. From the third day to the sixth day when He created the animals, God said that they were good. It was not until man was created (H1254) that God said, “…it was very good. …”(Genesis 1:31)
We don’t know exactly how God left behind the plants and animals he created, but based on current technology, we know that it is possible. For example, as long as the seeds of a plant are well preserved and can germinate, it will be fine. So now we have seed banks that preserve seeds of various different plants. And what about animals? As long as their deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is preserved, they can replicate. Of course, the technology for replicating entire individuals using DNA is not yet mature, and perhaps it will never be mature enough. But even if it matures, it is only a copy, and the creation of the previous world is something we cannot do. Of course, this is just speculation, and we don’t know exactly how God did it.
(Verses refer to those in NASB95 unless otherwise specified.)
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