The Holy Bible

1. The beginning of this world's history. This first verse functions as a title, and contradicts the theory of evolution as an explanation of origins.

2. The only one who could pass this information on to Adam was the Creator Himself; the Author is identifying Himself. Adam certainly developed a written form for the language God gave him, and he would have made a written record of everything the Creator told him about the beginning of this planet. If Enoch wrote (Jude 14), it was because Adam wrote first, and all those writings were in Noah's Ark, to be delivered to Moses in due time.

3. Revelation 21:1 states that this world as we know it is "the first earth", which disproves the 'gap theory'. However, this phrase, “without form and void”, is one of the arguments used in defense of that theory. Aside from the pressure exerted by the theory of evolu-tion (which is scientifically impossible), it was the discovery of fossils of creatures that no longer exist on earth that motivated that theory: how could we account for those fossils (not recognizing that it was Noah’s flood that created them)? It is possible to translate the verb ‘create’ (in v. 1) as ‘recreate’, and so it was argued that a former earth had been destroyed, and then God created a new one. Use was also made of Ezekiel 28:13, “You were in Eden, the garden of God”. Although verse 12 addresses the king of Tyre, the following descript-tion is not of a man, “you were the anointed cherub who covers” (v. 14). They argued that the first world was Lucifer’s ‘garden’, but when he rebelled, God destroyed it, resulting in the “without form and void”. Since all fossils are in sedimentary rocks, that were a result of Noah’s flood, there is no need for a ‘gap’.

4. “Face of the deep”, “face of the waters”, and verse 10 says that the dry ground “appeared”. And that was after half of the water had been placed above the dome. When something ‘appears’ it is usually small, compared to the surrounding situation. Apparently, the surface of the globe was mostly water, at the beginning.

5. How could there have been light before the creation of the sun? “God is light”, 1 John 1:5, and He resides “in unapproachable light”, 1 Timothy 6:16. It was just a matter of using a little of His light.

6. On the fourth day God created the sun "to rule the day", but the day already existed; that is why the Text says "day one". If there was light and darkness, then the earth was already rotating on its axis, and there was a centralized source of light.

7. The dome was solid and translucent [perhaps frozen hydrogen]. It had to be solid to withstand the weight of the water; and it had to be translucent to let the sunlight through. Half of the water now on earth was above the dome, and served to filter the harmful rays that come from the sun: ultraviolet and infrared. That is why men and animals lived longer, and reached greater size, before the Flood, when the dome was destroyed.

8. The dome defined the nature of this world from the beginning until the Flood. Perhaps that is why a whole day is dedicated to it, although creating the dome, and moving half of the water above it, was a major undertaking.

9. 'Seed' and 'fruit' are emphasized, perhaps because they represent food, but presumably every type of vegetation was created that day. Before the Flood, all birds, animals and people were herbivorous, so it was necessary to create the vegetation first, so they would have something to eat.

10. Since the dome was translucent, men looking up would not even know of its existence, seeing the sun, moon and stars normally. To them the luminaries would simply be in the heaven.

11. The Text does not say how far above the surface of the earth the dome was, but it was evidently farther up than any bird can fly.

12. Evidently there was a variety of such creatures, but we are not given any details.

13. I wonder why the fish and birds were created before the animals, but the Text does not say.

14. Hebrews 11:3 says: “By faith we understand that the ages were created by a word from God, so that the things that are seen were made out of things invisible”. Just so: in this account of the Creation “God said” occurs six times in creative acts (it occurs twice more giving orders to created things, and once God talking to Himself). Why the emphasis on the spoken word? God could have done it all just with His thought. Consider: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21); “By your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:37, Sovereign Jesus speaking). There are many texts that indicate the importance of language, spoken and written, and the need to make responsible use thereof. And there are numerous passages that record how a human being brought about a manifestation of God’s power by speaking. God gave us the example when He created our world and our race.

15. The verb is plural, which agrees with the doctrine of the Trinity. Looking back, we can see some veiled references in the OT, the clearest perhaps being Isaiah 48:16, which mentions all three persons. The doctrine was defined by the glorified Christ in Matthew 28:19: "As you go, make disciples of all ethnic nations: baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." Our Lord defined the Trinity here. According to Greek grammar, the use of 'and' plus the definite article with a series of items makes it clear that the items are distinct entities. So then, "the Father" is different from "the Son" who is different from "the Holy Spirit". So we have three persons. But Jesus also said, "the name", singular, not ‘names’. Therefore, we have only one name. God is one 'name', or essence, subsisting in three persons. This baptism is to be adminis-tered into the name of the Trinity, which represents a new revelation concerning the nature of God. It also represents a new 'religion', very different from those that were known until then. In the Old Testa-ment we have veiled references, which looking back we can associate with the Trinity, but here we have the first clear statement about it. (To read more about this baptism, please see my article, 'Baptisms in the Bible', available on my website: www.prunch.org, but also in the appendix.)

16. God turned the administration of this world over to the human race, which means that we are responsible for what happens down here, or would be, except for the Fall. Calamitously, when Adam followed Satan’s word, he turned that administration over to Satan. When testing Jesus, Satan showed Him the kingdoms of the world and said: “To you I will give all this authority, and their glory, because it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I want to” (Luke 4:6). And Jesus did not contradict him. However, as a result of Christ’s victory with the cross and the resurrection, Satan was demo-ted. But for His sovereign purposes, God still allows Satan and his demons to function in this world, and it is up to us to stop them: something we can do only by using Christ’s power. Further, it appears that the choices that people make do make a difference in what the enemy can do. In a country where the people serve Satan, a boss demon is in control and the demons can act freely. In a country where the people serve God, a boss angel is in control, and the demonic activity is limited.

17. In 1 Corinthians 11:7 Paul quotes this text with precision. He uses the Greek word meaning 'male', unambiguously. That verse states further that the male is the ‘glory’ of God, while the woman is the ‘glory’ of man.

18. The woman was not created on the sixth day, but some time later. Since verses 28 to 30 were addressed to the couple, they must have been spoken after the creation of the woman. The animals and the male were created on the sixth day.

19. Before the Flood, all animals were herbivorous, and so were humans. It was after the Flood that God authorized the eating of flesh, but not of blood, Genesis 9:3-4.