According to the biblical description, on the third day of the act of creation, God created the earth. And in seven days he created the whole world and man. This act is one of the fundamental tenets of the Jewish and Christian faith.
The story of how God created the earth and heaven is found in the first book of the Bible, which is called Genesis. But the interpretations of it among believers and non-believers are very different from each other. About this, and also in detail about how many days God created the earth, man and the world, we will talk further in the article.
On the error of literal reading
The one who reads the Holy Scriptures without thinking much about its essence, that is, trying to perceive it in literally, can be very perplexing. John Chrysostom wrote about this. This is what the clergy say today.
They warn that it is necessary to analyze biblical texts, taking into account the fact that the Bible is not a textbook and does not present scientific truths. It has a religious look, as well as an allegorical aspect.
Taking into account these remarks, we will try to consider chapter 1 of the biblical book "Genesis", which tells how much God created the earth, sky, man, plants and animals. Although the narrative is quite simple in form, its content is not always easy to understand.
Creation: the first three days
The first chapter of Genesis begins by saying that God first created the earth and the heavens. And this picture looked like this: the Earth was empty and waterless, there was darkness over the abyss, and the Spirit of God was flying over the water. Then the following happened.
On the 1st day, God willed that there be light, and it appeared. This pleased the Almighty, and he divided the light and the darkness. He called the light day and the darkness he called night.
On the 2nd day, God commanded that a firmament be formed in the middle of the expanse of water, and it separated the water that was above the firmament from that that was under it. And the firmament was in the middle of the water, and was called heaven.
The story of the third day of creation tells how God created the earth. The water that was under the heavens flowed in one place, and dry land appeared, which God called earth. Then the Creator issued a command that the earth should grow all kinds of greenery and grass, yielding seed according to its kind and likeness, as well as fruitful trees. And all this happened.
Creation of luminaries and animals
On the 4th day, the Lord created luminaries in the firmament of heaven, so that they would illuminate the earth. And also to separate day from night, produce signs, mark times, days and years.
On the fifth day, at the direction of the Lord, the water produced reptiles, birds that flew above the earth, along the firmament. Then God created big fish and all sorts of animals.
Having considered what the Scriptures say about how God created the earth, the sky, the stars and planets, birds and animals, let's move on to
In the image and likeness
And God decided to create man in his own image and likeness. And made him lord over marine fish and over the birds of the sky. And also over beasts, cattle, over all the earth and creeping reptiles on it. And the Almighty created a man and a woman and, having blessed them, commanded that they be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and rule over the animal world.
After six days, the Almighty looked at everything he had created and decided that it was very good. At the beginning of the second chapter of Genesis, it is said that on the seventh day the Creator rested, that is, he rested from his work. He blessed the seventh day by making it holy.
Having outlined the biblical events that tell how God created the earth and the world around it, as well as man and animals, let's move on to the question of interpreting the act of creation.
Creation from nothing
When reading the ancient narrative, at a first approximation it may seem that it contradicts modern ideas related to science. But, as already mentioned, the Bible is not a textbook on any natural science discipline. And it does not describe how God created the earth from a physical, scientific point of view.
But, as the fathers say christian church, it contains one of the important religious truths, which says that it was God who created the world and he did it out of nothing. It is very difficult for human consciousness to understand this truth, based on its life experience, because creation is beyond our experience.
Even among the ancient philosophers, there were opinions that the Creator and his creation are one and the same, and the world is an emanation of God. He "poured out" into this world, thus forming physical reality. Thus, God is everywhere - this is the opinion of the pantheists.
Other philosophers - dualists - believed that God and matter existed in parallel, and the Creator created the world from eternal matter. Atheists deny the existence of God in principle, they argue that there is only matter.
We will consider the explanation of the supporters of the first of the above versions.
1 day is like 1000 years
According to the story Holy Scripture, God created the earth, the whole world, the universe from nothing. He did this through his Word, Almighty power and Divine will. The act of creation is not instantaneous, one-time, it proceeds in time. Although the Bible refers to 7 days of creation, a day here is not equal to 24 hours, our earthly day. Here we are talking about other time periods. After all, as mentioned above, the luminaries appeared only on the fourth day.
In the second Cathedral of Peter It is said that the Word of God proclaims to us that with the Lord 1 day is like 1000 years, and 1000 years is like 1 day. That is, God is outside our understanding of time, so it is not possible to judge how long the act of creation took.
However, the following is clear from the biblical texts. In the Lord himself says: "Behold, I make all things new." That is, the act of creation is not finished yet, it continues in an invisible and incomprehensible way for us. God maintains with his energy the structure of the Universe in a state of balance and vitality.
One of the reasons people reject the notion of a young universe is because they believe it limits God in some way. After all, what, then, was He doing all the time before creation? This question reflects the initial misunderstanding of God and the concept of time.
One day a man came up to me and found out about my idea of a young age of the universe. He said: “If you believe that she is young, then what was God doing all the time before creation?”
I asked: "What time do you mean?"
He replied: “It makes no sense to say that always, and He created the world only six thousand years ago.” Obviously, he was worried about the fact that God had plenty of time and nothing to do with Him.
I began to explain that it was not logical to ask what God was doing before creation, if He always existed. It doesn't matter how much time passed before creation; an infinite amount of time has passed up to this point anyway. So even if the universe were billions, trillions, or quadrillions of years old, you could still ask the same question.
Time was created at the same time as the universe
Studies in this verse show that God created time, space, and matter on the first day of creation week. None of these concepts existed in isolation from the others. God created the universe with space-mass-time. Space and matter must exist in time, and space and matter are necessary for the existence of time. Time only matters if there are physical objects and events occurring in time.
“In the beginning…” and time began! Time didn't exist until it was created!
God exists regardless of time and the universe
When I explain this to children, I do it in the following way. There was no "before" creation. There was not even "nothing"! There was only God existing in eternity.
This is something that humans, limited created beings, can never fully understand. That is why the Bible makes it clear that understanding God always requires faith. Biblical faith is not contrary to reason, but it surpasses our understanding.
“And without faith it is impossible to please God; For whoever comes to God must believe that He exists, and reward those who seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).
In Psalm 89:3 we read: “Before the mountains were born, and You formed the earth and the universe, and from everlasting to everlasting You are God”.
So what was “before” creation? God has existed from ages to ages—God has existed for eternity.
Do you remember what God said to Moses when he asked Him whom He would send to lead His people out of Egyptian bondage?
God answered Moses: “I am the Being. And he said, So say to the children of Israel: Jehovah [Jehovah] has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:14).
God is the great "Being." He exists in eternity, and He was not created.
In Revelation 1:8 we read: “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, says the Lord, who is and was and is to come, the Almighty”.
Isaiah 43:10 records these words of God: “But you are My witnesses, says the Lord, and My servant, whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me, and understand that it is I: there was no God before Me, and there will be no after Me.”.
In other words, it would be a mistake to talk about what God did "before creation" because the very concept of time (before, during, and after) only arose on Day 1 of Creation Week. God exists—He exists—and He exists in eternity. He is outside of time.
God wanted us to know His plan for history, from beginning to end.
Then, in the 5th and 11th chapters of the book of Genesis, the exact genealogy of the lineage of Christ is set forth. It says here that Adam was 130 years old when he begot Seth. When Seth was one hundred and five years old, he begat Enos - and the list continues in the same way. If you add up all the dates and other references to time throughout Scripture, it becomes clear that the "beginning" ... was about six thousand years ago.
Some Christian leaders claim that the Bible does not give a clear date for creation, so we cannot know for sure how many years ago it happened. Of course, the Bible does not give an exact date of creation. After all, if the Bible said that the creation took place six thousand years ago, and the Bible itself was completed about 2000 years ago, then this would mean that the creation is already 8000 years old! The Bible also does not use terms such as "BC" or "AD" because these terms are man-made based on the birth date of Jesus Christ.
However, the Bible gives us something even better than the exact date.. It gives us a clear account of history, which allows us not only to determine the age of the universe, but also to know everything. important details related to God's plan of redemption from the beginning of time, including details of the lineage of the promised Christ.
And one last thought: none of the passages in the Bible suggests that the age of creation can be millions or billions of years. Belief in millions of years of history is part of a man-made worldly religion; a religion that tries to explain the origin of life without God, instead of believing in the true story of Genesis that starts with "In the beginning..."
Our ability to believe God's promise of salvation depends entirely on our ability to believe everything He says about history, from the very beginning to the very end. If we are unable to trust what He says about the past, how can we trust His promises for the future?
Fortunately, we serve a God whom we can trust in everything. And although He transcends space and time, He humbled Himself by becoming a man to die on the cross for our sins. He has also given us in His Word an accurate account of history so that we know what the truth is.
Ken Ham He is the founder and president of the organization "Answers in Genesis". He has authored and edited many books on the authority of God's Word and the impact of evolutionary thinking on our culture. Among these books is his recently published bestseller Already Lost.
The process of God's creation of the world is considered the starting point in almost all religions of the world. In Christianity, the main tenets of both Christianity and Judaism rest on it. In our article, we will consider the question of how God created the earth in the Christian tradition, and also describe all the stages of the creation of the world by day.
The main biblical book interpreting the creation of the world is considered to be the First Book of Moses "Genesis". Its first two chapters describe in detail the six days of the creation of the earth, sky, water, flora and fauna, and finally, man. In addition, references to the creation of the world can be found in the Book of Job, the Book of Proverbs of Solomon, the Psalter, as well as in the books of the prophets. Partial descriptions of the creation of the world are also found in the books of the New Testament and some books Old Testament, which are not considered canonical. In our article, we will rest on the first two chapters of Genesis, created by Moses, who is considered the founder of the Old Testament Pentateuch.
In the Middle Ages, the description of the creation of the world was interpreted both literally and non-literally. For example, Basil the Great in his Six Days wrote about the actual creation of the world during six 24-hour days, and the theologian Augustine argued that creation should be understood only allegorically. In modern theology, the literal interpretation of the creation of the world has been abandoned due to many scientific research who confirmed the age of the Universe and life on Earth with real numbers that contradict biblical texts. It is generally accepted that the creation of the world and man is a cosmogonic myth that can only be interpreted from the point of view of artistic writing.
Six days of creation
So, how is the creation of the world described in the biblical books? Let's look at each day step by step:
- Day 1 In Genesis, the beginning of creation represents the creation of the earth by God. The earth was empty, lifeless, lying in bottomless darkness, but on its surface there was water, over which God's Spirit hovered. Seeing that darkness covers everything around, God created light and separated it from darkness, thereby creating day and night.
- Day 2. Since the earth was lifeless, God needed to create the sky, which in "Genesis" is called "the firmament." The airspace, according to God's plan, was to separate the water that is under the firmament from the water that is above the firmament, that is, in this way God delimited the near-earth and near-heaven space. The atmosphere of the planet was created.
- Day 3. The following creations of God are usually called land, seas and flora. Having collected all the water in certain places, God created the seas, and called the land that appeared land. The earth brought forth its fruits: greenery, grass that produced seeds, fertile trees, seeds from whose fruits fell to the ground and grew again.
- Day 4. On this day the sun, stars and moon were created by God. These "lamps" were needed to control day and night, as well as to determine days, years and times. According to God's idea, "lamps" were also supposed to be conductors of various signs.
- Day 5. To see how God created the world, just read the description of the fifth day in Genesis. It was marked by the creation of the kingdom of fish, reptiles and birds, which God commanded to be fruitful and multiply, filling the water and the sky.
- Day 6. The last day of the creation of the world was devoted to the creation of the animal world and man himself. When God created "cattle, reptiles and beasts of the earth", he decided to put his crown of creation - man - over all this. How did God create man? He made him in his image and likeness from the dust of the earth, blowing into his face the Breath of Life. Having created Paradise in the east, he settled a man there and ordered him to cultivate and keep the Garden of Eden, to give names to all animals and birds. How did God create woman? When a man asked God to create a helper for him, God put him to sleep and, taking a rib out of his body, created a woman. The man clung to her with his soul and since then has never parted.
Thus, within six days God conceived and created the earth, animals and people. God blessed the seventh day as a day off, on which, according to Christian tradition, one should not engage in physical labor, but should be dedicated to God.
We are only told half of the story because the second half has become uncomfortable. Adam and Eve were not the first to be created by God. real story such that Eve was second. The God of the Torah had previously created one woman, but that was not Eve. He created Adam and one woman. Her name is Lilith. And she was created just like Adam - from the earth, or rather from humus - mud, clay ... But she did not agree to be a slave of the male chauvinist Adam, she had her own opinion and then conflicts began ... They quarreled all night , fought with pillows ;-) - the first skirmish - and ... and the next day God had to remove this woman. Since then, there has been no real woman. The real woman had to be removed.). Then Eve was created, but not as an independent being; it was created from a rib removed from Adam's body. Now she will be addicted. She will be just a part. The first woman was the only independent woman. There was no question that she was shorter and Adam was taller. But the second woman was lower from the start; she is only a small rib (and the rib, as you know, is the only bone in a person where there is no brain ...... ;-))) ..), taken from Adam's body, nothing more; it is only a part, not the whole. From this point begins the degradation of women. The fall of Adam came later, but the degradation of the woman, her slavery began with this: God took the real woman, the Woman, back. This God also had a male chauvinist mind. Why doesn't he tell him that you are both equal, that there is no need to fight? He must have been a real Jew, or rather, he is just a projection of the minds that created him .... I'm trying to tell you: God could not create equality between a man and a woman, could not make them feel comfortable in coexistence , without anyone's power play. Naturally, he himself is a man - he himself is a power-hungry man, read just what he said later to Moses: "may you have no other gods before my face", "I will be a god to you and your children" and so on ..... He did not remove Adam. He took a woman, annihilated her, just finished her off. And the second woman is a false woman, a pseudo-woman, a slave. From the very beginning, God made it so that the second woman was a pseudo-woman. So history shows that Eve was never meant to be equal. How can a part be equal to the whole? But when you put someone in a subordinate position, absolutely unfair, dishonest, there must be a rebellion. The people who made up this story must not have realized what they were making up. The woman must have carried great anger because of this offense.... The woman must have wanted to somehow show God: "If you can be dishonest, then I can also destroy what you are trying to create" . She is going to rebel. Christians and Jews have made the Serpent very important in this story. But that's just an excuse. The main thing is that at the moment when you are trying to strengthen slavery, subordination, you are sowing the seeds of revolution, rebellion. This is a riot. Why couldn't the serpent persuade Adam? It would be much easier, because a man is considered more intelligent, more rational, more adventurous, more selfish. And all these qualities could help the serpent, the devil, excite Adam against the orders of God - provoke him to rebellion, to disobedience. And this seems absolutely logical, corresponding to the psychology of any living being. A woman has never rebelled in the history of man. In fact, rebelled, and repeatedly, only a man. The woman almost never rebelled, massively - never. But the first woman was rebellious, and the devil found it easier to persuade the woman... which was wrong, absolutely wrong, because all the religions of the world are supported not by a man, but by a woman. Woman, backbone of all religions of the world. It is always more sensual than logical...always more faithful than free. If she supported someone, then this is a priest, not a devil; it is God, not the devil. Man is only a superficial support of religion - very insignificant. It does not have a deep connection with religion. But the woman around the world, in all religions is the main support. Otherwise all these religions would have disappeared. Therefore, there are only two possibilities: either these religions come from the devil, which seems to be a natural conclusion from this story - all these religions are nothing but the strategies of the devil, and he still continues the old trick of manipulating a woman, and through her, a man, - or this whole story is made up to condemn a woman. Those who invented this story invented it to condemn a woman: she is dangerous, she can very easily come to terms with the devil - a man must be aware of this ... Now in this story too: a man remains on the sidelines, is not really responsible for sin. The real responsibility lies with the woman. The serpent seduces her mind. And in the East (India, China, Tibet, Indochina) they think about snakes in a completely different way. They are not a symbol of the devil; only in Christianity and Judaism is the serpent a symbol of the devil. In the East, a snake is the wisest animal on earth.... But liars, or rather hypocrites, invented this story: the devil appeared in the form of a snake and seduced the mind of Eve, provoked her to rebellion. God said not to eat from two trees: the tree of knowledge and the tree of life. If you are impartial, without prejudice, then tell me, who harms a person, God or the devil? God removes man from knowledge. And when you are cut off from knowledge, then who are you if not a vegetable: a pumpkin or a vegetable marrow?.... It simply cuts you off from knowledge. And this was the idea of God: to constantly keep a person in the state of a vegetable, a plant. Of course, vegetables don't rebel. Vegetables are dependent. Knowledge is dangerous. Mind is dangerous. If you look without prejudice, you will see that the biblical serpent is man's friend, not his enemy. And even in this story, he fulfills the Eastern concept of wisdom, although the people who invented this story did not think that such an interpretation was possible. The snake is not the devil. Here he is very similar to the Greek Prometheus, who gave people Fire, and Jehovah - to the greedy Zeus. The very word "devil" must be understood. It comes from the same Sanskrit (Proto-Indo-European language) root as the word "wonderful" (wonderful, divine). Therefore, "devil" and "wonderful" have similar meanings. Behind them both is one Sanskrit root; in Sanskrit it becomes the word "deva", in Russian "wonderful" and "devil". In fact, the Russian language is very existential, it is close to Prakrit ... Now again that part of this story that is not told in churches ... The devil in the same Bible was at first an angel, a wondrous, divine being, like other angels continuing to sing hallelujah to God. His name is Lucifer - the Lightbringer ... He stopped singing hallelujah to God - he must have been the most intelligent angel - and began to raise questions, questions that have no answer, because if God were able to answer these questions, then not it would be necessary to cast the devil out of heaven. What kind of God is this... he cannot answer the question, but he can create everything that exists? He must know everything, because he is the creator of everything. And if a certain angel asks questions, they should be welcomed. But God appears as a great dictator, despot. No questions - he only gives commandments: do this, don't do this, but no questions. As in the army, in the charter of paradise it is probably written: p.1 God is always right p.2 if God is wrong, see p.1 .... ;-))) Asking why is not for you. Do or die, don't ask why... And this angel starts asking why. As a consequence of this, he is overthrown. This is the angel who is condemned under the name of the devil, Satan, and under other names. And this is the devil who put the idea into Eve's mind: "God is afraid that if you taste from the tree of knowledge and the tree of life, you will become equal to God, and he does not want anyone equal to himself. He wants to remain superior, the highest, the only one who knows, the only one who understands, the only one who gives commandments. He is very envious, he does not want to have rivals." "I am a jealous God ..." - this is how he, Jehovah, speaks of HIMSELF in the Torah. "But if you do not taste from these two trees, you will never know what is life. You will never be able to explore this mysterious and beautiful existence,” continued the serpent. Why did he choose Eve? Why did he not choose Adam? That would have been more direct, but there was a reason. "This angel was cast down because he asked, because he doubted. He understands that Eve is suffering because God was very unkind and inhumane towards her. She was created a slave from birth. She cannot become independent, so deep inside she carries the possibility of rebellion. Adam has nothing to say against God. In fact, he enjoys God's favor, because when he quarreled with the first woman. God took her back. He is the chosen one, truly the only begotten son of God. He is special. For his sake, God destroyed a woman.For his sake, he created another woman, subordinate to him in every way ... Therefore, it would be difficult to plant the idea of \u200b\u200brebellion in the mind of a man.He has a fundamental interest in domination the top, the unshakable foundations of the world order. God is the establishment, the ruling elite - priests and politicians, and this elite respects him. Why should he rebel? For rebellion, you need to look for someone who is discontented, who has a wound inflicted by God. And here the Serpent shows his wisdom, his understanding... For centuries, the woman has been the most exploited, the most repressed in the whole world - she has been subjected to inhumane treatment by everyone... Even Buddha, Rama, Krishna, Mahavira, and especially the biblical prophets and saints Christianity - everyone somehow condemned her, or put her after and below men, what to say about ordinary people? She suffered the most... and the suffering was so long that she completely forgot that there was some other way. I suspect, I think that actually the Serpent was wise....