Articles

Introduction

Johnpaul Humphrey

Box 1: Creation

By Johnpaul Humphrey


How did we get here?
The first book of the Bible, Genesis1 answers that question:
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1, WEB) Everything, including us, was created by God.

On day one, he created light and time.
On day two, he created the Sky which separated the water into two parts2 one under, and one above.
On day three, God brought land out of the water, and created plants.
On day four, God created the Sun, Moon, and Stars to keep track of time.
On day five, God created Fish and Birds
On day six, God created land Animals, and he created Humans. God created Marriage on day six.

God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. (Genesis 1:31a) When God created the Universe, there was nothing bad in it. Death did not exist and life was supported by the presence of the Tree of Life, which would cause one to live forever (Genesis 3:22).

God gave mankind a few commands, one of which was: The LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die." (Genesis 2:16-17). Mankind disobeyed God, and ate of the fruit of the tree of the knoweldge of good and evil. As a result, man was expelled from the garden, and from the Tree of Life. Separated from the Tree of Life, Man began to die. Creation not only explains the way the world started, it explains why the world has problems. It has problems because we sinned. When man fell from the Garden, it was the darkest day in history. Never before had man lost anything. In the midst of the gloom, God made a promise to the snake who had deceived Eve. I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel. (Genesis 3:15)
Scholars call this passage, "Protoevangelium"3 It is the first recorded prophecy of Jesus.

The Old testament tracks the lineage of Christ, and sets the stage for his coming. Jesus was born of a virgin (The seed of the woman), and was killed on a cross (the bruising of the heel) for our sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day. He crushed Satan (bruising of the head), and triumphed over death. Jesus is the fullfilment of this prophecy! There is more, though. The Tree of Life appears again in Revelation, This time on both sides of the river. Blessed are those who do his commandments,that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter in by the gates into the city. (Revelation 22:14) We who obey God, and are in Christ, have right to the Tree of Life! Anyone who follows God's plan of Salvation has right to the Tree of Life. Creation shows the way things were, it shows us why things are the way they are, and it shows us the way things will be!


Footnotes
  1. Genesis, from the greek word Γενεσις means "Origin, source, beginning" Liddell-Scott, page 341
  2. Water appears to be present in the Original Earth. A careful examination shows that there was water before their was light. How did God create it? He spoke it into existence. (John 1:3). Some of this water was turned into seas. There are a variety of Ideas about what happened to the other part. Some believe that when the "windows of heaven" were opened the water that was above rained down. Psalms 148 suggest that the waters are still present. There is water in outer space. Perhaps it is from day 2. Some believe this to be talking about clouds.
  3. Greek for "first gospel" see Irenaeus Against Heresies, book V chapter 21
Sources