Questions About the Creation Record of Genesis 1
firstcenturychristian
1. "How long did Adam live in the garden before he "began to die?" How long did he live before Eve was formed from his rib?" These are unanswerable questions. We have no way of knowing the exact measurement of the time involved. Adam existed for a brief period before Eve was formed. In that time he named the animals (Gen. 2:20-21). The first couple enjoyed immortality until the day they ate of the forbidden fruit. The tree of life sustained their immortality(Gen. 3:22). The very day on which they ate, thus violating God’s prohibition (Gen. 2:17), they began to age and deteriorate which eventuated in their death.
6. "How long did all that God had prepared exist and multiply before Adam was formed?" Some, in an attempt to reconcile the Genesis record with the speculations of evolutionary astronomers, try to separate the creation of Genesis 1:1 from the refinement of earth and the creation of life. They do this to allow for the 3-5 billion years astronomers speculate the universe has existed. While such a theory of separation is possible, there is no way to show from God’s Word that such is the case. The Genesis record tells us that Adam was created six days of evening and morning, after the initial creation of earth (Gen. 1:26-31).
3. "Did God instantly create all trees and "green things" fully mature in the garden and all over the world, or did He create them and give them a lot of time to multiply and spread and cover the earth?" We read that God created "swarms of living creatures...birds, great sea-monster, and every living creature that moveth, where with the waters swarmed, after their kind" (Gen. 1:20-21). If he created swams of living things, we would assume that he did the same with the other living things he made, such as trees, shrubs and vegetation. As Adam and Eve were created full-grown, we would assume other life forms were as well.
4. "When God said of the creatures of the water "let them multiply" how long did He allow that to take place across the earth before He brought man into existence?" Moses makes it very clear that the creation events occurred in the successive days of one week. It was evening and morning, one day, etc. When explaining the ordinance of their six day work week and Sabbath Day, Moses said, "For in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore Jehovah blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it" (Ex. 20:11). The birds and sea creatures were created on the fifth day of creation and the animals of the earth and man were made on the sixth day.
5. "What light did God create in Gen.1: 3? How long did it exist before the Sun was created? What purpose did it serve?" It seems that in Genesis 1:1 God created the heavenly bodies including the earth. The succeeding verses tell us how he made our planet habitable for life of all kinds, including man. The light of verse three was the light that He called day in contrast to the darkness of night. In verse 14 he sets forth the fact that the Sun and Moon would be for "Signs, seasons and for days and years..." Thus they are established to regulate life on earth. Some, concluding that our sun and moon were not brought into existence until the fourth day, imagine a conflict between verses 3 and verse 14. Verse one tells when they were created. Verse one tells when light and darkness were divided and the pattern of our 24 hour days were set. Verse 14 further explains the vital function of the sun and moon to life on earth.
7. "Gen. 2:4,5. How long did earth exist before the 'green' things were made?" Plant life was created on the third day of creation (Gen. 1:11-13). So far as it is possible for us to know, that was 72 hours later.
8. "Gen. 2:19,20. How long did it take for Adam to name everything before Eve was formed?"This is a question that no man can answer. There are presently over one million different kind of air-breathing creatures existing on earth. There are as many different forms of aquatic life and plant life. The sheer volume of his task was take several days or weeks. Nothing more can be said, save by speculation.
9. "How much time did Adam and Eve enjoy the garden before Satan came on the scene (Gen. 3:1)? Was it that same hour? same day? same year? same decade? century? millennium?" This again is a question that has no biblical answer. It seems they sinned and were expelled prior to the birth of their first child, Cain. Without concern for or knowledge of how to prevent conception, they likely would have had a child within their first year together as husband and wife.
10. "Do we really need to know the time God chose for all creation? Does it matter? Was there a rush?" We do not need to know the precise moment of time for creation. Nor do we have to be able to answer knotty questions like which day the sun and moon were actually created. We do have to believe what the Bible says. God created the heaven and earth (Gen. 1:1). The Word of God (our Jesus) was vitally involved in the creation (John. 1:1-3). We do have to believe that man is created by God, in his image (Gen.1:26), not a highly evolved animal which is the product of blind evolutionary forces. While we respect and appreciate the many discoveries and benefits which Scientists have made and provided for us, we do not subscribed to their speculations about the origin of the universe and of man. Unbelieving scientists are desperately searching for answers to the question of origins that will allow them to have what we now have without a Higher Power who made it and to whom they are accountable.
Article submitted Thursday, June 04, 2009 & read 131 times.
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