Discover
of Creation
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created
by an act of Love
Genesis One: The Scientific Truth behind Creation
Authored by the Holy Spirit in teamship with teacher and researcher Neill G. Russell
Table of Contents
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Introduction by Neill G. Russell Creation's Missing Puzzle Piece
Truth is simply defined as a fact or a belief that is accepted to be true. I believe that all true scientists are dedicated truth seekers. As a veteran high school science teacher, I thought that I would never teach my students a lesson that wasn't based on proven, thoroughly researched scientific truth of the physical and natural world. As parents, we send our children to school trusting that every subject they are being taught is also 100% factual. In reality, all humanity has been on that same quest for truth. With the advent of the Internet at the end of the 20th Century, there has literally been a 'big bang' explosion of digital information impacting our daily thoughts and decisions. Text messages flash constantly before our eyes. Websites and social media try to answer our longing for connection and clear direction. Which viewpoints are right, and what claims are true? With this vast overload of technological knowledge permeating and inundating every aspect of our daily lives, how can we now discern truth?
Recently, I stopped at a local Panera Bread restaurant for a quick dinner before heading home. While sitting alone at a booth enjoying a bowl of their delicious cream of broccoli soup, I took particular notice of a mother and her young daughter sitting nearby having an engaging conversation. I was seated too far to hear exactly what was being said, but the one thing I noticed was the intimate bond between mother and daughter. It was clearly evident by the expression on her innocent face that this precious little girl trusted and loved her mother with every fiber of her being. She was nurtured from birth with full confidence that her mother only wanted what was best for her and that every word that her mommy spoke was 100% truth.
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Introduction: Creation's Missing Puzzle Piece
My thoughts now turned to the thousands of innocent children I have taught over my long 45-year tenure as a high school science teacher in a public school. Still fixated totally on this mother/daughter relationship, I asked myself if I had truly been teaching 100% scientific truth to my students. In other words, had I been teaching the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? The answer was emphatically, "no". In November of 1987, I found what I now call the missing puzzle piece of truth. The Bible says in John 8:32 , “You shall know the truth and the Truth shall set you free." For over three decades, I have known the scientific truth of the missing puzzle piece, but I kept it to myself out of fear of losing my job. I now repent of this blatant sin of omission. Please forgive me Lord. I will be quiet no longer. Let the TRUTH be known!
Evidence for the Creator has been available in the library of nature for man’s scrutiny “since the creation of the world". Noted scientists of centuries past have proudly acknowledged God as the sole Creator of the universe. Here are a few famous names you might recognize.
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Introduction: Creation's Missing Puzzle Piece
The critics of teaching Genesis 1 in our public schools often cry out this same worn-out mantra, "Accepting the creation model presented in Genesis 1 as scientific fact is not real science. It's simply teaching religion, nothing else!" My answer to these blinded skeptics is simple. Accepting Genesis 1 as fact is far from being anti-science. Science requires you to believe in a stable and predictable world out there that’s open to investigation. Science occurs when you make repeatable observations and check your theories against the cold, hard facts. Let these time-tested, scientific facts speak for themselves. "Our planet was undeniably "created" with great design. It is the perfect size for gravity to be just right for us. Our atmosphere couldn't exist if it were larger or smaller. We are at the perfect distance from the sun. Even a fractional difference and we would be doomed. Our magnetic field shields us from the sun's harmful rays. Our moon is 1/6th of our size, perfect for our tides which cleanse the earth. The sun is 400 times larger than the moon, and exactly 400 times as far away from Earth. This is why eclipses happen. Coincidence? It actually couldn't work if the math was different. Your body is just as amazing. You are made up of billions of cells, each a universe of its own, and each more complicated than the Space Shuttle. The DNA code in your body is a language so complex that if you wrote it out it would fill 48 library shelves." Grace Notes Sermon Ministry Written by Pastor Jerry Shirley
The scientific facts you just read are undeniably true. Even thought the odds of finding a single inhabitable planet in the entire universe that perfectly orbits the right sized star in a “Goldilocks” region of space, where the temperature is just right and liquid water and all the needed chemicals for life can be found, is 700 quintillion to 1, very few scientists would agree with Pastor Shirley's claim that our planet was undeniably "created" with great design. This is called truth and we are not teaching it! Our students need to be taught how to judge which aspects of the knowledge they have been taught are true, lasting, and applicable to their lives. This is called wisdom . Wisdom is ability to apply a dependable, 'time- tested' source of knowledge to all aspects of life.
Introduction: Creation's Missing Puzzle Piece
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Let me give you an easy to understand example of how wisdom works. All wise painters, plumbers and carpenters use a simple device called a plumb line to keep their work straight. A plumb line is a cord or string with a weight attached to one end. A plumb line applies the law of gravity to find right angles, to indicate the most direct route from top to bottom, and to keep things plumb (90 degrees). A plumb line doesn’t change or move. A plumb line always remains true to center. All work must line up with it or risk being crooked.
Today's students are experiencing a literal explosion of digital knowledge and information coming at them from every direction. Their active imaginations are constantly being enticed by alluring advertisements, evolving trends and nonstop media coverage that totally boggles the mind. They live in a world today perfectly described by the Apostle Paul over 2000 years ago as "ever learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth" ( 2 Timothy 3:7). They may grow up to master science, philosophy, mathematics, engineering, debate and other intellectual pursuits, but if they fail to gain the wisdom to discern what really matters most in life, what have they accomplished? The Greek word for “truth” is aletheia , which literally means “hiding nothing.” It conveys the thought that truth is always there, always open and available for all to see, with nothing being hidden or obscured. The Hebrew word for “truth” is isemeth , which means “firmness,” “constancy” and “duration.” Such a definition implies something that is everlasting and can be always be relied upon.
5 Based on these concise meanings of the word "truth", let's take look again at a blatant statement made by the Apostle Paul on God's perspective of mankind's acceptance of the "truth of Genesis 1:1" recorded in Romans 1:18-22 (NLT) . " 18 But God shows His anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. 19 They know the truth about God because He has made it obvious to them. 20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. 21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship Him as God or even give Him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. 22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools." According to the Apostle Paul, if we make an unbiased investigation of the world around us, we can determine the truth of God's existence and His attributes by merely observing the things of nature. In essence, by examining creation we can discover our Creator! Introduction: Creation's Missing Puzzle Piece
"Those that fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it." ~ Winston Churchill
The Bible in its entirety, from cover to cover, from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:2, is mankind's ' Plumb Line of Truth' . (Whether you believe this last statement or not, why do you think it's mankind's all-time, bestselling book?) The Bible teaches us that the God of Genesis 1:1 is the Creator of all things. He alone is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end of all things ( Revelation 21:6-7 ). God exists eternally in a supernatural realm absent from the reality of both space and time. His purpose for creating us is to be eternally united with Him as Our Heavenly Father; enjoying His Glory, His Fullness and His Peace, forever and ever. God has also created each of us with a free will. If we do not recognize Him as God, He will allow us to choose our own direction in life. The power of choice is necessary for any solid relationship. As humans living in a natural world, our finite minds sometimes grapple with such a grandiose declaration, but without this basic understanding of the attributes of our Creator, we will never trust God completely, live for Him confidently and love Him without reservations.
6 Here are seven other Bible verses describing the truth of God's glory as seen through His acts of creation. Psalm 8:1, 3-4 ~ "Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens... When I consider your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, what is mankind that You are mindful of them, human beings that You care for them?" Psalm 19:1 ~ "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands." Psalm 95:3-5 ~ "For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In His hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land." Psalm 104:24-25 ~ "How many are your works, Lord! In wisdom You made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number – living things both large and small." John 1:3 ~ "Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made." Isaiah 40:26 ~ "Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing." In John 14:16-17, Jesus gets to the core of how we humans can fully understand the hidden mysteries of God. "And I will pray to the Father, and He will give you another Helper, —"the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you." For the first thirty-five years of my life, I was a pagan. Up until then, reading Genesis One was complete nonsense to me. Like the vast majority of mankind, past and present, I was always increasing my knowledge, but my knowledge was finite and my ignorance was infinite. That all changed at a Sunday morning church service in November of 1987. The moment this hardheaded Jew* totally submitted his stubborn will over to the Creator of the universe, repenting of his self-serving, self-indulging sins, making Jesus ( Yeshua in Hebrew) his Lord and Savior, God's Holy Spirit entered my being. The 'spiritual blinders' preventing me from accepting the 31 verses recorded in Genesis One as scientific truth soon vanished. Introduction: Creation's Missing Puzzle Piec e
* My birth name was Neill Greenspan. I was born to Jewish parents, Marvin Greenspan and Selma Kaufman. I was adopted by my stepfather, Sherman Russell in 1963 and my name was officially changed to Neill G. Russell. Today, I am a Messianic Jew - A Jew who has made Yeshua his Lord and Savior.
7 InMatthew 7:7, Jesus (Yeshua) implores all those seeking truth to A.S.K ; • " A sk , and it will be given to you; • Seek , and you will find; • Knock , and it will be opened to you." Introduction: Creation's Missing Puzzle Piece
Remember the story I shared about the little girl at the restaurant who had total trust in her mother? If that same child had any reason to doubt her mother's love for her or if her mom was not always there to provide for all of her needs, then their mother/daughter relationship would be over. In the same way, Satan, the god of this world ( 2 Corinthians 4:4 ) has sown seeds of doubt in the minds of millions of innocent school-aged children throughout the world that God is not their Creator, their sole provider, their Alpha and Omega. Unfortunately, these same children are not learning about the one missing puzzle piece of scientific truth that will set them free to live a fulfilled life, but I have some good news to share! For the first time ever, you can discover for yourself the missing puzzle piece of indescribable scientific truth recorded in the first sentence of Genesis One, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" . Using easy to understand graphics, Genesis One, The Scientific Truth Behind Creation will: • supply you with the "in depth" scientific knowledge and truth behind each of the six days of creation. • explain how God created the universe, the earth, and all living things in exactly 6 literal, 24 hour days. • explain how God created all living things, including man, not by evolution, but by encoding each separate species with His intricately 'planned design' , DNA, from the beginning of time (Jeremiah 1:5) .
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Chapter One Genesis Chapter One - Creation Day One Verse 1 Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. "
"When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” Conan Doyle, Author of Sherlock Holmes As a teacher, I would always begin each new lesson with an engaging question that would literally "grab" my students' attention (a picture of my classroom above). Now, as your author/teacher, before I introduce you, the reader, to some of the most difficult/confusing scientific concepts ever presented, I will begin this first chapter with some questions that will challenge you to think beyond your present understanding of Genesis 1. Are you ready? Let's begin. The opening line of a book is usually the hook that draws you in and some authors have created unforgettable ones. 1. Think back to some of your favorite books you have read in the past. Can you name your favorite book's author and recall the book's opening line? 2. Consider all of the popular books ever written throughout time, both fiction and non-fiction. Can you name one or more of the three most popular books and each book's author? 3. Can you quote the opening line from any of these three popular books? 4. Can you name the most popular book ever read/written? 5. Can you quote the opening line of the most popular book ever read? 6. Can you name the author of the most popular book ever read? The answers are listed on page 9 .
Creation Day 1 : In the Beginning God Created..
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1. The name of the most popular book ever written is
T he Bible. According to all gathered statistics, the Bible is the world's #1 best-selling and most widely distributed book. A survey by the Bible Society concluded that around 2.5 billion copies were printed between 1815 and 1975, but more recent estimates put the number at more than 5 billion. The world's current population is 7.6 billion people. According to Biblical scholars, the first five books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy), the Torah, were dictated directly by God to Moses on Mt Sinai (around 1,300 B.C.) and recorded in Hebrew on paper scrolls. (The authors of the New Testament—and even Jesus himself—credit Moses as the author of Genesis). The Latin Bible was first book ever to be set into type and copied on a printing press invented in 1455 by Johann Gutenberg. The Bible has been translated into many languages from the biblical languages of Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. As of September 20 20 the full Bible has been translated into 704 languages, the New Testament alone into 1,5 5 1 languages and Bible portions or stories into 1,1 60 other languages. So, let’s go back to my earlier questions. 2. The opening line of the most popular book ever written is "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." 3. The name of the author of the most popular book ever written is God. When Google first launched its ambitious Google Books project by digitizing every book ever written, they counted around 130 million books. That was in 2010, and other sources suggest that about 2 million books are printed worldwide every year, putting that estimate currently at about 146 million.
Even with these updated numbers, the Bible still remains in the number one position as humanity's most demanded book over the past 50 years with "Quotations from the Works of Mao Tse-tung" and "Harry Potter" coming in at a distant second and third.
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Creation Day 1: In the Beginning God Created..
As a teacher of high school science (astronomy, biology and earth science) and a passionate advocate of truth, it's difficult for me to think of any piece of literature more supportive of science's explanation of the universe's beginning than the opening line of the most popular book ever written, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Unfortunately, as I expressed the introduction, this missing puzzle piece of scientific truth, "In the beginning, God created", is not being taught to students in our public schools. The biggest unanswered question to me (and millions of other truth seekers) is, why isn't it?
Research shows that the human mind is prone to making errors in thinking, predictable mistakes that cause us to believe comfortable lies over inconvenient truths. These errors leave us vulnerable to making decisions based on false beliefs, leading to disastrous consequences for our personal lives, relationships, careers and for our society as a whole. Now, let's go back again to a statement I made earlier in the introduction. I made a claim that Satan, ‘the god of this world' ( 2 Corinthians 4:4 ) , has sown the seeds of doubt, that God is not the Creator, into the minds of millions of innocent school-age children. The big question is, how did he do it? Before I answer that all important question, let's open the Bible and find out who Satan really is.
Satan is not the counterpart to God. God has no challenger. Satan is a created being who has only the power God allows him to have for only as long as God allows it ( Isaiah 14:12 ; Luke 22:31 ; Revelation 12:12 ).
The Bible gives us a clear portrait of who Satan is and how he affects our daily lives. His very name means ' adversary ' or ' one who opposes ' truth . Creation Day 1: In the Beginning God Created..
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• Ezekiel 28:12-14 describes Satan as having been created a cherub, the highest created angel in heaven. He became arrogant in his beauty and status and conceived a plan to overthrow God as the ruler of heaven. • ( Isaiah 14:13-14; Ezekiel 28:15; 1 Timothy 3:6 ). Because of his prideful sin, God permanently removed Satan from his exalted position in heaven and cast him down to the E arth along with 1/3 of the heavenly angels who conspired along with him. • ( Revelation 12:9 ). Even though Satan was cast out of heaven, he still counterfeits all that God does through mistrust, jealousy and division , hoping one day to gain the worship of the entire world. • In John 8:44 (NIV), Jesus (Yeshua) say this about the character of Satan. "He (Satan) was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." Lying is the primary weapon of deceit that Satan uses to separate people from God, their heavenly Father and Creator. The apostle Paul tells us that Satan “masquerades as an angel of light” ( 2 Corinthians 11:14) , so that what he says and does sounds good and seems reasonable, but there is absolutely no truth in anything he says. Satan told the first lie in recorded history to Eve, in the Garden of Eden. After planting seeds of doubt in Eve’s mind with a question ( Genesis 3:1 ), he directly contradicts God’s Word by telling her, “You will not certainly die” ( Genesis 3:4) . With that lie, Satan led Eve to her death; Adam followed, and so have we all.
Satan's second great plan of deception was as equally brilliant as his first. Just find an acceptable alternative to replace God's 'Plumb Line of Truth', Genesis 1:1 . Satan's reasoning was deceptively simple. Just get humans to accept a believable alternative to replace the first sentence of the Bible as truth. If they won't accept the first sentence of the Bible as truth, they're not going to believe the rest of the book either. I call this highly successful scheme 'Satan's mantra of doubt' . Simple put: "If they don't believe that God created, they won't believe in God."
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The Story behind Satan's Mantra of Doubt Satan had to find an effective means of channeling his mantra of doubt throughout all humanity. You may have heard this story before.
In 1831, a young, unpaid English naturalist named Charles Darwin began his voyage around the world aboard the HMS Beagle. During the course of his five year journey, Darwin surveyed the coast of South America and stopped in such places as Australia and, most famously, the Galapagos Islands. It was here, while observing the unique wildlife found only on these remote islands located 620 miles west of the South American continent that Charles Darwin developed the basic outline of his groundbreaking theory of evolution through natural selection. This evolution, Darwin wrote, is due to the fact that an individual animal is marked by subtle differences that distinguish it from its parents. Darwin called these differences “variations.” Variations are random; some of them convey distinct advantages – superior camouflage, unique adaptations, or greater speed.
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Creation Day 1: In the Beginning God Created..
For example, the variation of the different shaped beaks of Darwin's Finches allowed these birds greater access to the limited food sources found on the Galapagos Islands. A greater chance of survival allows for more opportunity to breed and pass on advantageous traits to a greater number of offspring. However, beyond sharing his ideas with only a close circle of friends, Darwin told no one of his views on the origin and development of life. He did not publish his now-famous volume, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, until 1859, more than 20 years after he had first formulated his theory. The book was an immediate bestseller throughout the English-speaking world. While Darwin’s ideas initially challenged long-held scientific and religious belief systems, opposition to much of Darwin’s thinking largely collapsed in the decades following the publication of his groundbreaking book,The Origin of Species. Watch this short video about the lie being taught in schools about Darwin's finches.
Satan's seeds of doubt had now taken root and began to spread his venomous lies throughout the world. In 1925, The Scope Monkey Trial placed Satan's mantra of doubt center-stage for the entire world to see. The trial placed Genesis One on the witness stand against "modern science's theory of evolution." The decision was made. Satan won again. His mantra of doubt could now be freely taught in every public school throughout America.
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Creation Day 1: In the Beginning God Created..
Please carefully study the following pictures and answer the questions that follow.
• Ask yourself, what do each of these animal pictures have in common? • How do they differ? • How was Charles Darwin partially correct in his assumption that environmental changes can cause observable variations in a species? • According to your observations, how was Darwin totally wrong in his assumption that one species can change into a new species?
Life from Non-Life?
Satan was now on a roll. In 1953 University of Chicago researchers Stanley L. Miller and Harold C. Urey performed an experiment that attempted to explain how life formed in the ancient oceans billions of years ago without the need of a creator. In their experiment, they sent an electrical spark through a closed glass chamber containing methane (CH4), hydrogen (H2), ammonia (NH3), and water (H20), the chemical solutions thought to exist in the early Earth's primitive atmosphere and oceans. The Urey/Miller experiment sought to prove that amino acids, the building blocks of life, could form spontaneously on their own in primordial earth-like conditions .
Creation Day 1: In the Beginning God Created..
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The Experiment’s Results: 1. The Urey/Miller experiment did produce five amino acids: glycine, α-alanine and β-alanine, aspartic acid and α-aminobutyric acid - none of which are the four required amino acids to make proteins: adenine, thymine, cytosine and guanine. 2. Models of early Earth conditions, which were not included in the Urey/ Miller experiment, show the presence of carbon dioxide and nitrogen (N2) creates nitrites that destroy amino acids as fast as they form. 3. Experimental conclusions – 65 years have passed since the Urey/Miller experiment. All successive attempts to get amino acids to combine under strict laboratory conditions into something like a protein have proven to be scientifically impossible. In the real world, there are a lot of things which would stop amino acids from building themselves into even more ordered molecules such as enzymes and proteins, let alone living cells and living organisms. Getting amino acids
to combine with themselves into something like a protein is scientifically impossible . Only life can produce life !
Watch this short video proving the Urey Miller Experiment is a BIG FAT LIE!
Like science, truth is uncovered when you are able to make repeatable observations and check your evidence against the cold, hard facts. After 65 years of repeated experiments, using the most technically advanced equipment available to prove or disprove their hypothesis that proteins, the building blocks of life, can be produced under natural conditions, science got its answer. Unfortunately, students are still being taught the unproven fact (lie) that basic chemicals present on the early Earth spontaneously arrange themselves into complexed proteins, the chemical building blocks of life. Students attending public schools and universities throughout the world are still be taught to accept the unproven fact (lie) that the DNA molecule*, the complexed, protein-based genetic code of life, found tightly packed inside every cell of every living thing, was also spontaneously produced about 4 billion years ago in earth's “primordial soup.” **DNA will be discussed in detail in Chapter 12**
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Creation Day 1: In the Beginning God Created..
Now for some scientific TRUTH! Here is what English astrophysicist, Sir Fred Hoyle, who formulated the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis, had to say about the 1953 Miller/Urey primordial soup experiment.
I will close chapter 1 of Genesis One: The Scientific Truth behind Creation with these words of caution to those students planning to attend college in the future or to those who are currently enrolled. Research studies show that even though a strong Christian background faith in God tends to help students get into college, college tends to get faith out of students. It is a sad fact that many students find an atmosphere on college campuses which corrupts their morals and erodes their faith. Openly hostile professors attack and ridicule their Christian principles and beliefs. It has almost become a rite of passage that many American students lose their faith at the university. As a passionate teacher of the scientific truth behind Genesis One and an advocate of all avid learners, please remember who your real enemy is. His deceptive plan is simple. He will do everything he can to deceive you into rejecting
God's Plumb Line of Truth ( Genesis 1:1 ) and accepting his mantra of doubt
- 'You are just a mutated, accidental product of 'slime and time.'
1 7 As a teacher, I would always conclude each daily lesson by having my students reflect on the initial question/s I had asked them at the beginning of class. As your teacher (and the author of this book) , I will conclude chapter one of Genesis One: The Scientific Truth behind Creation by asking you to reflect on only one question. Once you have read the question at the bottom of this page, I want you to close this book and ask God to give you His discernment not only on the question's answer, but on everything you've read so far on the truth of Genesis 1.1. As you now know, the Bible has been and is presently ranked the world's #1 best-selling and most widely distributed book. A recent research study by Barna and commissioned by the American Bible Society on Bible reading habits of Americans showed that 87% of American households currently own one or more Bible(s). Statistics also show that older Americans over the age of 52 (especially women) read the Bible more often than millennials ( those currently ages 18 to 32) . Sadly, the following graphic reveals what percent of the Bible, God's Holy Word, Americans will actually read in their lifetime. Creation Day 1: In the Beginning God Created..
Question Why are so few people today neglecting or choosing not to read the world's number one best-selling and most widely distribute d book?
* Hint: Recall Satan's mantra of doubt plan to mask the truth of Genesis 1:1 with his deceptive lies*
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Chapter Two Genesis Chapter One - Creation Day One Verse 2 Genesis 1:2
" A nd the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hover ing over the face of the waters. "
"The beginning is the most important part of the work.” Greek philosopher Plato Once again, I will start this new chapter by asking you some thought provoking questions. Are you ready? Let's begin. Just pretend for a moment you are that person standing in the picture above. Awestruck, you look up to witness an amazing sight. As far as your eyes can see, you observe a vast, seemingly unending universe filled, from horizon to horizon, with patches of glittering near-by stars surrounding bright clusters of distant, unknown celestial objects. No matter which way you turn, everything seems to glow in its proper place. Everything appears perfectly positioned. Standing alone on the mountaintop on that clear summer night, you might ask yourself the same questions all passionate truth seekers have asked themselves throughout time:
• Where does t he universe start and where does it end?
• How and when was the universe made?
• Why did God create the universe in the first place?
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Creation Day 1: T he Master Chef of Creation
The best way for me to explain the complex science behind each of these three daunting questions is to use a simple analogy to explain Genesis 1:2. " And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the 'Spirit of God' was hover ing over the face of the waters."
Recently, I had an opportunity to watch episodes of my favorite cooking show , Chopped, on the Food Network that I had taped on DVR. The premise of th is show is that competing chefs must making fabulous dishes with mystery ingredients, then they are presented to the judges to determine the winner based on taste, creativity, and presentation. Now, let's go behind the scenes of Genesis 1 :2 and meet 'The Master Chef' as He prepares His list of ingredients for His greatest C reation ever - the universe !
The ' Master Chef' of Creation
• The Name s of the ' Master Chef ' of Creation Today, we don’t attach too much significance to a person’s name. We give our children a name we think sounds nice or we name them for a relative or a trendy person. But we don’t really attach much meaning or significance to it. Not so with names listed in the Bible. From the beginning of Genesis, a name was not just used for identification, but more importantly for identity as well. For example: • Adam means “ground” because he was formed from the dust of the earth. ( Genesis 2:7) • Eve means “living” because she would become the mother of all the living. (Genesis 3:20) . • Abraham means “father of many nations.” ( Gen. 17:5 ). • Isaac means "laughter" (Genesis 21:1-3)
Creation Day 1: The Master Chef of Creation
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The Names of Creation's
Master Chef
No single word in the human language can accurately suffice as a name for the Creator of the universe. What name could you ascribe to someone who existed before the universe was even created? In Psalm 90:2 , Moses expresses the eternal nature of God in the following statement: “Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting , you are God." In essence, God is beyond our comprehension and imagination. As humans with our finite understanding, how can we accurately name such an eternal being when there is nothing on earth to compare with God? However, even though we cannot fully understand God here on earth, we can better discern His eternal nature by the names He has chosen for Himself as recorded in the Bible.
Elohim is one of the most frequently used names for God in the Bible. In fact Elohim appears some 2,750 times in the Old Testament. Elohim is a majestic plural, a plural word (such as the pronoun we or us) used to refer to a single person. In the Bible, we find four verses in which God refers to Himself using plural pronouns. The most well-known passage is Genesis 1:26 : “Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness.' " God’s divine greatness and transcendence are emphasized through the simple use of pronouns. Out of one word, Elohim , God reveals Himself as the Three-in-One omnipotent, majestic, and sovereign Creator of the universe. What a powerful beginning to the greatest book on earth written by the greatest Author ever!* * http://www.academia.edu/6789238/The Names of God in Genesis By Timothy Sliedrecht
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T he Names of Creation's
Master Chef
The Ultimate Name of God:
Yah'-weh יהוה ארץ ושמים׃ אלהים אלה תולדות השמים והארץ בהבראם ביום עשות "This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that Y a HW e H Elohem made earth and heaven." Genesis 2:4 The Bible uses two separate names for God ( Elohim and YaHWeH ) in the first two chapters of Genesis to describe different characteristics of our Creator. Elohim is used to describe God as the sovereign and majestic Creator of the universe. YaHWeH (recorded in 6,823 places throughout the Old Testament) is God's sacred Hebrew name meaning "I AM WHO I AM" ( Exodus 3:14). It is written in four consonant letters YHWH (The vowels a and e were added for pronunciation purposes only) . The I AM meaning of YaHWeH's name expresses the fact that God is the infinite and original personal God who is behind everything created in the universe. Only God can say "I AM" without saying anything more. And why? Because God alone is everything. He never changes or becomes anything different from what He is now. Y aHWeH God is independent, permanent, self- existent, and eternal. As such He is omnipotent and omniscient. From the onset of Genesis 1:1 , YaHWeH God has had an intimate personal relationship with His Creation. He alone is the absolute standard of all Truth. God is referred to by a number of other names throughout the Bible (over 20).
• Abba - ( God is our Father) • Adonai - ( God is the Lord over all) • El - ( The oldest name referring to God) • El-Gibhor - ( Mighty God) • El-Olam - ( Eternal, Everlasting God) • El-Shaddai - ( God Almighty) • Ruach Elohim - ( The Spirit of God)
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The Master Chef's 'List of Ingredients' for
Genesis 1:2
Every master chef knows that in order to create a perfect meal from scratch, they must first start with the best ingredients. Now, let's go behind the scenes of Genesis 1 :2 and examine 'The Master Chef 's ' list of ingredients for His greatest Creation ever, the universe .
• Preparing His ' List of Ingredients' t o be use d to create His universe
Genesis 1:2 "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the 'Spirit of God' was hovering over the face of the waters." Every master chef knows that the time spent preparing; knowing where you are going with each dish – listing the needed ingredients - working out the timing of your main ingredients so they don’t overlap, but come together as one - is key to achieving the perfect meal. In same way, Genesis 1:2 reveals God's 'behind the scenes' preparation time for creating his perfect masterpiece, the universe.
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The Master Chef's 'List of Ingredients' for Genesis 1:2
וחשך על־פני תהום ורוח אלהים מרחפת על־פני המים׃ והארץ היתה תהו ובהו To fully comprehend how God prepared His ingredients for the creation of universe, we must return to His original Genesis 1:2 recipe written ( from right to left) in Hebrew.
" w aBohu t ohu h aytah WeHaAretz " "And the earth was formless and void "
• Genesis 1:2 begins with God stating a very important and misinterpreted fact - The earth was not present (formless and void) on Creation Day One. Genesis 1:2 simply records God's behind the scenes (in the heavenly realm) preparations that immediately precede s the beginning of the universe ( Genesis 1:3 ). The earth is not introduced until Creation Day Three . • The Hebrew words tohu and bohu literally mean wastefulness and emptiness. These words personify the conditions of chaos out of which the universe was formed. They also express a state immediately preceding creation before primeval matter (atoms and elements) was created.
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The Master Chef's 'List of Ingredients' for Genesis 1:2
Genesis 1:2
ורוח אלהים מרחפת על־פני המים׃ וחשך על־פני תהום והארץ היתה תהו ובהו
tihom pinee al we-ho-sik "and darkness was over the face of the deep"
We-ḥō-šeḵ ʍ וְח֖ ֹשֶ ׁך LV+HEUHZIRU darkness Why darkness? Light will not be created until the following verse. There can be only darkness at this point. Al pinee tihom (reading from left to right) is Hebrew for was על־פני תהום over the face of the deep . After doing an extensive search on the Internet on the meaning of "was over the face of the deep", the best explanation I found from both scientists and theologians is, "we don't know. That’s all any real astrophysicist will tell you. "We don’t know." According to modern science, we can trace the start of the universe back 13.7 billion year to a very tiny fraction of a second when all the matter in the universe -- all of space and time itself -- existed in a tiny point smaller than a subatomic particle called singularity . I like this word, singularity ! It is a perfect description of the face of the deep ; when the distance across the universe was a single point measuring zero meters, zero inches, zero cubits and zero seconds across.
C reation Day 1: The Master Chef of Creation
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Ruach Elohim
Genesis 1:2 על־פני המים׃ מרחפת ורוח אלהים והארץ היתה תהו ובהו וחשך על־פני תהום ’ĕ-lō-hîm Rū-ach And the 'Spirit of God'
In Hebrew, the original inspired language of the Tanach (Old Testament), the word Ruach ורוח is a force. It is invisible and like wind, it can be felt or experienced, but not seen. It is the breath of God which disperses His life-force, His energy and His intentions. It is Yahweh's Spirit which is is omnipresent, but also can be directed in specific ways for specific purposes. It is His actual Person that manifests itself in the world and which comes to dwell in the hearts and lives of His people. The Greek word for Spirit is pneuma (Strongs 4151), which has a similar meaning to the word Ruach . “Pneuma means to breathe, blow, primarily denotes the wind. The spirit which, like the wind, is invisible, immaterial, and powerful.” Ruach (Strongs 7307) also implies a power that is within the breath and wind, which is connected to the Name Yahweh . Ruach is the power emanating from Yahweh , the Heavenly Father. It is Yahweh’s power that puts all things into motion. It is Yahweh’s power through His Ruach that breathes life into His creation and makes all things alive. In Genesis 1:2 , Ruach Elōhîm is designated to use His 'hovering' power to set in motion Elōhîm's ingredients for creation.
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C reation Day 1 : The Master Chef of Creation
Ruach Elohim
Genesis 1:2 מרחפת על־פני המים׃ אלהים ורוח תהום על־פני וחשך ובהו תהו היתה והארץ ham-mā-yim. mə pə-nê ‘al rachaph was hovering over the face of the waters."
We will next take a closer look at the phrase “the Spirit of God was hovering” so we can fully understand it. The verb in this phrase “was hovering” , i s translated from the Hebrew word “rachaph” מרחפת . The synonyms listed for this verb include: relax, flutter, move, shake, and hover. The Hebrew word rachaph is also used in Deuteronomy 32:11 where the context is very clear. " A s the eagle stirs up her nest, flutters ( rachaph ) over her young, spreads abroad her wings..." Bird experts observe this same careful hovering and fluttering motion exhibited by mother birds over their newly hatched chicks . Those precision movements by the mother bird's wings are intended to stir the air and keep the temperature just right so the ir baby hatch l ings can survive . T he meticulous focus and care that the mother bird lavishes on these tiny downy creatures is exactly described in the second verse of Genesis 1 , when the Spirit of God , the Ruach Elohim, hovered or fluttered over the ' face of the waters' just moment s before Creation .
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Ruach Elohim
According to modern science, the universe started 13. 8 billion years with a hot 'big bang' explosion. This means that time and space, matter and energy, the main ingredients of our physical universe came into existence with the big bang. The two big questions science cannot answer (and never will) are,"What happened just moments before the big bang?" and "What caused the big bang?" There is only one available (and reliable) source we can go to that "can answer" what happened just moments before the creation of universe, but two big questions still remain: • What is meant by this mysterious expression - "the face of the waters?" • Why was the Spirit of God, the Ruach Elohim, hovering over the "the face of the waters" just moments before Creation? In order to answer th ese questions, we need to go back and summarize what we have gleaned so far in our study of Genesis 1:2 : • "And the earth was without form, and void : God did not form the earth at this time. • and darkness was upon the face of the deep : Darkness represents the conditions of chaos out of which the universe was formed. Deep simply means the state of a pre-existing universe. Science call this singularit y. • And the 'Spirit of God ' was hovering: This is a magnificent metaphor for the meticulous planning, the tireless effort, the care, and the love that was exhibited by the Spirit of God, Ruach Elohim as He prepared to create the universe . • over the face of the waters." Genesis 1:2 ends with the Master Chef , Ruach Elohim preparing for all the necessary ingredients ( the face of the waters ) needed for an ideal place for man, God's most important creation, to live.
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C reation Day 1 : The Master Chef of Creation
Ruach Elohim
T he six main primordial ingredient s that make up Genesis 1:2's "the face of the waters"
Singularity
Matter is any substance that has mass and takes up space. Matter is composed of atoms (118 different atoms known as elements) containing protons, neutrons, and electrons. Matter can exist in four states known as solid, liquid, gas and plasma. — Atoms make up stars, planets, trees, rocks and us — Matter a ccount s for less than 5% of the known universe Energy is simply define as the ability to do work. Energy exists in a number of different forms: light energy, heat energy, potential and kinetic energy, mechanical energy, electrical energy, sound energy, chemical energy, nuclear or atomic energy. Each form of energy can be transformed from one form to another. The universe can be viewed as having three space dimensions — up/down, left/right, forward/backward — and one time dimension. This 4-dimensional space is referred to as the space-time continuum. Gravity is an invisible force that pulls objects toward each other. Earth's gravity is what keeps you on the ground and what makes things fall toward earth. Gravity is the force by which a planet or other large bodies in the universe draws objects toward their center. Unseen matter, as the name implies, that does not interact with light or other forms of electromagnetic radiation, Dark matter is the invisible glue that holds the universe together . It can only be detected by measuring its gravitational effects on galaxies and stars. Dark matter accounts for 23% of the known universe. Dark energy is the name given to the invisible, repulsive force ( a nti-gravity) in empty space that is believed to be making the universe expand outward grow larger . Dark energy accounts for 72 % of the known universe .
Creation Day 1: The Master Chef of Creation
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The Real Reason God created the Universe
We humans often struggle with the vastness of our universe because our comprehension is limited to the created time/space dimensions within which we exist. It is mind- bending to try and comprehend anything beyond our dimensional existence. Because the universe is big to us we often consider how long it would take us to travel across it. But, if time itself began with the creation of the physical universe, so how can we possibly comprehend where it ends or, more importantly, what was ‘before’ the universe? We are impressed that God created billions of galaxies with billions of massive stars in each of them of various sizes. But as mentioned, size is not an issue for God. Compared to the complexity of a butterfly, stars are relatively simple structures as they are just great big hot balls of hydrogen and helium gas. We need to realize that creating a vast universe is not harder for God than creating a smaller universe. God brought the universe into existence out of nothing. He had no limits on the amount of matter and energy created. Consequently, it is meaningless to say that it would be a tremendous waste for God to create so many lifeless galaxies. The concept of waste only applies when there is a limited supply. Within this vast universe, God placed E arth in potentially the only place in the universe capable of supporting advanced life. God created the E arth and positioned it in an ideal place so that humans could observe the vastness of the heavens and the enormous number of stars. The Bible points out at least four purposes for humans observing this vast universe: • To reveal His majesty and power. (Job 9:7-12) • To emphasize our insignificance without God. (Job 40:4; Psalm 8:3-4) • As a reminder that our understanding is limited. (Isa 55:9) • As a measure of His loving kindness toward us. God uses the vastness of the heavens to help us understand the magnitude of His love for us, stating, “For as high as the heavens are above the E arth, So great is His loving kindness toward those who fear Him” (Psalms 103:11)
E-mail: scable@probe.org 2001 W. Plano Parkway Plano TX 75075
by Steve Cable Senior Vice President Probe Ministries
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C reation Day 1: The Master Chef of Creation A final look back at
Genesis 1:2 "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the 'Spirit of God' was hovering over the face of the waters." I will conclude chapter two of Genesis One: The Scientific Truth behind Creation by asking you to reflect again on the three questions at the beginning of the chapter . Once you have read each of the question s at the bottom of this page, I want you to close this book and ask God to give you His discernment not only on each question's answer, but on everything you've read so far on the truth of Genesis 1.2 . Carefully study the picture below and answer the questions that follow .
• "Where does the universe start and where does it end?"
• "How and when was the universe made?"
• "Why did God create the universe in the first place?
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