Defending Genesis - Part 2
There had been a lot of confusion and criticism against the Book of Genesis lately. One of the first questions that arose is: “ When did God made the sun? When He said: “Let there be light” in Gen.1:3, or on the fourth day? If on the 4th day, what was that light back there? Today I will continue with the second part on defending Genesis. If you’ve missed the first part, you can view it by clicking on my pseudonym –archibald-, whereupon you’ll find the article’s I wrote before.
DAY.4 “ GEN.1:14 † AND GOD SAID, LET THERE BE LIGHTS IN THE FIRMAMENT OF HEAVEN TO DIVIDE THE DAY FROM THE NIGHT; AND LET THEM BE FOR SIGNS, AND FOR SEASONS, AND FOR DAYS, AND YEARS:”
Which firmament? Remember on day 2 God separated water from water on earth, by evaporation when He said: “ Let there be a FIRMAMENT in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.” † And God called the firmament Heaven.” Gen1:6-8.
There were waters above and waters below, and the space in between them was called a Firmament or heaven” This FIRMAMENT HAD NO LIGHTS IN IT. See it?
The waters above would have formed something like a water canopy, and depending on the kind of format it had, it would have blocked view to the stars or any kind of light such as the moon, Venus or Mercury. Did you notice God used the word Lights? This includes light reflectors like the moon, Venus and so forth. Now we are also told by our learned friends that Venus is surrounded by sulphuric clouds.
Thus the firmament [immediate view upwards] of Venus has no stars or lights. Nights I assume should be dark out there as proper view to the stars is blocked by those sulphuric clouds if you were to look up from there. This principle is what happened to earth’s firmament since the 2nd day. It was dark on earth at night.
Notice WHERE GOD wanted lights. IN THE FIRMAMENT [extended surface] above the earth. The key phrase here is THE FIRMAMENT or immediate space above earth, had no lights in it. Stars like the SUN and planets were there from Gen.1:1 ALL OVER THE GLOBE when God made heaven and all it’s bodies, but the firmament view from earth was blocked by this water canopy above.
On this 4th day God had to rectify this situation. He wanted earth’s coming people to see the rest of the universe at night, so He said there should be lights in that firmament. Not creating the moon, or planets reflecting lights, or stars -but only extending the existing firmament so as to INCLUDE the already EXISTING heavenly bodies or lights. Understood? If the firmament space up to the waters above was a few kilometres or even a few hundred, no lights was present in it as I believe the nearest light reflector moon is a couple of hundred thousand kilometres away.
And then He either removed the waters above or did something to it, so earth could see the wonders of the universe. I think He removed it. The 4th day enabled the viewer from earth to see other lights and stars.
This 4th day is also about placing, fine-tuning, and bringing order to our solar system, so life could be sustained.
Gen.1:14 † ¶ And God said: “ ... AND LET THEM [lights] BE FOR SIGNS, AND FOR SEASONS, AND FOR DAYS, AND YEARS:”
And yes the stars are indeed for days, and for years and they are signs. One rotation of earth around our star, the sun is a year. One rotation of earth around itself while bathing itself in sunlight is a day. The angle at which our sun’s light hits the tilted earth, brings seasons. A writer said this:
“/ Think of our Solar System as nothing more than a big Clock. Everything we do here on Earth is based on Cycles. Our method of keeping time and our Calendar is all based on the relationship of the Sun Earth and Moon and how long it takes for the bodies to move a certain distance in a certain time. Even our Seasons change as a result of these relationships.
The moon rises and sets at specific times, according to what phase it is in: The new moon rises and sets at approximately the same time as the sun. The first quarter moon rises at mid-morning and sets at midnight. So it's at its height around dusk, not in the middle of the night. The full moon rises at sunset and sets at sunrise. The full moon is the only moon that will be overhead in the middle of the night. The last quarter moon rises at midnight and sets at mid-morning. So unless you're a late-owl, you've probably never even seen this moon./” [Quoted from the internet]
The Bible also says the stars are for signs? Sea navigation was perfectly done with it. The North Star or Southern Cross can be a guide, a Sign for you to look at. If you can see the stars at night and know what SIGNS they form for you to look at, you can find your way if lost. And the zodiac signs Bible is written with stars. If you know the true meaning of those zodiac signs you’ll find your way to Christ-ultimately to eternal life. Others use the zodiac signs for fortunetelling pointing people away from truth, just to make money out of those who believe in them, but if you knew it’s true meaning, you can use it to see the story of Jesus Christ.
You can see the virgin birth, in Virgo. As Aquarius the Samarian woman at the well met Jesus, and then He said if she would drink of His water, she would never thirst again. In Pisces He fed 5000 with 5 loaves and two fishes. With the lunch of a little boy, He fed a multitude. So what about you? Don’t you want to be a fish in His hand, so He can feed multitudes through you? You can see the corruption in Cancer, the very age we are in now, just before the coming judgement of Leo, Jesus the lion of the tribe of Judah. Look at your news papers-It’s corruption everywhere, but the next sign after cancer is Leo, the judge. Indeed the zodiac speaks this very Bible. They are for signs of coming seasons.
DAY 4“ Gen.1:16 † AND GOD MADE TWO GREAT LIGHTS,THE GREATER LIGHT TO RULE THE DAY, AND THE LESSER LIGHT TO RULE THE NIGHT: HE MADE THE STARS ALSO.”
Did God create the sun on the 4th day? By no means. It was there from the time God made heaven and earth. [Gen.1:1] It’s a heavenly body and part of heaven. It was there when God brought days on the first day. [Gen.1:3] It was that very sun that brought light to a dark earth of Gen.1:2, when God said “Let there be light.” Where did God wanted light? On the dark earth! Days came because the rays of the SUN fell on earth, and separated darkness from light in 24 hour cycle’s as it’s still the case. No sunlight-no days just nights. It was that very heat of the SUN God used on the second day to evaporated water, and make a firmament between waters below and waters above.
It was that very SUN in whose light God created plant seeds on the third day. So why does it look like God is only creating the sun of the 4th day? What was that light in Gen.1:3? It can’t be right can it? It’s your understanding that is the problem.
What God is doing to the sun and moon on the fourth day IS MAKING IT SUITABLE to sustain life. The word “made” [Hebrew -asah] is used here as oppose to “create.” [Hebrew –bara] Create used in Genesis terms is -something from nothing. Modern language use the word create anyway we want, but when Genesis said God created, it meant He brought forth something from nothing. Made [asah] is manufacturing an existing something to suit your needs.
There are many other stars [suns] out there, but many of them won’t work for us. Science will tell you if the sun is larger, we would suffer. If it too small, we would suffer. If it has too much solar activity, it could hurt us. It has to be just right as it is now. Perfectly tuned right! Meek, kind, humble and gentle-shining it’s light so we can live.
Let me compare the fine-tuning of the sun to what God did with Jesus. 4000 Years after Adam, God fine-tuned Himself. God became human flesh when He brought His Mighty Spirit into a body of flesh called Jesus of Nazareth. It was then that Isaiah’s prophecy came to pass when Jesus the Son became the Mighty, God and the Everlasting Father. [Is. 9:6] Paul say: “ Great is the mystery of Godliness, for God was manifest in flesh,...” [I Tim 3:16]
With that Mighty Spirit of God in Him, the very power that created the universe, He was gentle, coming to bring life, not judgement. Never ever did a man spoke like He did. Man stumble in their words, and they have to take back what they said sometimes, but this Man spoke and every word stood forever true! When Jesus spoke, He spoke life-healing the sick, raising the dead, bringing strength to the weak, encouraging the broken hearted, delivering the lost and demon possessed, brought hope to those who wept about death. Like the sun, He is a life giver and comforter after a long dark night.
He came on the fourth day fine-tuned, humble, kind, meek, gentle as a lamb. He could very well speak and bring curses, like Moses did to Pharaoh, but on the 4th day He brought life. When He stood before Pilate, He could have called a legion of Angels to wipe them off the face of the earth, but on that occasion He kept silent, in order to die in my place. They mistreated Him, but He opened not His mouth, so I might live! Thank you Lord.
And so is it with the sun. It could very well misbehave and boil us like French fries in oil, or bacon in a pan, but on this 4th day, God fine-tuned it to the humble character it has now. By the way, the Book of Revelation prophesied the sun will misbehave during the tribulation. [Rev. 16:8]
Science would tell you many things about the moon too. It has to be where it is now to make life possible and keep the seas moving. The timing of the earth’s rotation with the sun and the moons pulling force is so perfect that tides moves just enough, never too far! If this fine tuning did not take place, our tides would have caused chaos. And yes the moon is a lesser light-It reflects light!
MADE THE STARS ALSO.”
On this day God also fine tuned [made-suitable] other stars [suns] and even planets [lights] in our solar system like Mercury and Venus which we call the “evening and the morning star.” We humans refer to some planets as stars. Recently a pilot saw Venus and it was so bright he thought it was another plane, and nose dived his plane to avoid it. Jupiter, the big guy of protection was placed just right so we would be safe from stray space bullets. He says: “They won’t get to you, for I am here to protect you.” Thank you big guy. It’s nice to know we have a big brother to look after us. This solar system did not just come by chance to be what it is. The Bible here on the 4th day say God fine tuned [made] it. Yes God made the sun to rule the day, and God made the moon to rule the night.
And they still rule brilliantly. When the sun rises, every plant rejoices at its rule. The flowers lift their heads and say: Thank you sun, for under your rule we dress ourselves better than kings. The Springbok jumps for joy, after the terror of the night where in predators had it in fear. With the sun up, he can rejoice at the abundance of food.
In the morning the sun rules over you as it knocks at your door, forcefully finding it’s way through your window to tell you: Wake up! Get moving! I will only be here for so long before I set. At night the Moon says: ‘ Sleep well, and don’t worry about the sun, it will be back. I know you can’t see him, but I see him. His light is shining on me. Use my light if you need to do something urgent. And don’t worry about the sea either, it’s mighty waters won’t cross the shores. I rule over it.
Well- we talk like that. The weather bureau talks of sunrise and sunsets so don’t be too hard on the Bible if it uses our language sometimes. Yes, they rule. Let that sun misbehave and we are toast. Let that moon misbehave and we are flooded. They are never out of time or order, they never misbehave. Why? God placed them. He made them, He fine-tuned them and gave them their character. See what we as Christians should do? Allow God to place us and do with you what He wants and we’ll never be out purpose, or out of order, or out of time. Let Him fine-tune you, make you what you ought to be. A brilliant light of truth and fine-tuned character in whose light others can walk. And God was satisfied with His work on that 4th day and said it was good. Yes, it is still good. So say I too.
To be continued if allowed...
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