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Hoyte Nelson's Poems/ Reflections & Biblical Essays
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Essay God's Creation “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1, KJV).(Highlighted
for emphasis, NASV unless otherwise stated) It is an awesome thing to reflect upon “the
beginning” when God created the universe (Genesis 1:1). It is true that
next thing that God did after he had created universe was to prepare the earth
for habitation: “The earth was formless
and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was
moving over the surface of the waters” (Genesis 1:2). How long this
took place, we are not told - what we are told is this: “Then”
(meaning, “at this time”), [WEBSTER’S new world DICTONARY])), “God said, let there be light., and it was so...” And Thus began
the six days when God finished the work that he had purposed from the beginning,
and God said, “It is good..., and the evening and the morning were the sixth
day” (Genesis 1:3-31). I believe that the “day” as
referenced in Genesis 1:3ff was not necessarily a twenty-four hour day as we
know it today, else, why would God have waited until the fourth day to create
these heavenly bodies that are pacifically stated for the reckoning of time:
“Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to
separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and
for days and years; and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to
give light on the earth”; and it was so. God made the two great lights, the
greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He
made the stars also. God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give
light on the earth and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the
light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. There was evening and
there was morning, a fourth day” (1:14-19)? From what we know from the
scriptures, God certainly did not need “time” to accomplish His work in our
universe, much less, here upon this earth, but he doubtless wanted us human
beings to be able to appreciate creation as the handiwork of the Almighty. Solomon said, “He
has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their
heart, yet so that man will not find
out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end”
(Ecclesiastes 3: 1). In Proverbs chapter 8, where it
is said, “The Lord possessed me at
the beginning of His way, Before His works of old. From everlasting I was
established. From the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth. When
there were no depths I was brought forth. When
there were no springs abounding with water. Before
the mountains were settled, Before
the hills I was brought forth; While
He had not yet made the earth and the fields, Nor
the first dust of the world. When
He established the heavens, I was there. When
He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep, When
He made firm the skies above, When
the springs of the deep became fixed, When
He set for the sea its boundary So
that the water would not transgress His command, When
He marked out the foundations of the earth; Then
I
was beside Him, as a master workman; And
I was daily His delight, Rejoicing
always before Him, Rejoicing in the world, His
earth, And
having my delight in the sons of men” (Proverbs 8: 22-31). I can imagine the pleasure that
God experienced as he planned the details of every molecule as He created them
--- “so that what is seen was not made
out of things which are visible”
(Hebrews 11: 3b). In Genesis 1:2 we read, “The earth was formless and void,
and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving
over the surface of the waters;” preparing, no doubt, for that which God had purposed from the beginning when He first created the
heavens and the earth in the eons of time. This purpose was centered in man and
his redemption through the Old Testament “promise,” fulfilled in Jesus
Christ; through whom He made man to know Him, to love Him, to worship Him! Then, when the “moving
(brooding) of the Spirit” had prepared the earth for mankind (Genesis 1:1,2),
“then
God said...,” (At that time), [WEBSTER]), things began to happen as
recorded in Genesis 1:3; 2 3: “Day one, day two, day three, day four, day
five,” and “day six;” then the creation of the world was complete as God
had purposed from the beginning. The last thing that was fashioned was the
crowned Jewel of all His creation --- Man! Then He placed Adam and Eve in the
garden called, Eden, (“and He rested [ceased] from all His work that he had
done since the beginning (Genesis 2: 3). Genesis 2:1,4, it is said,
“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
These are the generations
(Period of un-reckoned time) of the heavens and of the earth when they were
created, in the day that the LORD God
made the earth and the heavens.” (The word “day” is used in the sense that
we would say, “The day of the Lord”).
2 Peter 3:3-5 “Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers
will come …saying, Where is the
promise of His coming? …For ever since
the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was
from the beginning of creation; …it escapes their notice that by the word
of God the heavens existed
long ago and the earth was formed out
of water and by water” (Genesis
1:2), At this point, man had not, in
fact, entered the picture. The writer of Hebrews gives to us a defining truth as
recorded in chapter 11:3 “By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared
by the word of God, (See: John 1: 1-3) so that what is seen was not made out of
things which are visible. (I repeat), “if we knew when the beginning was, then
faith would not be necessary;” yet only by faith that we can accept the fact
that God created the heavens and the earth in His own time frame. A child’s
song put it well: “How do I know, the Bible tell me so.” When we read in the scripture
that “the heavens existed long ago,” we have no idea as to the time factor
that is being addressed because we have no means of knowing (Hebrews 11:3). All
that I know is this: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the
earth…” (Genesis 1:1). Time was not a factor one way or the other. God asks
Job, “Where were you when I laid
the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if
you have understanding…?” (Job 38: 4) If Job did not know, how can we? We Creationists differ as to
the age of the earth. I have come to believe that biblical chronology confirms
that man’s sojourn upon this earth is relatively short; although we have no
absolutes in this regard. I believe that the fossil fuels, coal- mines, and many
other things strongly suggest an old earth. We must remember that science is not
our enemy; our enemy is the “theory of Evolution,” and they are not the same
things. I must repeat, they are not the same. Evolution is not science! I have attended creation
conferences with Dr. Henry Morris and others, and have given much time to this
study. When I mentioned my position to Dr Henry Morris, (and in reference to Dr.
Criswell’s position); he said to me, “but it’s not necessary.” (Speaking
of the old earth view) My question is “why a young earth view necessary?” We
creationist’s don’t have to compete with the evolutionist. For them it
requires a few billions of years for the earth and thing living to evolve, but
this is only their assumption, but we have an eternal God, Who, “in the
beginning created the heavens and the earth,” and this is the difference: Did
it evolve, or did God create the earth, “in the Beginning?” Time is not
relevant to me. God is eternal! I believe that from a Christian
view point, the age of the earth is not relevant; however, Darwin’s theory of
evolution; the “big bang” theory, etc. will never be challenged from a young
earth point of view, but only from the biblical statement, “in the beginning
God created…” (Genesis 1: 1). The fact that it might be old (Or young) is
really not the question. The question is, did God create it, or was it created
by hap-chance? It was in the beginning, whenever that may be.
I do not know for certain; I wasn’t there to see. I’ve looked all around me, the wonders I confess, Are much too important for mortal man to guess. I’ve searched for man’s wisdom to tell me the truth, My mind’s always wondered, since the days of my youth. The beauty of creation, the pattern of a leaf, The flowing of the rivers seems never to cease. The blooming of a flower, the falling of a star, The galaxies out yonder, I wonder where you are? The talk of evolution, as the answer to mankind, The theory of the “Big Bang,” I now call to mind. But if nothing equals nothing, my question still remains, As a matter of creation, there was nothing to bang! But now I remember, I heard long ago; |