Day
3: Seas, dry land, vegetation
“And God said, Let the waters under the heaven
be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was
so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters
called he Seas: and God saw that it was good” (Gen
1:9-13).
Interpretations
of Day 3:
- Literal 24-Hour Days: 3
days before man was created circa 6,000 years ago
- Thousand-Year Days:
circa 10,000-9,000 years ago
- Diminishing Day-Ages: circa 3,750,000,000-1,875,000,000 years
ago (Duration: approximately 1,875,000,000 years)
Young
Earth Creationists say God separated the seas and the dry land either around
6,000 years ago or 10,000-9,000 years ago.
In the Diminishing Day-Ages chronology,
God gathered the seas for the dry land to appear between 3.75 billion and 1.875
billion years ago. The scientific estimate for the appearance of the oceans
falls exactly within this period. The Encyclopaedia
Britannica says that “the oceans have been present for at least three
billion years.”29
One supercontinent.
As
the waters came together, the exposed dry surface of the planet became one vast
supercontinent surrounded by an immense ocean.
Scientists
confirmed the Scriptures early in the 20th century. German
geophysicist Alfred Wegener, intrigued by the matching contours of the
coastlines of eastern
Canadian geologist John Tuzo Wilson posits that the continents
have been repeatedly breaking up and rejoining (“
The
plant kingdom
“And God said, Let the earth bring
forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after
his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth
brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree
yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it
was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day” (Gen 1:9-13).
God
created the first living things on Earth – plants – on Day 3. The World
Book says the oldest fossils are those of bacteria that lived about 3.5
billion years ago.31 Paleobiologists say these organisms
(microscopic plants) appeared as soon as there was water on Earth. The timing
is again a perfect match, because Day 3 in the Diminishing Day-Ages was from
3.75 billion to 1.875 billion years ago.
Cells to grass to trees.
The
bacteria were one-celled prokaryotes (no nuclei). Cyanobacteria (blue-green
algae) with chlorophyll were capable of photosynthesis. They were followed by
unicellular organisms with nuclei (eukaryotes); then multi-celled vegetation
like moss, grass, herbs, trees.
The
Jewish sage Nachmanides said the creation of grasses, plants, and trees
actually transpired over a protracted period.32 The Genesis writer
simply had the tendency to summarize a string of events in one or two
sentences, rather than make a long-winded, detailed narration. After all, even
if he did lengthily describe a bacterium that could not be seen by the unaided
eye, would he have been understood and, more importantly, believed by his
fellow desert nomads 3,500 years ago?
Prefab components?
God said, “Let the earth bring forth…” The wording implies that the elements
that would constitute the grass, herbs, and trees had been laid down in the
earth earlier. The various “prefabricated” components were just waiting to
combine into specific forms at God’s command.
Note that each type of plant life
reproduced “after his kind,” showing
that the Creator had set the fixed laws of genetics in operation.
Plants without a sun?
At
this point, there was still no mention of the sun. How did the first plants
manage to survive without sunlight for photosynthesis? We get the answer from
prophecy. In Acts
We
are told that in the future
Day 4: Sun, moon, and
stars
“And
God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide 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 firmament of the heaven to give light
upon the earth: and it was so. 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. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the
earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light
from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the
morning were the fourth day” (Gen
Interpretations
of Day 4:
- Literal 24-hour Days:
2 days before man was created 6,000 circa years ago
- Thousand-Year Days:
circa 9,000-8,000 years ago
- Diminishing Day-Ages: circa 1,875,000,000-937,500,000 years
ago (Duration: approximately 937,500,000 years)
Young
Earth Creationists hold that the sun, moon, stars, and other heavenly bodies
were created either just 6,000 years ago or 9,000-8,000 years ago at the most.
In
the Diminishing Day-Ages, the celestial lights first shone on Earth sometime
between 1.875 billion and 937.5 million years ago (mya).
“Made”
or “had made”?
The
Creator used the words “let there be” and
“let them be,” which could mean that
the heavenly bodies were already in existence before Day 4. In the phrase “And God made…” the word translated “made” is from the Hebrew asah, (“to do or make”), which can be translated
into several words in English, but “to create” is not one of them.
The
verb form in English is in the simple past tense (“made”). However, the
pluperfect or past perfect tense “had
made,” indicating a prior act, could
have also been used to translate asah
(ex.: Gen 1:31, 2:2, 3:1, etc.). Hence, the verse could also be rendered as: “And God had made two great lights…” Gen
1:16a), implying God had earlier created the sun, moon, and stars before they
became visible on earth.
Gas
clouds thinned?
Possibly,
after the Earth had formed, the lighter gases which did not become part of the
solid sphere continued to surround the planet – the way some planets, like
Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, are still
shrouded with gas clouds today. Venus is covered by a gaseous canopy so thick
that astronomers cannot see its surface. Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, is also
veiled by a thick blur of gases.
The
Earth’s cloudy atmosphere could have thinned and become clear sometime between
1,875,000,000 and 937,000,000 years ago. From a viewpoint on the surface of the
planet, that would have been the first time the sun, moon, and stars shone from
the sky.
Moreover, according to ScienceDaily, “The
primitive sun did not use to shine as brightly as it does at present. Four billion
years ago the solar output was only about 60% of what it is today.”33
The weak rays of the young sun would not have been able to
penetrate Earth’s dense gaseous atmosphere, which might have been merely
translucent.
Signs
in the stars.
The
Bible says God arranged the celestial bodies in certain ways for particular
reasons: “And God said, Let there be
lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let
them be for signs…” (Gen 1:14, cf. Dan 6:27).
The
sun, moon, stars, and other celestial objects bear messages from God! “The heavens declare the glory of God; and
the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night
unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their
voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their
words to the end of the world…” (Ps 19:1-4a). To communicate His messages,
God uses a heavenly language that can be understood by all peoples.
The Mazzaroth.
Men in
The
constellations seem to have been named at the time of the Tower of Babel37
circa 2000 B.C., and arranged in groups around 700 B.C.38 The
earliest known zodiac with all 12 signs dates from the 400s B.C.39
At least one fragment of the Dead Sea Scrolls, from the 200s B.C., lists the
signs of the Zodiac.40 Adopting the Babylonian symbols that mostly represent
animals, the Greeks called them ta zōdia,
“the little animals,” or zōdiakos kyklos (“circle of animals”).41
The Egyptians and the Chinese also used the 12 divisions, but gave other names
and symbols to them.42
The Magi. Some Biblical personages appear to have
been astrologers: “And the king communed
with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael,
and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king. And in all matters of wisdom
and understanding, that the king inquired of them, he found them ten times
better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm” (Dan
1:19-20).
Daniel
was made the king’s top astrologer: “There
is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the
time of your father he was found to have insight and intelligence and wisdom
like that of the gods. King Nebuchadnezzar your father -- your father the king,
I say -- appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and
diviners” (Dan
Daniel
probably passed on his knowledge to his assistants, especially fellow-Jews in
Starry
story.
First
century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus wrote of an ancient belief that
Adam’s son Seth and great-great grandson Enoch saw a drama inscribed in the
starlit night sky. The starry story is said to be the salvation of man by a
coming Messiah. How do we read the story? Where does it start? The
constellations in the celestial circle have no apparent beginning or end.
Ancient astrologers started the year from Aries, where the sun was at the
spring equinox. Should we do likewise?
Egyptologist
Frances Rolleston found the key in the 4,000-year-old zodiac of Dendereh on the
ceiling of the portico of the
Gospel in the stars. Interpretations of the 12
constellations slightly vary, but the overall picture they paint is the same:
the Gospel is in the stars! Below is a synthesis of the basic meaning of each
sign:
1. Virgo, the Virgin: a sinless woman (the
pure faith, church, or religion) carrying an infant and holding a branch (the
Messiah);
2. Libra, the Weighing Scales: purchase
and judgment -- the son of the woman will pay the price (for sin) and act as
the coming judge;
3. Scorpio, the Scorpion (formerly the
snake Serpens battling the eagle
4. Sagittarius, the Archer or mighty
hunter: the Antichrist defying God and attempting to kill His Only Son, the
Savior of mankind;
5. Capricorn, the Goat-Fish or wounded
scapegoat: the sacrificial offering was pierced (His blood as atonement for the
sins of the world);
6. Aquarius, the Water-Bearer: God pouring
His Holy Spirit (water) upon the earth, baptizing the body of believers during
the Church Age;
7. Pisces, the Fishes (a small one and a
big one): the Judeo-Christian faith, made up of two groups of people who will
be saved;
8. Aries, the Ram: the sacrificed Lamb of
God, the Messiah, who has grown greater
and more powerful through His death on the cross;
9. Taurus, the Bull: the power and
longsuffering of God, patiently waiting for men to repent of their sins before
rendering judgment;
10. Gemini, the Twins: two children of the
same woman (faith), also symbolic of the Bridegroom (the Messiah) and His bride
(the Church);
11. Cancer, the Crab (formerly a
sheepfold): the ingathering of the flock at the “Rapture” or first resurrection
at Christ’s Second Coming;
12. Leo, the Lion: the return of Christ as
Lion of Judah, pouncing on the serpent Hydra (Satan) stretching over a third of
the stars (angels).
Do
you see the complete story?
Horoscopes? Horrors!
The Mazzaroth
reveals God’s plan for His chosen people. But Gentile stargazers began making predictions
for their countrymen – such as national prosperity or disaster. (“Dis-aster”
comes from the Latin words dis [“reverse”)
and aster [“star”], a reversal or
disarrangement of the stars.) The Greeks and Romans started casting personal horoscopes
sometime between 600 and 200 B.C.44 Fortune-telling, however,
including horoscopes, is detestable to God: “There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his
daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of
times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar
spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an
abomination unto the LORD” (Deut
Jeremiah
told the Jews: “Thus says the LORD:
"Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; Do not be dismayed at the signs of
heaven, For the Gentiles are dismayed at them. For the customs of the peoples
are futile…” (Jer 10:2-3a, NKJV).
____________________
34Astronomy, International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia
(Excerpted from
Chapter 4, Primordial Planet Puzzles, THE DEEP THINGS OF GOD: A Primer
on the Secrets of Heaven and Earth by M.M. Tauson, Amazon.com)
