Chapter 4

The Foundation

The First Two Days

The First Day:

Dark Space, Watery Earth, & Light

THE FABRIC OF SPACE

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made" (John 1:1 & 3). "Which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ" (Eph. 3:9b). When looking at the creation story, we need to always keep in mind that God created all things by Jesus Christ who is the Word.

It is natural to think first of an atomic and molecular level in the process of creation. The concept of atoms has its origin in speculative philosophy. It is usually acknowledged that the Greek philosopher Democritus (460-371 BC) first postulated the concept of atomic particles as the building blocks of the universe [4]. Later, chemist John Dalton took Democritus's philosophy and expanded it into the modern theory of the atomic table. As believers, no matter what technical terminology is used, we remember that the Bible says, "And he is before all things, and by him [Jesus] all things consist" (Col. 1:17). Or, in other words, it is the power of God that holds the fabric of the universe together.

As discussed earlier, the very first thing God created was the earth and the heaven, which at this point is just the fabric of space, with the water of the Earth in the midst of it. Somehow in His omnipresent state, God made room within Himself for the space of creation. To separate Himself from the space of creation, would be His first act of holiness in the creation. It has been said that the universe is a closed environment that curves. If light went one way, given enough time it would circle around back again to it's starting point. The universe has been likened to the interior of a ball. God created a bubble of space to place within it all of His creation.

Classical physics has called space an electro-dynamic universe in which there is electromagnetic interaction among all the real particles of the universe. Or in other words, there is a fabric to space by which electromagnetic waves move upon. Light is an electromagnetic wave, and like an ocean wave there needs to be a medium for the waves to move through. Because Einstein theorized that light would travel at a constant speed if it were in a vacuum, many people (including scientists) think that space is a vacuum. But the truth is the speed of light is not constant in the real world. Consequently, space is considered a vacuum, which it is not, because of misunderstanding Einstein's theory [5].

DARKNESS AND WATER

It is evident that the "face of the deep" refers to the "face of the waters." Since the Earth is formed from this water, it is often assumed that this was a small amount of water, in relation to the rest of outer space. Dr. Russell Humphreys, a physicist, whose work focuses on nuclear physics and radiation hydrodynamics, believes that this body of water was 2 light-years in diameter [6]. A light-year is the distance that light travels in one year's time, or about 6 trillion miles. Therefore this body of water was 12 trillion miles in diameter, while the Earth is a mere 8,000 miles in diameter. Dr. Baugh teaches that the deep was used for the Earth, whereas Dr. Humphreys teaches that the deep is the substance of all outer space, as well as the Earth. I tend to agree with Dr. Humphreys.

The earth which is still formless is all water. According to Dr. Baugh, both hydrogen and oxygen can be transformed into all the elements of the universe through nuclear fission [7]. That means all the rock, mineral, and soil of the Earth, planets of our solar system, as well as all the gas that forms the stars and galaxies were created from the water. According to Dr. Baugh [8] experiments have been done with sound vibrations on water. At the correct frequency, a bubble of light will be produced from water. So, when God said, "Let there be light," the vibration of His voice could produce the blanket of light that covered the deep - both the water and the fabric of space.

Water is a unique substance. It is the only matter that is lighter in its solid form, and heavier in its liquid form: ice floats on water. According to biologists, water is the ideal medium for organic life. Because of hydrogen bonding, water has these characteristics: cohesion, which is the tendency for water to bond to itself, enables form and shape of cellular structure; adhesion, which is the tendency for water to bond to other compounds, enables biochemical processes to occur, such as transport of nutrients; imbibitions, which is the tendency for water to be absorbed, causing swelling, enables cells to receive nutrients; and its heat capacity creates stability since it requires high heat to raise its temperature, and once raised it retains the temperature, which is necessary since life functions need to be maintained at a certain temperature (in humans 98.6 degrees F.). All of these characteristics of water make it the ideal medium for the electro-chemical processes of organic life to exist. Indeed, all people and all creatures are liquid entities. Water is the basis for the existence of the flesh. Prick me, and do I not bleed?

Along with the water, God created the darkness that covers the deep. The deep seems to refer to both the water and outer space. An article in Newsweek reported that scientists now believe that there is a substance called, "dark matter," throughout the universe [9]. The reason for this belief is that the cosmos weighs 100 times more than the total weight of all the stars and nebulae in the sky. To account for the 99% of invisible weight that is measured yet unseen, they call it "dark matter." This may or may not be, but the Bible does state that "darkness covered the deep" which could be that the dark matter is the fabric of space and the deep is the water which will be the Earth.

THEN LIGHT

As mentioned earlier, a constant speed of light is an argument for vast eons of time which is used to justify the theory of evolution. Furthermore, as stated above, it was Einstein who proposed the theory that light travels at a constant speed, which it does not. Light can be refracted, absorbed, bounced, and made coherent - all of which modifies its speed to some degree faster or slower. The doctrine of a mature creation declares that when God created the light, the entire universe was filled with light which had no emanation point since stars were not created until the fourth day. The electromagnetic waves of light were together with the dark matter. God had to separate the two which evidently was blended as one at first. It is note worthy that God counts His days from the evening and the morning. Jewish tradition counts their days because of this biblical precedent.

There is a curious statement made by Solomon where he says, "Yahweh said that He would dwell in the thick darkness" (1 Kings 8:12). The psalmist has said of God, "He made darkness his secret place" (Psa. 18:lla). God may dwell in the darkness to hide Himself from us because our sins would cause us to die if we saw His glory. Or perhaps as a means to encourage us to believe without seeing. As for the light, the psalmist says He "coverest [Himself] with light as with a garment" (Psa. 104:2). So God (perhaps metaphorically) wears light as His garment and hides in the darkness. Regardless of what this means, the psalmist says, "the night shines as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee" (Psa. 139:12). Meaning that the creation has no affect on Him who sees through darkness as though it were light. These things that He created are for our perceptions, not His. He is above all the creation. "It is He that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers: that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreads them out as a tent to dwell in" (Isa. 40:22). And, "Thus saith Yahweh, 'The heaven is my throne; and the earth is my footstool'" (Isa. 66:1a). "All things were created by Him, and for Him" (Col. 1:16b).

Dr. Humphreys also believes that when God spoke, the universe came into existence through the "Big Bang." He does not believe that the universe evolved over billions of years, instead he believes in the literal six days of creation. However, he believes that the red shift in outer space demonstrates billions of years that have passed. How does he reconcile a six day creation scenario with billions of years in the red shift? He believes that Einstein's General Theory of Relativity solves the problem. In a nutshell this theory proposes that time is relative, and that gravity affects time. What we mean by time, is movement that is used to record time. For example, a clock at sea level runs slower than a clock high upon a mountain, although the experience of time passing remains the same.

Black Holes demonstrate this principal on a cosmic scale. A black hole is a phenomenon of a gravitational force that sucks light and matter into itself. The edge of a black hole is called the Event Horizon. Time (i.e., the registration of time: movement) slows down, then stops at the Event Horizon before entering the black hole. He points out that the general public is unaware of the reverse phenomenon called "White Holes." He says, "Given a bounded universe that once was fifty times smaller, the other possibility allowed by GR [general relativity] is that the universe was previously a huge white hole [emphasis his]. This is a black hole running in reverse" [10]. In other words, the deep which God began with exploded outward into the cosmos, as it shrunk inward to create the Earth. Since the cosmos is expanding, the gravitational pull is outside the cosmos. Time would move quickly at its center, that is the Earth, passing in six literal days, but near the Event Horizon of the white hole, at the edge of the universe, time would slow down, giving the sense of billions of years passing. Indeed, to pass through the edge of the universe would be to go outside the sphere of creation where the Lord sits on the circle of the Earth (Isa. 40:22), which is in eternity where time stops.

ANGELS

While it is clear that physical light was created on the first day, it is possible that the word "light" also refers to the angelic host of heaven. Light is an Aramaic idiom that is commonly understood to mean "intelligence" [11]. Even in English we say that was a "bright idea," or he has been "enlightened," as a metaphor for intelligence. Likewise, darkness is also an Aramaic idiom for ignorance, or lack of intelligence [12]. We know the angels had to exist before the creation of Adam and Eve, since Satan had already fallen by then, and an angel was set before the garden of Eden to keep them out when they were expelled. No one knows, except God, when the angels were created. So it is possible that they were created on the first day, as suggested by the term, light.

It is possible that God started creating the different angelic beings on the first day and finished on the fourth day when the stars were created. The use of stars as a type for angels is employed many times throughout the Scriptures. When God judged Lucifer for his iniquity He declared his intent: "For thou hast said in thine heart, 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God... I will be like the most High.' Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell" (Isa. 14:13a & 15a). The stars Lucifer must be referring to are the other angels. In speaking of the rebellion of angels against God, the book of Revelation states that the "great red dragon [Satan]," "his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth," (Rev. 12:3b & 4a). It is usually assumed that this passage refers to the angels.

So, what are angels? Technically an angel is simply a messenger. In the Hebrew it is the word, mal'ak +!-/, and in the Greek it is, aggelos aggelos (pronounced, ang-el-os), both of which mean a messenger or one who is dispatched. In the general usage of the word we are referring to spirit beings created by God to do His service. This is the intent of the writer in the book of Hebrews when he says, "But to which of the angels... are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation [also called Guardian Angels]?" (Heb. 1:13a & 14).

But the Bible uses the term to denote many other kinds of messengers. An angel could be an ordinary person: "Give us seven days' respite, that we may send messengers [Hebrew word, "mal'akim," the plural of angels] unto all the coasts of Israel" (1 Sam. 11:3); or a prophet of God: "Then spake Haggai Yahweh's messenger [mal'ak] in Yahweh's message unto the people" (Hag. 1:13); or a priest: "For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger [mal'ak] of Yahweh of hosts" (Mal. 2:7); or of a New Testament minister: 'The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches" (Rev. 1:20). Even the theophany (the pre-incarnate Christ) is referred to as the Angel of the Lord (Gen 16:7).

There are several schools of thought concerning these spirit beings. Mormons believe that all spirit beings are people that are eternal spirits (like God) that become flesh to earn their way to Godhood. Since the Bible doesn't say that God created the angels they pursue their belief zealously in the hopes of becoming their own little gods someday. Jesus, they say, is the brother to Lucifer, under their father Elohim (thereby undermining the deity of Christ). Jehovah Witnesses make a similar statement. They believe that Jesus is the Archangel Michael who became the savior on behalf of Jehovah God. Catholics believe that angels are people that go to heaven. The Protestant view denies all these thoughts. The Mormon contention is denied on the grounds that there were no other living beings except Yahweh before the creation ("I am the first and I am the last; beside me there is no god" Isa. 44:6). It is a premise of this work that there was no other creation by God before He began the creation of this world. The JW view of Jesus being the Archangel Michael is rejected for the same reason (although the use of the theophany seems to support their argument). Angels don't become God because they are finite creatures of creation (Lucifer's desire "to be like the most High," Isa. 14:14) that have a created beginning whereas God has no beginning. Jesus said to John the Revelator, "I am the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last" (Rev. 1:11a) which is the same claim of Yahweh in Isaiah 44:6. The Catholic view that angels are people that go to heaven is rejected because angels were created before mankind. This is demonstrated by Lucifer who was in the Garden of Eden before Adam, the first human, was given life by the breath of God at the time of his creation.

The Catholic doctrine does come close to truth except that these spirit beings are not genuinely people. The Bible calls people that go to heaven, "saints," which is short for the sanctified or set apart ("to all the saints in Christ Jesus" [Phil. 1:1] and "the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints" [Jude 14]). But the angels are like people in that they are intelligent beings (delivering messages requires intelligence), have free moral will (Lucifer's choice to rebel against God), and can manifest themselves as people (the two angels with Lot to whom the Sodomites wanted to defile [Gen. 19]). In fact, the writer of Hebrews concludes that "some have entertained angels unawares" (Heb. 13:2b).

Angels are able to eat food. Two may have eaten with Abraham (Gen. 18:8). Manna is described in Psalms (78:24) as "angels' food" (78:25) although there are some who think it is only a compliment of excellence. In comparing the believers that abide in Christ to the angels, Jesus said, "Neither can they die anymore: for they are equal unto the angels" (Luke 20:36) which suggests that angels never die. He also said of the believers' resurrection, they "neither marry, nor are given in marriage.. .for they are equal unto the angels" (Luke 20:35b & 36b) which suggests that the angels don't marry, and by implication, don't procreate. Some people take this to mean that neither angels nor saints in the resurrection will have a gender. This is patent nonsense. The Scripture does not say that. Only that we won't marry nor die. There is no reason to think that we lose our genders. From the passage of Scripture it is also assumed that there are no female angels. All the examples of angels in the Bible are of men, not women. But just because there is no example given, that doesn't mean God didn't create female angels. It means that there is no scriptural argument for them. While the Bible is amazing in its range of material, like John said about Jesus, "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written" (John 21:25). Neither should we limit God's creative works. However, we confine our doctrines to what the Scriptures do say, which is that angels, like people, were created to serve God and to worship God (Heb. 1:14 & Rev. 5:11-12).

LUCIFER

The chief angel God created for leading worship was Lucifer. In Ezekiel we read, "the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so" (Eze. 28:13b & 14a). He evidently was a living music machine that could create wind and percussive sounds. It is possible that Lucifer became proud immediately and the seed of his rebellion came at once. "Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee" (Eze. 28:15). That iniquity was conceived in his thoughts "For thou has said in thine heart, 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High" (Isa. 14:13-14). The thought is the iniquity even though it is not acted out. Jesus said, "whosoever looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart" (Matt. 5:28). God perceived this iniquity in Lucifer when it was only a thought. Lucifer, through his own free will chose to become the adversary and enemy of God. Just as God is the root of good, Lucifer became the devil whose root is in evil. Evil became a germ in Lucifer's heart that would later thoroughly infest him. We need to remember that Lucifer rebelled in his heart against God, and not us, first. He was originally the Lord's enemy and not ours. While we are unregenerate, we are Lucifer's servants. When we embrace the cross, and reconcile with God, then Lucifer becomes our direct enemy. That is why Peter exhorts us to "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Pet. 5:8).

Ezekiel, in describing the king of Tyre as a type of Lucifer who became Satan, said, "Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire" (Eze. 28:14). Perhaps the "stones of fire" is a metaphor for the angels. It is also possible that it refers to the ground before the grass was created which occurs on day three. If so, it could mean that Lucifer was examining the creation before it was finished. This is why he was there when Adam and Eve were later created.

THE GAP THEORY

There is a belief held by many fundamentalists that between the creation of Genesis 1:1 and verse 2 is a gap of time when God made one creation which had Satan's rebellion and a judgment from God that destroyed the first creation, then necessitated a re-creation for the six day creation of the Bible. This is known as the gap theory. The theory was proposed by Scottish theologian, Thomas Chalmers and made popular by Scofield's Reference Bible. There are many scriptural arguments given that rely on Hebrew word studies. Since ultimately only God knows what happened in eternity past, none of us can state categorically that the theory is either valid or false. However, even though proponents of the gap theory (also known as the "ruin and reconstruction" theory) don't believe in evolution, it is clear that they are also trying to harmonize the Bible with the supposed geologic ages of secular doctrine. Most creation scientists reject this theory for what it is: an attempt to harmonize secular theories with biblical narration. The evidence of known natural geologic clocks [see chapter 3] show that this Earth and universe is young. Any speculation beyond that is just that: speculation.

There are some that cling to the theory nonetheless. Many are pastors that have their ministry roots in the 1950's. Others, like S.A. Cranfill who supports this theory in her book, They Came from Babel, do so for different scriptural reasons. Her chief argument hinges upon the creation of the angels [13]. She cites Job 38:4 & 7 which states, "when I [God] laid the foundations of the earth" and when "the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" Her point is that this verse shows that angels existed before the Earth was created. The question that needs asking is, "what is the foundation of the earth?" At this point in the narration the earth is all water. It could mean when the water was turned into granite on the third day. But it is possible that this is a spiritual foundation. If so, we don't know when this spiritual "foundation" of the earth was laid.

I reject the gap theory because it is not stated by the Bible. It is the premise of this work that the Bible declares the creation in six literal days and no other. We as believers should be careful not to dogmatically cling to doctrines that are eisegitically read into Scripture. We would be guilty of the same folly that the evolutionists commit in clinging to dogma just to support their world view. This writer freely admits that there are many eisegitic propositions made in this work (including the canopy theory which is discussed later) that are given just to provide a possible flow to creation and how it was accomplished. The only dogmatic doctrines that will never be yielded in debate are the basics: we were created by God, we fell into sin and the virgin birth of God incarnate, Jesus Christ, provided redemption in his death and resurrection for all who will believe. There are many doctrines that are not clearly stated in the Bible but are accepted without question by many people as fact. The gap theory is one of these. We need to, as Paul said, "Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind" (Rom. 14:5). Search the Scriptures to see if it is so.