The Christian Bible, indeed, the Book of Genesis, is not a science book, and that holds especially for this chapter of Genesis, the origins chapter. Elohim the Creator has no need for it to be so. Please note that the purpose of the Bible is to reveal very God, the God of Relationship, Jehovah, to bring the reader to Him relationally, and to make the same a holy son or daughter of God through the Son of God, the Redeemer, and Savior, the Agent of Creation, Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, the eye of the trained scientist that also reveres God finds plenty of correlation to modern science in this chapter of God’s Word and the Bible per se. It would be astonishing if it were not so The Creator addresses the matter of science exhaustively and exactly by way of His trained scientists whom He raises up and disperses throughout the world and blesses with insights that Godless scientists are not privy to for lack of understanding. These other scientists, secular scientists, disqualify themselves; it is certainly not a matter of bias on the part of the Creator that they receive no insights from Him. And so, Discovery plods along blind alleys, rather than moving at Light speed along blessed ones (Psalms 119:130), precisely because guided by the swelled ranks of the secularists who hold sway these days, it stumbles over the uncaused First Cause Elohim and thus does not get off the starting blocks aright too often. The founders of modern science found themselves in more of a God-fearing environment, and practiced their science accordingly, and Discovery blossomed. They did not have the computing tools that we have in modern times but nevertheless made seminal discoveries upon which science builds to the day. It would be interesting to ratio the contributions to science in that day versus the contributions in our day, considering the computational tools available to each camp. We would guess that the God-fearing age contributed much more given an apples-to-apples comparison. (We speak as a physicist and materials scientist also trained and versed in computer science and electronics engineering and cannot address the area of biology as well as these other areas.) Mathematics, like physics, is a fundamental, pure discipline, and upon these two the rest are highly dependent. The same holds for technology, it gets nowhere without physics leading the way, and without question physics is built upon the discoveries and labors of the great God-fearing physicists from back in the day whom Elohim blessed to see farther than the rest.

We see plenty of science at work in this chapter of Genesis and we are not going to neglect commenting on it as we go along, largely in the endnotes, and with God’s help we shall do so in a way that is easy to read and understand and appreciate by all readers.

A great deal of evidence, as pointed out in various places in the endnotes, points to a relatively recent creation. We think Jehovah God created our universe approximately six thousand years ago. (Not least based on the Ussher Chronology of the Bible and similar chronologies put forth by J. Kepler and I. Newton; but more than that, there is strong independent evidence for a young earth as discussed largely in the endnotes.) We live in a young universe, a young solar system, a young earth, not at all the billions and billions of years in age as posited by evolution and Big Bang Cosmology (Fig. 2). We have dealt with the evidence in the endnotes and are going to refrain from repeating that in the main text. The endnotes are stand-alone, the reader may wish to critique them one by one as a separate read. We do link to the endnotes quite heavily from the KJV text sections in the main text, so the reader can engage them that way as you step through the verse sections of the commentary. The main text will be more heavily focused on the spiritual side of the text, while the endnotes are less so inclined and are more technical but still tethered to the verses.

We will follow this format:

Verse of Scripture utilizing the KJV text followed by an NKJV mouse over of that verse. Key words in the KJV text will be footnoted with a link to a word study based on the Hebrew text, and/or a general discussion relative to the given word (we are not biblical Greek or Hebrew scholars, please consider our grammatical constructions with a critical eye).

Commentary We shall always be commenting on this passage keeping before us the crucial fact that every jot and every tittle comprising these verses came forth under the inspiration of the blessed Holy Spirit. We pray that He, by His grace, helps us along the way .

II. Genesis Chapter One Commentary Verses

1:1-2- In the Beginning God Created

KJV TEXT: In the beginning[1] God[2] created[3] the heaven[4] and the earth[5]. And the earth was without form[6], and void[7]; and darkness[8] was upon the face of the deep[9]. And the Spirit of God[10] moved[11] upon the face[12] of the waters[13].

COMMENTARY: Who exactly is the Creator? He is Jesus Christ, the Word of God, the Agent of Creation (John 1:1-3, Ephesians 3:9, Colossians 1:16, Hebrews 1:2, Revelation 4:11).

The beginning. In the beginning. (“In the Beginning.”) In the beginning was (imperfect, indicative) the Word of God.

“The Jewish Rabbies have a saying, that there were seven things which God created before the world, by which they only mean to express the excellency of these things: The law, repentance, paradise, hell, the throne of glory, the house of the sanctuary, and the name of the Messiah. But to us it is enough to say, In the beginning was the Word.” (Matthew Henry)

Space, time, and matter have a beginning, Jehovah God does not. He is eternal. Jehovah is not “in the box” (1Kings 8:27, Isaiah 66:1, Acts 17:24). That makes sense, because God, as God, must be outside of space and time and, as God, He is certainly not a material Being (John 4:23-24), because that would put Him “in the box,” the very box that He made. That would be theologically and logically inconsistent.

God has no beginning, everything else does. The notion that the universe is eternal is, as it were, a stench in His nostrils therefore, for it puts the material on par with God. God has no beginning, everything else does—that is what one would expect the sacred text to convey, and it does via the inspired words and the inspired grammar (=construction of the words):

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

But why, why did God create? (Evolution would not pose such a question, it disdains the very thought—there is no “why” behind the universe in that camp, it just “is,” everything is chance and happenstance arising out of nothing going nowhere in particular except toward a catastrophic heat death at the end of it all.) Jehovah did not create for His own sake; well, not entirely. He created because He is a Giver (Genesis 1:29-30, Psalms 8:3-4, 115:16, Isaiah 40:28-29, John 3:16, Acts 17:24-25, 20:35, James 1:17, et al.). Jehovah gives, He gives freely. (Who could pay Him?) It is divine giving. Giving is characteristic of deity. And He created not least for another reason, one in which He manifestly enters, and that is Relationship. He created human beings in His image, with whom He may best relate, therefore. And so, the heaven and the earth He created for us, for human beings, with whom He wishes to fellowship. All this glorious creation work was done for us praised be His Name. The universe was created and made serviceable—for human beings (Psalms 8:4-6). It bears that signature; the universe is ours (1Corinthians 3:22) and thanks be to God who made it for us and graciously gave it to us.

When God created the earth, it proceeded the way one would expect it to proceed, namely, from the elements to a mechanism for the same, to materials. The latter is not possible without the former two in that order. Following that pattern God created ex nihilo (Hebrews 11:3). The elements arose from the finger of God (Psalms 8:3-4). A matrix of elements appeared first, but no mechanism by which physics and chemistry might proceed just yet; we have the elements, but no molecular bonds (outside of the seven simple diatomic building block molecules of hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, chlorine, iodine, and bromine—there is no substantive form to any of these—bromine is a liquid at room temperature, while the others are gases); more complex chemical bonding and substantive form requires a mechanism, and hence there is no macro form right here, and that is what the text is referring to , i.e., macro form:

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. (Cf. Jeremiah 4:23.)

But now enters the Timeless Worker, great and grand, the breath of God, His strong right hand. And indeed, through Him comes the mechanism. The Hebrew TEHOM is utilized for both “deep,” and “waters,” it is the same matrix of elements referenced in each case, and the mechanism that operates on it and animates it is feedback, negative and positive feedback, which is discussed at length regarding its role in creation in various endnotes, particularly endnote eleven:

And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

It follows that now, given a mechanism, physics and chemistry and the rest may proceed, and we get materials, and the familiar properties of materials—feedback is the dynamic, it is the mechanism, coming from the DUNAMO Himself. Feedback shows up mathematically as a second derivative, and it is ubiquitous, it pervades the Creation as discussed in the endnotes. No longer is the earth void and without form, nevertheless it is dark; it is still literal day one of the creation and we have some semblance of an earth—beds of basalt that soon will house the oceans, the bedrock granites upon which the continents will rest (Job 38:4). It is all coming together in lockstep with the utterances issuing from the Word of God (Proverbs 8:23-29, 30-31, Hebrews 11:3).

1: 3-5- Let There Be Light

KJV TEXT: And God said[14],

Let there be[15] light[16]: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good[17]: and God divided[18] the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day[19], and the darkness he called Night[20]. And the evening[21] and the morning[22] were the first day[23].

COMMENTARY: Let us recap: we have the elements, and that means we have the strong and weak nuclear forces as well as the gravitational force in place, it must be the weak force’s kin that comes next, and that is the electromagnetic force. And since the weak force is in place (as also the elements and feedback of course), we have all that is necessary to build a star, because the weak nuclear force jump starts the nuclear fusion (four hydrogen atoms fuse to make one helium atom) by which stars burn (“Little Baby Finger”). And once we have a star that burns, we have light:

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

Recapping again, we have a First Cause (Father God), we have the elements (by Jesus), of necessity we have concurrently the four fundamental forces of the Creation (by Jesus), we have next a mechanism (by the Spirit of God); it follows that next we realize some semblance of an earth (by Jesus—on the order of the half-life of polonium 218—three minutes—after the elements were created), we have a star and light (by Jesus). And necessarily with the light comes a great contrast, the one good, the other not so good by inference—let not the two mingle (2Corinthians 6:14, 1John 1:5):

And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

“Light is the great beauty and blessing of the universe. Like the first-born, it does, of all visible beings, most resemble its great Parent in purity and power, brightness and beneficence; it is of great affinity with a spirit, and is next to it.” (Matthew Henry)

Who dispels the darkness but God (Psalms 18:28, Isaiah 45:7)? There is a greater darkness that must needs be dispelled, that ever lurks within, and it is a far greater work by very God to dispel it (John 1:9, 3:19-21, 9:5).

The light of the sun was created for humankind and made serviceable precisely for us, we who are tethered to the earth and its God-ordained cycles—twelve hours thereabouts of light, and twelve hours without it (Psalms 74:16, John 11:9):

And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Day and night, night and day, repeatedly, thus it repeats down here in the land of the living. We work by day and do things; we sleep by night and not much gets done. (Hardly, in modern times, nevertheless, that was the original design, and without question that pattern is best for one’s health.) So too Jesus utilized the metaphor with more profound applications (John 9:4).

Day and night together make a twenty-four-hour day on earth. It is the kernel metric upon which are built weeks, months, years, decades, centuries, and millennia. Some two-million-one-hundred-ninety-thousand kernels since the first one here related by our text give or take and counting as it were (365x6000=2,190,000).

1:6-8- Let the Firmament be Stretched

KJV TEXT: And God said,

Let there be a firmament[24] in the midst[25] of the waters[26], and let it divide[27] 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[28]. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

COMMENTARY: A terrific switch in verbiage hits us now as we move along and learn about how things came to be in this universe and particularly on our home earth. The Word of God had been referring to a matrix of elements above via the Hebrew TEHOM (“deep,” “waters”), but now that God put a mechanism into play, He switches to the Hebrew MAYIM, i.e., literal water. We have at this point said water and the earth’s bedrock granites and basalt (the latter two both being igneous rock types). These are instantaneous creations, to which inherent polonium-218 radiohalos unequivocally testify in the case of the granites (it is impossible to leave discernible radioactive damage tracks in molten material, moreover the half-life—three minutes—is so short that the radioactivity would be long extinct before the magma solidified). Given the basalt and the granites, we have a place for the waters until the next command issues from the lips of the Word of God, the Creator. But please notice that these events are happening rapidly, there is hardly a lag here from speech act to action—the time from the creation of the elements to the creation of the granites being on the order of the half-life of polonium-218, three minutes. To recap: the focus had been on the elements and the creation thereof first and foremost, then a mechanism for physics and chemistry and whatnot followed, then and only then came materials—the granites and basalt and water, and now an atmosphere (Job 37:18). The division of the waters by the atmosphere was and is in flux in some odd ratio, and the upper waters are to be incorporated into the atmosphere which extends upward to the edge of inner space, and the lower waters are soon to be gathered into one place and comprise the earth’s oceans, and together with the upper waters comprise the life-essential water cycle without which life could not survive on earth (Ecclesiastes 1:7, Isaiah 40:12):

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.

1:9-13- Let the Waters be Gathered, Let the Land Appear

KJV TEXT: And God said,

Let the waters under the heaven be gathered[29] together unto one place, and let the dry land[30] appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth[31]; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas[32]: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the earth bring forth[33] grass, the herb yielding seed[34], and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind[35], whose seed is in itself[36], 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.

COMMENTARY: Next God calls for the lower waters to be gathered into one place and calls for the dry land appear. The “and” is revealing, it suggests a runoff of the lower waters to yet lower levels, to the deep basalt basins that support the earth’s oceans. (To the day the earth’s oceans are connected, water ever moves within and between them driven by currents and tides.) And it follows that per the runoff the dry land appears, the continents, themselves anchored by the earth’s bedrock granites that bear the telltale polonium-218 radiohalos which betray a young earth:

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.

One can see that God is bringing His good earth along so that it might harbor life. The sun, the dirt, the water, all necessary ingredients to sustain life are in place, and it follows right here that God would call forth vegetation and all manner of herbs and fruit:

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.

Things are coming together—our home earth is becoming the beloved home we are familiar with and cherish. Its basic constituents that concern biology, chemistry, geology, and physics are falling into place one by one in good order and with God’s speed. And it is not hard to figure out given the essential ingredients for life that God has called forth to this point that He has in mind to call forth yet higher orders of life.

1:14-19- Let the Celestial Heaven be Established

KJV TEXT: And God said,

Let there be lights[37] in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs[38], 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.

COMMENTARY: We have already had the creation of the sun and by association the stars, we have already had the creation of the earth and by association its moon, so why repeat this aspect of creation? It is not a repetition at all. As said in the endnotes, God here assigns/fixes their position in the celestial heaven. It is as it were a projection of the luminaries onto the celestial sphere which has a rotating earth inside it—everything is with respect to the earth (literally and figuratively). The luminaries as everything else in the creation were created for humankind and made serviceable for, specifically us. The order is obvious enough: first one creates, then one assigns relative positions to optimize the goal of serviceability. Everything one reads in this verse set bespeaks said serviceability (night, day, signs, seasons, days, years, lights):

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.

The earth is tethered to the sun, the moon is tethered to the earth (Job 26:7 and gravity/negative feedback/attractors spoken of here a couple of millennia before the Creator and Savior visited His good earth and walked about anchored by gravity). And everything is in motion, spinning, revolving, mathematically precise motion. It is the Creator’s preferred mechanism, feedback, on display (attractors in this context, curvature in the extreme in other creative contexts). And here He utilizes it as a plaything to order His heavens:

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.

1:20-23- Let the Fish and the Fowl Bring Forth after their Kind

KJV TEXT: And God said,

Let the waters bring forth[39] abundantly the moving creature[40] that hath life, and fowl[41] that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales[42], and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly[43], after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

COMMENTARY: All has been made ready for the earth to harbor various kinds of life, a given habitat—land, sky, water—for a given kind of creature, and God begins by creating an abundance of creatures for the exceeding abundance of waters that cover the earth (slightly more than two-thirds of the earth is covered by water according to today’s measure, and the sky is over it all that land and water, so it makes sense that the first creatures were created for these environments and to thrive therein). Of itself, water has no creative power. Here God creates fish for the water and birds for the sky/land—two different commands issue here and the water is not the cause for either effect—the fish are henceforth to breed and swarm in the waters (Psalms 104:25), the fowl are henceforth to fly in the sky (Matthew 6:26):

And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

1:24-25- Let the Earth Bring Forth after its Kind

KJV TEXT: And God said,

Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle[44], and creeping thing[45], and beast[46] of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

COMMENTARY: We have arrived at day six of the creation, let us recap (Fig. 1). And now God directs His attention to the land, the third great habitat He created on His (very) good earth, a special habitat, intended for the jewel of His creation, humankind. He made everything serviceable for humankind, the habitats, and the creatures therein. This is man’s special day, but first must come the land-dwelling creatures that we share this magnificent habitat with (walking shoes go on the feet before taking a walk, for the former is serviceable to the latter, and it is no different here):

And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind.

“After his kind.” What does that mean? It means within a given family. (For example, dogs were created to comprise the Canidae family: wolf, coyote, schnauzer, peacock?) Moreover, it means that subsequently dogs (wolf, coyote, schnauzer) should bring forth dogs (wolf, coyote, schnauzer). (Not finch, fish, peacock, etc.). Please notice the decided intentionality of God in creating living creatures according to singularly their kind that should henceforth bring forth specifically after their kind; hardly could it be otherwise, either for the animals or the plants as concerns propagating the kind:

. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

Creation in many respects reads like an excellent algorithm. It is an empirical fact of software engineering that the most efficient codes are modular (in this context—dogs, fowls, insects…kinds), with independent, loosely coupled modules (fowl eats insect), that are tightly coupled inside themselves (kind begets kind).

1:26-28- Let us Make Man in our Image after our Likeness

KJV TEXT: And God said,

Let us make[47] man[48] in our image[49], after our likeness[50]: and let them have dominion[51] over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created[52] man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male[53] and female[54] created he them. And God blessed[55] them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful[56], and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue[57] it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

COMMENTARY: Now comes the pinnacle, the crowning achievement of God’s creative work. Humankind. Why is that so? Why is humankind the crowning achievement of God’s work in Creation? It is because nothing else was created in His image, in His likeness (Genesis 5:1, 9:6, Acts 17:29, Ephesians 4:24, Colossians 3:10). That is singularly why—His image. It has nothing to do with us of ourselves other than the fact that we are created in His image. That is why He says to us ‘…be ye holy so that I might be your God, for I am holy…’ (Leviticus 11:44-45, Colossians 3:10). That is why He redeemed us and lifted us up onto that lofty plane of holiness at Calvary, thus realizing His very image in us. And because He created us in His image motivated by an incomprehensible love for us, there necessarily had to be a Cross, for He created us with free moral and otherwise agency—such as these legitimate Relationship:

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.

Notice how that God takes counsel with Himself in this, notice the plural pronouns: “…Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…”.

One looks in a mirror and sees one’s outward appearance. That is not the sort of “image” that is meant here, that fits more with the next phrase about God’s likeness. How others perceive us maybe gets a little closer; what portrait is being painted? Hard-working or lazy? Prudent or reckless? Anxious or calm? Sacred or secular? It all adds up over time and constructs a personal “image.” God is God, He is deity. He is spirit, He is perfect. He is holy. He is just. He loves mercy. He embraces humility. He is sacrificial. He has unfathomable intelligence and wisdom and certainly power. One could go on and on with the accolades because the good list is literally endless. That is His image, and that, beyond flesh and blood, good looks or not, poverty or wealth, achievements, or failures, is our rightful image through creation. It is an image lost because of willful Sin, and yet an image regained because of a Savior, the very One who created us and imparted said image:

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. (“A Letter of Invitation.”)

There is no creature in the universe that bears the image of God besides humankind, because with that image necessarily comes free moral and otherwise agency, and no creature can steward that aright except a perfect creature, of which there is none, for if there were, then it would be as God. But there is only one God, Jehovah God, the Creator whose image humankind alone bears. Hence, had God imparted His image to other creatures, they would be fallen too, which would demand recurring Redemption/Salvation because God cannot be biased, and a recurring Redemption/Salvation is out of the question not least on shoddy planning grounds. Humankind alone bears the image and likeness of God, and this universe was created for us, and us alone. (Modern day fascination with aliens is neo demonism, the most palatable sort of demonism to date—not a few moderns embrace this fascination, and if not, they nevertheless fawn over it quite googly-eyed with the imagination running wild. If only for their sake they thus fawned over their Creator, even the Eternal LogoS.)

Humankind, created in the image of God, thus stands head (intellect) and shoulders (capacity) over the other creatures God created, because humankind was intended to take charge of this earth which after all was made serviceable to humankind—he must get busy, and take control of it—it is made for him, but he must get after it because he has responsibilities (learning via his exceeding intellect and doing via his exceeding capacity):

and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Created in the image of God, male and female thus created. (Genesis 2:7, 21-24 give us the particulars.) Created and blessed. Blessed to be fruitful (procreate), and multiply (greatly increase), and to replenish the earth (populate it, a form of dominion):

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.

From two (Adam and Eve), upward for a while, then down to eight (Noah and family), back up again to 7.7 billion (2019). So it is when God purposes a thing and blesses it. (Ever bless us Lord, amen.)

Taking control of a fallen earth requires much thought, and learning, and hard work built upon hard work built upon hard work. The former two of these prerequisites were provided (through humankind’s exceeding intellect), but not the latter, the hard work part, that had to come from us, yet, ever fueled by God; indeed, the blessing would keep the ship afloat and steadily moving forward down through the ages. And so it went, not always with the wind full in its sails: from a garden paradise to thorns and thistles, notwithstanding, by and by, to molecular biology, to supersonic travel, to a golf game on the moon. Thus has humankind subdued his environs on the back of a blessing long ago that guided much thought and learning, and fueled much hard work built upon hard work built upon hard work:

Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Praised be your Name Eternal LogoS, Creator, Savior, who exceedingly blesses us fallen.

1:29-30- I Have Given You Everything

KJV TEXT: And God said,

Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat[58]. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

COMMENTARY: Humankind is mortal, yet outfitted for success is that mean frame of finitude, thus outfitted spiritually and physically:

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

And of course, the very issue of our finitude is more than made over, is more than a mere outfitting, it has been laid to rest once and for all time at Calvary. God has given us everything. He has given us everything to live an abundant life now, and on into eternity. What qualifies abundant living? Oneness with the divine Oneness now, and on into eternity; oneness with the divine Oneness qualifies abundant living, and that is what our Creator, Savior, and Champion offered us in the beginning, offers us in the interim, and offers us going forward. Let us ever embrace that blessed gift and enter into that Oneness—it is there for the asking (“A Letter of Invitation”). Let us ever praise His great Name.

1:31- And Behold, it was All Very Good

KJV TEXT: And God saw[59] every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very[60] good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

COMMENTARY: The “saw” in “…And God saw…” is Qal, imperfect. The imperfect is revealing (past tense+imperfective aspect=continuous action in past time). It is as though the whole of God’s work from its beginning, to what it would be going forward, was all in His mind (the action), and He dwelled on it (the continuity in the action). The imperfect seems to convey that. God saw it all and He dwelled on it. That dwelling greatly qualifies what comes next, for behold, it was very good. Not just good, but very good. Thus says the Eternal Mind, and so it is. What mind can dwell like the Eternal Mind can dwell? There is none other that can dwell like that. And if He says it is very good, we can mark it down, it is in fact very good:

And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Very good was everything that God made. Sin changed that. From very good, to accursed. So sad. But O my, praised and thanked be our great savior God, the same who created and beheld, and dwelled, and said it was all very good, for He made it all very good again. He saw that too when He beheld and dwelled, that yea, in Him, “very good” is ever upheld.

It is all very good great creator God. We rejoice in your handiwork, and even more so in your Salvation, nay, even more so in you.

Praised be your great Name my Lord; we do love you so. Amen.

III. Illustrations and Tables

Figure 1. Six Literal Days of Creation.

Figure 2. Big Bang Cosmology (a religion).

Works Cited and References

“A Letter of Invitation.”

Jesus, Amen.

< https://jesusamen.org/aletterofinvitation.html >

“Atmosphere of Earth.”

Wikipedia.

< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Earth <

“Basalt.”

Wikipedia.

< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basalt >

“Big Bang.”

(This article assumes Evolution which we do not espouse and hold to be an errant belief-system.)

Wikipedia.

< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bang >

“Cambrian Explosion.”

(This article assumes Evolution which we do not espouse and hold to be an errant belief-system/religion.)

Wikipedia.

< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambrian_explosion >

“Celestial Sphere.”

Wikipedia.

< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celestial_sphere >

“Colossians Chapter One Commentary.”

Jesus, Amen.

< https://jesusamen.org/commentarycol1.html >

“Closed System.”

Wikipedia.

< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermodynamic_system#Closed_system >

“Evolution.”

(We hold that the so-called science of evolution is not really science and is in fact an errant belief-system [energy/matter arising from nothing is errant].)

Wikipedia.

< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution >

“First Law of Thermodynamics.”

Wikipedia.

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_law_of_thermodynamics >

< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish >

Gentry, Robert V.

Creation's Tiny Mystery.

Knoxville: Earth Science Associates 1992.

“Germination.”

Wikipedia.

< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germination >

Henry, Matthew.

Commentary on Genesis Chapter One.

< http://blb.sc/001Mop >

“In the Beginning.”

Jesus, Amen.

< https://jesusamen.org/inthebeginning.html >

“Lemaitre, Georges.

Wikipedia.

< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Lema%C3%AEtre >

“Light Cone.”

Wikipedia.

< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_cone >

“Little Baby Finger.”

Jesus, Amen.

< https ://jesusamen.org/littlebabyfinger.html >

Nethercott, Paul.

“Tidal Locking and the Age of the Solar System.”

< Tidal_Locking (creationismonline.com) >

“Noether’s Theorem.”

Wikipedia.

< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noether%27s_theorem >

“Ocean.”

Wikipedia.

< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean >

“Planck, Max.”

Wikipedia.

< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Planck >

“Precambrian.”

(This article assumes Evolution which we do not espouse and hold to be an errant belief-system/religion.)

Wikipedia.

< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precambrian >

“Psalms Eight Commentary.”

Jesus, Amen.

< https://jesusamen.org/commentarypsa8.html >

Psalms Nineteen Commentary.”

Jesus, Amen.

< https://jesusamen.org/commentarypsa19.html >

Rubin, Jordan S., with Charles F. Stanley

The Maker's Diet

Siloam, A Strang Company

Lake Mary, Florida, 1-59185-714-7.

“Tidal Locking.”

Wikipedia.

< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tidal_locking >

Notes (words under study are highlighted and the immediate context is bracketed [])

[1] [In the] beginning-Strong’s H7225 [God created the heaven and the earth.] A starting point is meant, a starting point for mundane space, time, and matter. Space has dimension, time has direction, matter occupies space. Together, space and time frame events—events happen in space and time. More specifically and quite importantly, God states here that He impressed a significant (by human standards) measure of His own energy onto spatiotemporal “nothingness. “Spatiotemporal” is a totally meaningless term prior to the creation event—there was no space, there was no time, there was only Jehovah God, He alone (John 1:1-3). Creation is the first event; it lies on the “spacetime” boundary, it is the tip of the so-called light cone (Fig. 1). Please notice that when “space” and “time” began per this deliberate event by Jehovah God, He had long before existed because (1) Jehovah is eternal else He would not be God, and (2) Jehovah is singularly the (uncaused) First Cause for all matters physical and spiritual. Points (1) and (2) follow from the deity of the Creator as corroborated by the extraordinary, primary-source-attested ministry of the very Agent of creation, Jesus Christ. Jesus’ ministry is not directly observable, but is a matter of recorded history as with any historical figure’s “peer reviews,” such as Julius Caesar, George Washington, Isaac Newton, Napoleon, et al., the major difference being that the record concerning Jesus is both forward and backward-looking (Old Testament, New Testament, respectively; many inspired recorders across a long span of time with a consistent record), which adds more weight to it; for example, no one ever predicted that Isaac Newton would be born and revolutionize mathematics and physics, but Jesus’ revolutionary ministry was aplenty predicted—no contest here. And now please consider the all too popular alternative called “getting something from nothing” (GSFN); this is Big Bang Cosmology (BBC, Fig. 2), itself a belief system, a religion, that violates the first law of thermodynamics. The first law is an empirical law; it says, energy can neither be created nor destroyed. In mathematical, thermodynamic terms we have:

DU=Q-W

where U is the internal energy of a thermodynamically isolated system (=closed in classical mechanics—the classical picture is sufficient for our purposes in the following)—in everyday words this isolation means: no matter is allowed to pass into or out of the system’s boundaries, and no net force may impinge upon the system from the outside, while heat Q and work W may enter or leave the system as a function of the boundaries. DU stands for the change in internal energy of the system. In simple words we have:

the change in internal energy of an isolated system equals the heat added to the system by its surroundings minus the work done by the system on its surroundings. (The internal energy of a system is the total energy in it, it is the sum of the energy of motion of all the molecules [kinetic energy] and the energy associated with their chemical bonds [potential energy]—internal energy is all the conceivable innate energy possessed by a system.)

To make it even more simple to understand, the early twentieth-century physics Nobel laureate Max Planck puts it so with respect to its consequences for physical systems (Planck was certainly not a Christian):

“It is in no way possible, either by mechanical, thermal, chemical, or other devices, to obtain perpetual motion, i.e. it is impossible to construct an engine which will work in a cycle and produce continuous work, or kinetic energy, from nothing.”

But is not GSFN perpetual motion in the extreme? Of its own, nature simply does not work like that. If energy in the form of matter per GSFN is posited, then either the first law is incorrect, or the system is not closed in the strict sense. Clearly, it is the latter in the red font, for the former holds classically and non-classically to the day. It is not closed because there was outside agency, God entered, i.e., we have here “get something from God” (GSFG). GSFN/BBC is the wrong origins explanation by this first law argument. Everybody knows that perpetual motion is a pipedream, it fails all “eye tests,” and the reason it fails is because it violates the first law of thermodynamics. Modern cosmologists engage this glaring difficulty by positing a balancing act. They say that “in the end” all the positive energy in the universe (nonpotential) balances all the negative energy (potential, i.e., gravity) for a net sum of zero energy! (This kind of argument was called PARALOGOS by the ancient Greeks, or “argumentum absurdum” by the Romans [slang “say what?”] If only one could make that sort of GSFN work for one’s bank account.) (Build us a practical perpetual motion machine evolutionary cosmologist, back up your claims with something substantive, more than equations—make those equations hum with something practical and publish your results. We challenge you to follow your “best” energy theory and grab some energy out of your so-called vacuum and make it work as a perpetual motion machine.) And moreover, so-called abiogenesis, i.e., that life evolved from inanimate/inorganic substances that themselves appeared out of nothing (GSFN), is incredulous. Please notice that abiogenesis “piggybacks” on Big Bang Cosmology (BBC). Not only do we have here GSFN per BBC, but then life itself bootstraps up on the back/shoulders of GSFN, sort of a violation of the first law squared if you will. Please see also.

[2] [In the beginning] God-Strong’s H430 [created the heaven and the earth.] ELOHIM is utilized. Father, Son, Holy Spirit—here is God, three in one. The Creator and Ruler of the universe, the Source of all moral authority. El bespeaks “strength.” Elohim is omnipotent. Are not the fundamental forces of nature but a plaything to Elohim, Creator of the same? How He must have frolicked when He made the king of forces, even Leviathan, the strong nuclear force, that binds the bashful quarks (for they like not to be seen; indeed, these need a strong friend), yea, these timid quarks in the nucleons (neutrons, protons) found in the nuclei of all atoms, and His blessed electromagnetic force which He had in view to greatly service the jewel of His creation in due time, a force that makes it possible for us to communicate just now over the internet and makes possible myriad other such blessed things, and O my, His weak nuclear force that jump-starts the nuclear fusion by which His stars burn, including our own awesome furnace and lamp in the sky, and the gravitational force, that jester, not really a force, toting a mock scepter, presuming on the curvature of space in the presence of matter/energy, a force that is relatively weak (compared to the other fundamental forces), a weak jester, but nevertheless extending its humor to the ends of the universe (as does the electromagnetic force; these guys are certainly not jesters, we jest here). A fifth fundamental force in the Creation has been postulated but not proven at the time of this writing. Please see also these articles (G1, G2, G3, Names of God).

[3] [In the beginning God] created Strong’s H1254 [the heaven and the earth.] BARA, it means “bring into existence,” and assumes something new. Verbal usage is Qal (simple action, unnuanced form of the verb—same stem across moods; the Greek Aorist is like that), Perfect aspect (completed action of an event that occurred earlier with attention directed to the result and not so much the occurrence). There was a primary Cause (Jehovah) and secondary causes He impressed upon His handiwork (e.g., the seeds in an apple are secondary causes—entirely His design). Jehovah actively interacts with His Creation to the day—it is not left entirely to its own devices and fancies, and His interactions become our providences. The universe is not entirely closed because Jehovah God interacts with His footstool universe at His leisure. See also.

[4] [In the beginning God created the] heaven-Strong’s H8064 [and the earth.] “Heaven and earth” together comprise the universe per se; heaven here refers to our atmosphere (first heaven per Jewish tradition) and the celestial heaven comprised of the planets and stars and whatnot (second heaven per Jewish tradition). Jehovah God resides in the third heaven, beyond the first and second heavens. See also.

[5] [In the beginning God created the heaven and the] earth-Strong’s H776. Planet earth, which includes our atmosphere, waters, land—the whole thing from the earth’s core out to the farthest extent of our atmosphere bordering on inner space. See also.

[6] [And the earth was] without form-Strong’s H8414 [and void]. The Hebrew has a range of meanings, like chaos/confusion, emptiness, waste/wilderness, and so on. Without “form” is appropriate here because we think these words are telling us that there are but chemical elements at this point in the outworking of God’s design for His Creation (including the seven simple diatomic building block molecules of hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, chlorine, iodine, and bromine—there is no substantive form to any of these at room temperature—bromine is a liquid at room temperature, while the others are gases)—the feedback dynamics that drives so much of physics and chemistry and materials science and more is here not in force yet. We have learned through our feedback studies and models that much of the Creation is driven by largely negative feedback but positive feedback as well when the energy-currency is available to sustain this feedback and the system does not collapse under the exponential growth in the strain imposed by such feedback. We hold that God’s great conservation laws are a consequence of this feedback (something must “pay” for the feedback that is showing up all over nature). To put it crudely, the earth is without form here because though the elements are created, they are not materially active yet. It is important to distinguish matter from mechanism—here we have matter but not yet any peculiar mechanisms for that matter. For example, when the mechanism is there, two hydrogen atoms will combine with one oxygen atom and produce a form of water. Without the mechanism, there is no form possible. We hold feedback is the very mechanism that is missing here; feedback is a fundamental and primitive mechanism. Biological and mechanical systems (1) feed back their information at all levels of the system, they (2) update according to a set of rules inherent to the system, and then (3) repeat, repeat… That is the general pattern that shows up everywhere one looks closely at nature. Feedback produces curvature and is thus a natural “change in change” mechanism, and it can go places that a second derivative cannot, not least because nonlinearities are not a hindrance to the former but are greatly so to the latter. Even a cursory investigation of nature via modern science shows that second derivatives show up all over nature when mathematically modeling the same—most of all the mathematics in any discipline proceeds ultimately by way of one or more second derivatives, but no, what is really showing up is God’s feedback mechanism.

[7] [and the earth was without form and] void-Strong’s H922. It is empty, it looks empty, because nothing is “hooked up” yet per the last endnote. It is all very elegant and logical—step 1, create the elements, step 2, hook them up via a mechanism by which they are simultaneously made functional.

[8] [and] darkness-Strong’s H2822 [was upon the face of the deep]. Same as before, but this time the feedback in electromagnetism is missing—there is no light here, it is dark; this is to be expected. Please notice that forces can be modeled by feedback, but of themselves they are not feedback, i.e., feedback is not a force. To be clear, feedback is a fundamental and primitive mechanism. It is fair to liken a stripped-down version of nature’s feedback to recursion. Information is constantly fed back in nature and updated according to causal rules and then fed back into the system, and then updated again, and fed back again, and repeat, repeat. Nature operates like that in many different settings. Please notice that feedback is a computation, hence it cannot appear of its own, no more than any efficacious code appears without intelligent design, cause, and purpose. And not least, feedback must consume energy to sustain the feedback, be it negative or positive feedback. Negative feedback typically converges to some stable state (like an attractor), positive feedback typically “explodes” and renders systems quite unstable (like a troop marching in cadence across a bridge causing it to vibrate at its resonant frequency). Nevertheless, both mechanisms mixed in varying degrees explain how nature “works.” We hypothesize that this holds at macro scales on the order of galaxies (if we are to believe that the universe is expanding, that expansion is a classic example of positive feedback at work at galactic scales) down to atomic and subatomic scales where quantum physics alone holds (in keeping with this endnote on darkness/light, we have computer-modeled negative feedback in a quantum electrodynamics setting looking at the detailed dynamics of light partially reflecting from and/or passing through glass).

[9] [and darkness was upon the face of the] deep-Strong’s H8415. The Hebrew is TEHOM, it speaks abyss, primeval sea, and so forth. Whatever is meant, the formless and void earth is part of it. Probably a vast matrix of elements freshly created right here (including the seven simple diatomic building block molecules of hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, chlorine, iodine, and bromine—there is no substantive form to any of these at room temperature—bromine is a liquid at room temperature, while the others are gases). We think that R. Gentry is correct when he proposes that the creation of the elements was instantaneous, and the time from the creation of the constituent elements to the formation of the earth’s “Genesis rocks” (Primeval continental bedrock granites) was on the order of the half-life of Polonium-218, about three minutes (Gentry, 1992, p. 34). Polonium-218 is the first polonium alpha emitter in the decay chain of Uranium-238, which has eight alpha emitters of varying energy sufficient to leave damage tracks in the host material in which they are found when these emitters are sufficiently present in number, tracks seen as discoloration halos when the host material is sliced just so. (Imagine slicing an onion; alpha particles are high linear energy transfer particles hence they do most of their damage near the end of their path; they emanate from a radio center omnidirectionally/ spherically, hence slicing the host results in a 2D halo/ring.) Radiohalos betray the energy that caused the damage tracks, and hence the associated isotope. One would not expect to find Polonium isotopes in these rocks given the exceedingly short half-lives of these isotopes over against the hundreds of millions of years for magma to cool and crystallize into granites let alone the billions of years required to form heavy elements in the cores of stars and subsequent supernovae that flung these elements into interstellar space as posited by evolution/BBC (Fig. 2), yet Gentry catalogues precisely such evidence. (Given their short half-lives, polonium isotopes are considered to be extinct natural radioactivity by geologists; extinct natural radioactivity is highly prized in that the associated half-life testifies to the maximum age of the host, in this case, the bedrock granites, and hence the earth itself.). Gentry believes that the radiohalo centers responsible for the polonium radiohalos are the extinct natural radioactivity of polonium, as he found no uranium sources in the proximity of the radiohalo centers of the samples he investigated beyond what one would expect (a few parts per million; Gentry 30f). At the time of the writing of this commentary we have found no worthy refutation of Gentry’s argument. The “best” contrary argument we have seen is based on radon-222 (“radon”) transport along cleavage planes and defects in micas. Radon is in the decay chain of uranium-238, its immediate parent is radium-226, and it alpha decays to polonium-218, the first of the polonium alpha emitters in the uranium-238 decay chain comprising the radiohalos Gentry investigated. The crux of the argument is this: since radon is a gas and is readily absorbed by water (detectable via a liquid scintillation method) it is readily transported along cleavage planes and defect channels and whatnot thus depositing its polonium daughters responsible for radiohalo damage tracks when the deposition is sufficient in quantity for the daughter alphas to discolor the host. The argument hangs on the fact that radon is a gas and thus diffuses wherever it might, and not least that it is readily absorbed by water. Clearly, this argument gets nowhere if uranium-238 is not present in the proximity of the radiohalo centers. Gentry found no uranium, neither along cleavage planes nor in clear, cleavage and defect-free areas. Finally, quoting Gentry: “Doubtless there were trillions of polonium halos scattered throughout the Precambrian granites around the world. If each one was evidence for creation, it was staggering to think how vast and pervasive this evidence really was!” (Gentry 32)

[10] [And the] Spirit of God [moved upon the face of the waters.] Jehovah God is a Trinity; here is referenced He whom we like to refer to as the “Timeless Worker.” Yea, the Timeless Worker, great and grand, the Breath of God, His strong right hand. Please see also.

[11] [And the Spirit of God] moved-Strong’s H7363 [upon the face of the waters]. We like “shake” here; “relax” is good also, that kind of thing applies well. (Like shaking a tangled string to untangle it and restore functionality and order.) The Hebrew is RACHAF, which can mean to loosen/relax. “Hover” is fine but in the sense of focusing on an ordering task over which one hovers in context. Let us get at this important verb in its context by way of example. Imagine holding a box of variously-sized marbles in your hands—pea-sized ones up to golf ball-sized ones and every size in between—now gently start shaking the box. What happens? A lot of collisions occur, between the marbles and between the marbles and the box; the collisions are a picture of complex interaction. Upon closer examination, it becomes apparent that the collisions free (loosen, relax, i.e., RACHAF) the marbles to settle toward the bottom of the box and/or to climb upon one another toward the top of the box. In other words, the collisions set up a great competition between the force of gravity and the force of friction, and soon the larger marbles climb toward the top and the smaller marbles settle toward the bottom; then there comes a point when the settling and climbing competition stops, i.e., any further linear shaking-energy imparted to the marbles via the box does not dramatically disturb the order in the loosely bound so-called marble lattice that one produced via the shaking (RACHAF). That is roughly how dry screening technology works—in larger and longer boxes and not marbles but rather lots of variously sized rocks and dirt, one soon sees an ordering, i.e., a stratification profile, as the material in the box settles and climbs owing to collisions that set up the settling and climbing action driven by the forces of gravity and friction, respectively. Now, to “RACHAF” something is to impart energy to it for sure, but more than that, the relaxing/loosening effects make it possible, but not necessary, for order to follow, and that is what is happening here in context we think. In short, the Spirit of God is imposing a relaxing mechanism, feedback, to attend the freshly created matter (elements, including simple diatomic molecules at this stage) from which various forms of order may follow, and form follows function. In short, matter is being wed to mechanism in context. Feedback may now proceed and all its attendant familiar dynamics in various settings. Negative and positive feedback in the right combination orders systems, and one or the other by itself produces other effects, some stable, some not. Verbal usage is Piel (resultative sense in context), Participle (verbal noun).

[12] [and the Spirit of God moved upon the] face-Strong’s H6440 [of the waters.] Surface.

[13] [and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the] waters-Strong’s H8415. TEHOM, same as above in note nine.

[14] [And God] said-Strong’s H559 [let there be light.] The creation of the universe proceeded upon a series of speech acts from the Logos, the Word of God, the Agent of Creation, Jesus Christ. To utter, speak. Verbal usage is Qal, Jussive (simple action, active voice, volitive mood).

[15] [And God said] let there be-Strong’s H1961 [light.] Call into being/existence something that was not there before. Verbal usage is Qal, Jussive.

[16] [And God said let there be] light-Strong’s H216. Electromagnetism. The further context makes it clear that this is the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum coming from our sun (the energy associated with approximately 400-700 nanometer wavelength light); the text unambiguously implies the creation of our sun, and by association the creation of stars per se. Jehovah God created our sun is what the text is telling us. There is not convincing evidence that stars form bottom-up per BBC (Fig. 2). One must believe the BBC model, or not (hence BBC is a belief-system, a religion). We do not buy it, for various reasons, here is one of them—one can look up at the night sky and realize right fast that there are myriad stars in the universe, but please notice: the energy inherent in just one star is staggering, how much more staggering the collective energy of all the stars in the universe? Whence all that energy? So, which is more absurd:

the primary -source-attested Miracle Worker Jesus Christ created the stars, out of nothing, or,

they popped into existence over a long period of time strictly by natural means, out of nothing.

There is nothing wrong with studying the heavens and doing science (updated 07/14/21, A.s.), in fact God would encourage us to do so, but the evolutionary cosmologists blaspheme Jehovah God with their questionable models that leave Him out as the First Cause; and of course, He is left out of the textbooks, and our young ones learn a Godless science, and so the Godless momentum grows with each generation. That is not an accident, it is a plan. Jehovah God is in fact the First Cause, but the evolutionary cosmologists stumble over that. (In many respects theistic evolutionists blaspheme God as well, though that is certainly not their intention or goal: they try to incorporate God into their models, yet they compromise, they do so based on GSFN, BBC, and abiogenesis; it is a hostile, open blasphemy by the former, it is not intended to be so to any degree by the latter, and it is more difficult to recognize with the latter, there is a difference; the hiddenness of the latter is perhaps more dangerous to the Faith. We are calling the shots as we see them, we are not trying to insult or offend anybody. May God bless both camps with Truth.)

[17] [And God saw the light, that it was] good-Strong’s H2896 [and God divided the light from the darkness.] As meeting God’s standards for its role in the Creation.

[18] [And God] divided-Strong’s H914 [the light from the darkness.] divide, separate. Verbal usage is Hiphil (causative action—God caused this to happen), Imperfect (ongoing action—God divided them in the past and so it remains going forward).

[19] [And God called the light] day-Strong’s H3117. Hebrew-YOM. We have sunlight for roughly one-half of a twenty-four-hour day on earth. In everyday terms we have here “daytime.” Please see also.

[20] [and the darkness he called] night-Strong’s H3915. The roughly one-half of a twenty-four-hour day when there is no sunlight on earth. In everyday terms we have here “nighttime.” Please see also.

[21] [And the] evening-Strong’s H6153 and the morning were the first day.] Please see also, and also.

[22] [And the evening and the] morning-Strong’s H1242 [were the first day.] Please see also.

[23] [And the evening and the morning were the first] day. YOM. This can hardly mean anything other than a twenty-four-hour day going by the immediate context (there are certainly other possibilities, but this makes the most sense to us going by the immediate context). Anything else is reading into the text what is not there we think. We are convinced that God is here telling us that He did this in the familiar twenty-four-hours we are accustomed to, we ever toiling down here day after day in the land of the living. He worked according to that timeframe; we work according to that timeframe. He accomplished what He did in that timeframe; we accomplish what we can in that same timeframe (day after day for us mortals). Like Father like son/daughter. He even came down here and ministered and accomplished a greater Work constrained by that same timeframe day after day. He does the great things He does right here in a short span as a testament to His glory—He is the only one who can accomplish great feats in a short span. And He wants us to never forget that we worship a BIG God who does these amazing things, even Elohim here. He knows we understand the concept of a twenty-four-hour day perfectly being constrained by it day after day as we try to get things done, and this understanding should magnify our awe and wonder of His capacity in the extreme. This verse and the following day-acts are a testament to His glory, and we do praise thee Eternal Word, thou Great One, the Greatest, our BIG God.

[24] [And God said, let there be a] firmament-Strong’s H7549 [in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.] It is literally a fixed expanse, an expanse that incorporates the first heaven, namely, our atmosphere. (Dry air is comprised of gases, roughly 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and lesser amounts of argon and carbon dioxide, and trace amounts of a few others. There is also a variable amount of water vapor present, about 1% by volume at sea level, and about 0.4% over the atmosphere proper.) Please see also.

[25] [And God said, let there be a firmament] in the midst of-Strong’s H8432 [the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.] The text is telling us that water had been formed from the elements—much literal water, and here we get an atmosphere to divide the mass of water by some ratio above and below the atmosphere; after all we are told that the firmament sits in the midst of the water, and right soon we get the gathering of the water below the atmosphere.

[26] [And God said, let there be a firmament in the midst of the] waters-Strong’s H4325 [and let it divide the waters (same Hebrew word) from the waters (same Hebrew word).] This water had been formed from the elements and the attendant mechanism to make it work (no mechanism, no water), prodigious amounts of water here. The Hebrew is MAYIM—please notice there is an important communicative switch in verbiage from above (note thirteen), please note that carefully. By now, we have had the creation of the elements and a mechanism for them by which chemistry and physics as we understand these today might proceed (endnote eleven), it follows that we had the possibility for literal water and in fact that is what we have (H₂o=MAYIM); the communicative switch is from a matrix of elements to liquid water.

TEHOM->MAYIM = ELEMENTS->WATER

The text is telling us that water had been formed from the elements—much literal water, and just now we get an atmosphere to divide the mass of water by some ratio above and below the atmosphere, and right soon the gathering of the water below the atmosphere into one place.

Let us remember that things are happening quite fast—these are not day-age sorts of timeframes, this is the first literal twenty-four-hour day of creation in which all this is taking place. One must never lose sight of the brevity in the unfolding of the LogoS’ speech to action to consummation flow as one reads the Spirit’s text here. It is a Spirit-purposed testament to the LogoS’ power, let us not miss that (John 15:26). Please see also.

[27] [And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it] divide-Strong’s H914 [the waters from the waters.] Separate, divide. Some ratio of water above and below the firmament. For visualization purposes, suppose one created a huge block of clay and sliced it horizontally, not necessarily at the vertical midpoint and then inserted a thick but not too thick metal sheet along the cut—the huge block of clay is the water God created out of the elements, and the metal sheet is the atmosphere He created and inserted along the slice (simplistic yes, but it makes the point hopefully, the point being that God started by creating a huge mass of water out of the elements and then divided it). His goal is to eventually gather the clay below the slice into one place, and the clay above the slice is to become part of the atmosphere. Verbal usage is Hiphil, participle (ongoing action here).

[28] [And God called the firmament]-heaven-Strong’s H8064. Literally, “Heights, high places,” i.e., “sky” (Job 22:12). Please see also.

[29] [And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be] gathered-Strong’s H6960 [together unto one place, and let the dry land appear.] To collect in one place. The picture is that of a single body of water (interspersed with land masses undergirded by the primeval granites; primeval basalt undergirds the oceans—the primeval granites comprise the continents’ “basement rocks,” primeval basalt comprises the oceans’ “basin rocks”). Please note that the earth’s oceans are connected. (How would ancient Moses have known that but by inspiration? However one chooses to answer that question, the fact remains he was right.) Driven by currents and tides, water is ever moving within and between the earth’s oceans. Verbal usage is Niphal (Qal-simple action, passive voice), Jussive. See also.

[30] [Let the water under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the] dry land-Strong’s H3004 [appear.] In some shape or form as we know them today, by relative size with the largest first the earth’s continents are Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia. Please see also.

[31] [And God called the dry land] Earth-Strong’s H776 [and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas.] Please see also.

[32] [And God called the dry land Earth and the gathering together of the waters called he] Seas-Strong’s H3220. By relative size with the largest first the earth’s oceans are Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Antarctic (Southern), and Arctic.

[33] [And God said, Let the earth] bring forth-Strong’s H1876 [grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth.] Produce, put forth shoots, germinate/sprout and grow. The chicken comes before the egg when Jehovah rules the roost. (He always rules the roost.) The implication is that all these here “chickens” have been created and are to bring forth after their kind.

[34] [And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding] seed-Strong’s H2233 [ and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself.] Germination is the growth process that happens when a seed absorbs enough water to begin sprouting (water comes before sprouting, hence the Genesis gets the sequence right yet again). Seeds are a secondary cause in the Creation, the Eternal LogoS is the uncaused First Cause. Please see also.

[35] [And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his] kind-Strong’s H4327. Apple trees yield singularly apples, not bananas. See also.

[36] [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. Multiplication by way of seeds is a form of positive feedback. (Population growth is exponential and [positive] feedback is the reason why.) Positive feedback under constraint is a highly efficient design for propagating the host, it is Elohim’s de facto propagation mechanism. Feedback is a rule-based computation, it is much more than mere recursion, particularly in the context of complex life, which is itself coded—the feedback must, to the minutest dynamic, sync up with this underlying code in order for the host to propagate aright. It is hard to put into simple words how overarching this mechanism is—this discussion barely scratches the surface.

[37] [And God said, Let there be] lights-Strong’s H3974 [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.] Now the text returns to the role of the second heaven, the celestial heaven. The sun, moon, planets, stars, and comets. The sun and the stars emit energy directly to us, the rest reflect that emitted energy to us. Once again, we get nowhere here unless we nail an accurate source for this energy, and GSFN/BBC is the wrong explanation (Fig. 2)—that, flies in the face of empirical laws (and common sense/eye tests). Elohim by way of the eternal LogoS (the same is Jesus Christ, the Agent of Creation, that walked this here planet earth He made, pretty rapidly to put it mildly) is the right explanation for the lights He here speaks of—let us not lose sight of that going forward. Okay, we are going to employ a visualization aid in what follows. Imagine a rotating earth inside and concentric with a great, stationary sphere, and imagine that on the surface of the sphere are projected the stars. (Recall that the earth and stars have been created by now by God.) The rotating earth inside this imaginary fixed sphere setup is called a celestial sphere—it is a visualization aid utilized by astronomers; it is no more than that; we shall also utilize it in the same way for the purpose of illustration. This speech act by the Eternal LogoS is projecting the formerly created luminaries onto said sphere, i.e., this speech act is a locality/neighborhood assignment (consider Job 38:31-32). We must continue with the celestial sphere visualization aid just a bit longer. Because the earth is rotating inside that imaginary fixed sphere, stars appear cyclically with respect to any observation point on the rotating earth. That is precisely the vantage point we have down here on earth when we look up at the night sky. The cyclical nature of the situation allows for marking signs and whatnot (no astrology here please, away with that devilish nonsense [Deuteronomy 4:19]). Now, the moon orbits a moving earth, and therefore has an orbital period of 27.3 earth days, but its phases that we see repeat every 29.5 earth days, and these govern our months, and twelve months comprise our year. Please note that our moon is “tidally locked” to the earth. (Dubbed “captured rotation.” It means that our moon rotates once in exactly the same time that it takes it to orbit the earth, a common phenomenon in our solar system. Please notice that tidal locking is why the moon always shows us the same face.) None of the planets in our solar system are tidally locked to the sun, rather, the moons are thus locked to their host planet, and this allows one to calculate a satellite tidal locking rate, and from that the age of the solar system may be computed, a computation that turns out to be consistent with a young solar system on the order of thousands of years not billions of years (Nethercott, 2012). The evolutionary astronomers’ instruments (calibration and whatnot) and interpretation of the data must be examined here, and no less the geologists’ uniformitarian premises, as the age numbers reported by both camps are certainly incorrect. Who knows, maybe too much faith is being put upon the capability of the instrumentation in the face of the mind-boggling distances astronomers claim to be able to peer across, and upon a uniformitarian principle by the secular geologists that is just flat wrong (e.g., radioisotope decay rates are not constant, nor can they accurately be proven to be so going back billions of years—that is absurd). And the tilt of the earth’s rotational axis and its elliptical orbit around the sun are responsible for our seasons. So, the sun, the moon, and the stars are the major lights (=energy) that Elohim by way of the LogoS created for us to divide the day and the night, mark signs, days, years, and seasons. Maybe this is a good spot for us to reason together for a moment—as great as our earth and heavens are, we are getting a new heavens and a new earth in which to fellowship with holy God forever (2Peter 3:13, Revelation 21:1ff)—how much greater will that be? Let us not be too overly “wowed” with the status quo, and all the crazy Godless models especially.

[38] [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-Strong’s H226, [and for seasons, and for days, and years.] A mark, a distinguishing feature, for example to mark time, e.g., harvest time, Jewish feast days (according to the phases of the moon), in navigation. Please see also.

[39] [And God said, Let the water] bring forth-Strong’s 8317 [abundantly the moving creature that hath life and the fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament.] Verbal usage is Qal, imperfect. The imperfect is the key to understanding this verb in its context; the intended meaning is the waters are to be a continual breeding habitat. It is not as though the water was creating something.

[40] [And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the] moving creature-Strong’s H8318 [that hath life and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.] Waters+Swarmers=Fish.

[41] [And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life and] fowl-Strong’s H5775 [that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.] Birds.

[42] . [And God created great] whales—Strong’s H8577 [and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind.] Really big fish.

[43] [And God created great whales and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth] abundantly-Strong’s H8317 [after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind.] Teeming, swarming, primeval Creation and the appearance of all manner of fish and fowl.

[44] [And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind] cattle-Strong’s H929, [and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind.] Beasts of burden, livestock (that which is serviceable to humankind).

[45] [And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and] creeping thing-Strong’s H7431, and beast of the earth after his kind.] Slipping, sliding, creeping, crawling things, bespeaks reptiles, arthropods (Arthropoda is the largest phylum on earth).

[46] [And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and] beast-Strong’s H2416 [of the earth after his kind.] Quadrupeds not necessarily serviceable to humankind.

[47] [And God said, Let] us make-Strong’s H6213 [man in our image, after our likeness. Hebrew ASA, in the Qal, imperfect, first person plural. Please note the plural—Elohim is speaking and working as a Trinity, this is clear enough. But why the imperfect? Man is not a finished product right here; he is in the making. He will shortly fall and must needs be reborn by God his Maker entirely by choice of his will. It is his will, uncoerced, his to do with as he pleases, that is not of God his Maker, nor is it for God his Maker at this point. That is a problem, a big one, for Adam. And it will persist; this theme runs throughout Scripture from Adam forward. It is a delicate Work by God here this making. It will cost Him greatly to make a perfect out of that imperfect. (The imperfection lies not with God nor in the His “making activity,” but rather it lies in the exercise by Adam of the free moral and otherwise agency imparted to him. God did not create robots.)

[48] [And God said, Let us make] man-Strong’s H120 [in our image, after our likeness.] Human beings. Not Martians et al. Why? God’s Word nowhere gives us such guidance. Moreover, that planet has a different dust—though there are many similarities, it is not precisely the same (Genesis 2:7). Man is created in Jehovah’s image, nothing else is. If other beings were created in His image, by default they would have been created with free moral and otherwise agency and necessarily would be fallen following the precedent of Scripture. (Satan and his cronies fell, Adam fell, Eve fell, and on and on it goes.) Only a perfect creature can steward free moral and otherwise agency aright, but only God is perfect, and He is certainly no creature, not least by definition, all of which begs the question of recurring Redemption/Salvation, which does not compute on shoddy planning grounds, at least. Contemporary fascination with alien (non-man) life is a much overblown and devilish fascination consistent with End Times demonism we think. It is perfectly timed for certain self-deified moderns to embrace. It is one of the most “palatable” forms of demonism that man has witnessed to date. It is the delight of that unclean thing Satan and will drive many toward alien worship, which is devil worship, just another form of idolatry in the sordid and embarrassing history of humankind falling like dominoes for that kind of really red herring. Alien worship is just a little more “sophisticated” form of idolatry these days—it is the same old loser Satan that is driving it and driving said dominoes toward himself and away from Jehovah God. Let us not be suckered. Please see also.

[49] [And God said, Let us make man in our] image-Strong’s H6754 [after our likeness.] The inestimable value of a human being follows from the fact that human beings are created in the image of very God. In contrast, evolution reduces human beings to relatively valueless organisms that are the result of a mindless, random process of chance and happenstance stemming from inorganic matter that happened to pop into existence out of nothing. Please allow us further to defer to this article.

[50] [And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our] likeness-Strong’s H1823. We are not sure, but this may be slightly different than the previous note concerning God’s image--here possibly may be referenced the appearance rather than the holy character and divine quality of God, which translates then to the believer’s spiritual body (Matthew 17:2, John 1:14, 1Corinthians 15:39-45, 46-52, 53, Philippians 3:21, Revelation 1:13-15).

[51] [And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and] let them have dominion-Strong’s H7287 [over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.] Rule, rule over. It is not by might by but by Light—God-given intellect after that of his Maker—that man thus rules over the rest of Creation. Verbal usage is Qal, Jussive, third person masculine plural.

[52] [So God] created-Strong’s H1254 [man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.] BARA is utilized again as in note three above in the context of God’s creation of the heaven and the earth. We get the particulars in chapter two (Genesis 2:7, 21-25). Chapter one introduces the fact, chapter two expounds on it.

[53] [So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him] male-Strong’s H2145 and female created he them.] Transgender was not in the original (biblical) design, that, is a human concoction particular to Godless moderns (thus trending from 1952 onward give or take; more generally, the end of World War II marks a decided departure from biblical ethics and morals particularly in western cultures).

[54] [So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him male and] female-Strong’s H5347 [created he them.] Transgender was not in the original (biblical) design, that, is a human concoction particular to Godless moderns (thus trending from 1952 onward give or take; more generally, the end of World War II marks a decided departure from biblical ethics and morals particularly in western cultures).

[55] [And God] blessed-Strong’s H1288 [them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.] God conferred His divine favor upon them so that they could in fact be fruitful, multiply, replenish the earth, subdue it, and have dominion over every living thing—the blessing had to precede all these so that they could be accomplished. Please see also.

[56] [And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be] fruitful-Strong’s H6509, and multiply-Strong’s H7235 and replenish Strong’s H4390 [the earth.] These three verbs comprise a communicative theme, namely, they bespeak bringing forth seed to populate the earth, and the verbal usage is Qal, imperative (direct address, command) in each case. (Procreate, increase, populate, respectively.)

[57] [and] subdue-Strong’s H3533 [it: and have] dominion-Strong’s H7287 [over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.] These verbs comprise a communicative theme, namely, they bespeak taking control of the earth, and that means all manner of learning about it first and foremost, which assumes all manner of discovery. The tragedy is that modern man proceeds here without including the One who commissioned him and equipped him to do what he is doing—that is odious. It is embarrassing to watch little man plod along in his discoveries whilst blaspheming by way of ostracization and veiled mockery the One behind it all and the One who blessed him at the outset in order that he may accomplish his learning and discovery in the way of subduing the earth and taking dominion thereof (and the universe by association). One can see right here that Jehovah God is certainly pro-science, but of course not a Godless science. It is inconceivable that faith in God and science do not mix given this commission. Intellectual insecurities and lack of intellectual discipline: indeed, it is the intellectual insecurities and lack of intellectual discipline of certain learned segments of modern humankind that prevent it from opening its horizons and including Creator God in its work. These segments are afraid to think outside the box. Surely this folds back on humankind per se, and discovery plods along rather than moving forward at Light speed.

[58] [I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for] meat-strong’s H402. Food. Herbs and fruit for man here and similarly herbs for the animals big and small, creeping and flying, in the next verse. At least per the original design, the best and healthiest and most nutritious food for human beings was fruits, vegetables, and herbs. No doubt that is probably the smart way to eat still today. (This work by J. Rubin and C. Stanley has helped us greatly in that regard.)

[59] [And God] saw-Strong’s H7200 [every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.] The verbal usage will help explain the verb in this context—it is Qal, Imperfect, and it is the imperfect that is so helpful. God as it were looked at all that He had made, at once, in parallel so to speak, and He dwelled upon it—the continuation in the action, in past time. Now, why ever would deity dwell?! Joy? Pleasure? Sorrow? Something else? Notice please: The Eternal Mind dwelled on it, and behold, to Him, it was very good. Here is the upshot we think—it is for the reader to understand that no amount or kind of criticism regarding the Creation is worthy, unless it too dwelled and beheld that indeed, the Creation is very good, for the mind of no angel, nor the mind of any mortal, dwells, like the Eternal Mind dwells.

[60] [And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was] very-Strong’s H3966 [good.] Exceedingly good, i.e., exceedingly beyond satisfying God’s standards. The Creation is an amazing gift (James 1:17). We thank Thee for it great God, our BIG God.

TOP