Creation

There is one God who is sovereign. He has total power in the entire universe. None can come against Him. He is not in battle against anything. No creature in heaven, or on earth, or under the earth can exist one moment beyond divine permission. God is the creator. He made all things, all creatures, all powers and all governments.

No creature can do the slightest thing in opposition to the will of God. The worlds were made through Christ, by whom He upholds all things by the word of His power (Heb 1:2-3). God created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them in six days and rested on the seventh day. This is where we get the period of a seven day week.

God said “let there be light” and there was light, before He made the sun. This indicates the futility of sun worship, or worship of any creature. While Genesis does not provide scientific details, it does provide statements of historical fact. The text in 2 Pet 3:8, “To the Lord a day is a thousand years,” has no application to Genesis. Peter is speaking about God’s long suffering, His patience in withholding punishment and does not make any reference to creation.

Genesis 1 is the chronological account of creation while Genesis 2 is a thematic account of the same event, not chronological or contradictory. This is Hebrew form, where a matter is introduced in one section and expanded in the next section. Most verses in the Proverbs follow this form, as do other historical accounts in the Old Testament.

Adam and Eve lived in harmony with the animals and none ate meat. Lions were not created to eat meat, as many animals today have large teeth, but are not meat eaters. Meat was given to man to eat after the Flood of Noah and therefore vegetarianism cannot be justified on biblical grounds.

This may have had something to do with changed conditions reducing the nourishment or range of plant life. Human life span was significantly reduced after the Flood, with a presumed increase in the variety of diseases. It seems apparent that it did not rain before the Flood and that instead a mist went up from the earth that watered plant life (Gen 2:5-6). This would result in a greater greenhouse affect, with no polar ice and very limited U.V. radiation from the sun with a denser atmosphere.

There are so many other possible differences regarding pre-Flood conditions, including a lack of oceans and mountain ranges and a possible dividing of continents after the Flood. We do not make conclusions about these things here, for each point in itself would require a lot of research into biblical language and other matters. God knew the Fall would occur and may have made provision for that in His original creation.