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Genesis Chapters 1-2 Creation: Foundation of Our Faith

Genesis Chapters 1-2 Creation: Foundation of Our Faith. Dr. Heinz Lycklama heinz@osta.com www.osta.com/messages. Biblical Creation. The 7 C’s of History Comparing Gen. 1-2 and Rev. 21-22 Creation According to Gen . Chapters 1-2 OT/NT References to Gen . Chapters 1-11

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Genesis Chapters 1-2 Creation: Foundation of Our Faith

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  1. Genesis Chapters 1-2Creation: Foundation of Our Faith Dr. Heinz Lycklama heinz@osta.com www.osta.com/messages

  2. Biblical Creation • The 7 C’s of History • Comparing Gen. 1-2 and Rev. 21-22 • Creation According to Gen. Chapters 1-2 • OT/NT References to Gen. Chapters 1-11 • Compromising Theories • Gap Theory • Theistic Evolution Theory • Progressive Creationism • Day-Age Theory • Framework Hypothesis • Conclusions • Questions and Answers @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  3. The 7 C’s of History • Creation – Ex Nihilo, Gen. 1-2 • Corruption – The Fall • Catastrophe – Noah’s Flood • Confusion – Tower of Babel • Christ – First Coming • Cross – Sacrifice • Consummation – New Creation, Rev. 21- 22 @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  4. Contrasts Between Old & New Worlds @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  5. The Author of Genesis • “These are the generations of ...” marks termination of one narrative, beginning of another • Different original authors, Moses the editor • Gen 2:4 “this is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created” • Gen. 5:1 “This is the book of the generations of Adam. ...” • Gen. 6:9 “These are the records of the generations of Noah. ...” • etc. @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  6. Creation According to Gen. 1-2 • Gen. 1:1, In the beginningGod created the heavens and the earth. • Significance of 1st verse • Written by God • Refutes false religions and gods • Three key concepts: • Days of Creation • Kinds of living organisms • And God said … @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  7. To Begin the Discussion … • In 1903, a British philosopher, Herbert Spencer, made a profound scientific statement:“Everything in the universe can be explained by five basic things - space, matter, time, force, and action.” • Spencer, an evolutionist, was a contemporary of Charles Darwin, the British scientist credited with popularizing the concept of evolution. He (Spencer) was given a prestigious award by the British Science Society at the time. This was considered to be a major contribution to science. And it is, until you realize that … @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  8. What Does The 1st Bible Verse Say? • Moses, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote in Gen. 1:1:“In the beginning (time) God (force) created (action) the heavens (space) and the earth (matter).” • What makes this even more remarkable is the fact that Moses was educated in the tradition of the Egyptians. They believed that only the ocean existed at first. An egg/flower appeared and the sun god was born. The sun god had four children, of whom one was Geb (the earth). They believed that the earth was a flat disk afloat on the river of the ocean. None of this mythology of the time was included in the book of Genesis. @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  9. Gen. 1:1 Refutes Man’s False Philosophies @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  10. Model of Creation • The Bible is the inerrant Word of God • God is Creator • Six days of Creation – Gen. 1:1 – 2:3; Ex. 20:11 • Creatures created/reproduce after their kind – Gen. 1 (10 x) • Man is created • In God’s image – Gen. 1:26-27 • Creation is dependent on God • Man is fallen and dependent on God • Creation and Science must be coherent and consistent • God reveals Himself in Scripture (Special Revelation) • God reveals Himself in nature (General Revelation) • Jesus and NT authors refer to Gen. 1-11 as history @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  11. Two Creation Accounts • Gen. 1:1 -> Gen. 2:3. Written entirely by God • Gen. 2:4 -> Gen. 5:1. Written by Adam • These two accounts appear to contradict each other in the order of certain creation events • Gen. 2:19 “And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them ...” • This seems to conflict with Gen. 1:24-27 where God clearly created animals before He created man • However, the proper translation of Gen. 2:19 states that “God had formed” since there is no distinction in Hebrew between the past tense and the past perfect, since the context provides the real meaning @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  12. Created in Six Days • Gen. 2:1, “Thus the heavens andthe earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventhday God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.” • Ex. 20:11, “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, all that is in them, and rested the seventh day.” • Ex. 31:17, “… for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day …” @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  13. Evolution demands long ages Bible: literal days Meaning of ‘Yom’ Yom with a number Evening and morning Gen. 1:14, “Let there be lights in the firmament … “ Ex. 20:11, “For in six days the LORD made …” Words used to indicate time Narrative versus poetry (VSO v. SVO) In the beginning createdGod the heavens… = VSO Genealogies (Gen. 5, 1 Chron. 1, Luke 3) The Creation Days @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  14. “Probably so far as I know, there is no professor of Hebrew or Old Testament at any world-class university who dares not believe that the writer(s) of Gen. 1-11 intended to convey to their readers the ideas that creation took place in a series of six days which are the same as the days of 24 hours we now experience…” Creation Days Quote Professor James Barr, Professor of Hebrew at the University of Oxford. @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  15. “To summarize, liberal scholars of both 19th and 20th centuries admit that the text of Genesis is clearly meant to be taken in a literal, historical sense, although they deny its claims to speak accurately to our space/time cosmos.” Creation Days Quote 2 Douglas F. Kelly (Professor of Systematic Theology) , Creation and Change, 1997, p. 51. @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  16. Creation of Distinct Kinds • Gen. 1: 11(1), 12(2), 21(2), 24(2), 25(3) • Ten major categories of organic lifecreated “after its kind” • Plant kingdom - grass, herbs, fruit trees • Animal kingdom - sea monsters, other marine animals, birds, beasts, cattle, crawling animals • Man “kind” • One kind cannot transform itself into another kind • Definite and distinct categories • There is variation within a kind • These “kinds” still recognized today

  17. And God Said … • And God said: • Gen. 1: 3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26, 28, 29 (10x) • e.g. “let there be light”, Gen. 1:3 • And it was so: • e.g. “and there was light”, Gen. 1:3 • And God saw that it was good: • e.g. “the light was good”, Gen. 1:4 • Gen. 1:31, “And God saw everythingthat He had made, and behold, it was very good.” @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  18. Creation Principles • Appearance of age/history • Mature from its birth, including Adam and Eve • Gen 2:1, Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them, were finished. • Death came with sin • Fossils appeared after the curse • Rom. 5:12, Therefore, just as sincame into the world through oneman, and death through sin, andso death spread to all men because all sinned— • Rom. 6:23, For the wages of sin is death, but … @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  19. OT References to Creation • Ex. 31:17 (Moses) “It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth …” - six-day literal creation • Josh. 24:2-4 (Joshua) “ … your fathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, …” - accepts Gen. 11 account of Abraham’s ancestors • II Kings 19:15 (Hezekiah) “You have made heaven and earth.” - speaks of creation • 1 Chron. 1:1-28 “Adam, Seth, Enoch, …”repeats genealogies of Gen. 5, 10, 11 • Neh. 9:6 (Nehemiah) “You have made heaven, … the earth and everything on it, the seas and all that is in them, …” - refers to Creation @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  20. NT Referencesto Gen. 1-11 • Every NT writer refers to the early chapters of Genesis • Jesus Christ referred to each of the first 7 chapters of Genesis e.g. Mark 10:6-9 -> Gen. 1:27 • Almost all NT books have references to Genesis 1-11, especially Gen. 1-2 • Every chapter of Genesis 1-11 except chapter 8 is referred to somewhere in NT • Every NT writer accepted these early chapters as historically accurate @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  21. Removing Genesis 1-11 • Removes true history • Removes the foundationfrom all future history • Rejects the teachings of Peter, Paul, other Biblicalwriters, Christ Himself e.g. in the Gospels, Acts, Romans, Corinthian letters,Hebrews, Revelation • Eventually leads to apostasy @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  22. Compromising Theories • Genesis 1-11 as our foundation • Compromises and theProblems with them: • Gap Theory • Theistic Evolution • Progressive Creation • Day-Age Theory • Framework Hypothesis • Conclusions @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  23. Which Foundation Do You Trust?

  24. Genesis 1 As Allegorical? • Make the account figurative, a-historical, or supra-historical, and ultimately non-descriptive • This treats the Genesis account as a demythologized poem, sung to the glory of the creator God • Or a cosmology, like many other epic and legendary cosmologies of the day @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  25. Genesis 1 As Historical • Accept Gen. 1 as a chronologicalaccount of something that actually happened in creation • Gen. 1 and 2 offer us correct and satisfactory information concerning prehistoric time • It goes beyond the reach of available historical sources and offers not mythical suppositions, not poetical fancies, not vague suggestions, but a positive record of things as they actually transpired @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  26. Compromising Theories • Many people believe that God used evolution as His means of creating the universe and everything in it • Numerous attempts have been made to reinterpret the Bible in order to make it compatible with the theory of evolution • The problem is that of TIME! • How to get a few billion yearsinto the first chapter of Genesis? @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  27. Compromising Theories (cont’d) • Dr. Duane Gish: • “The concept of a frog being turned into a prince in an instant is a fairy tale, but the assertion that a frog, given 300 million years, can turn into a man, is considered science.” • Many “Christians” are so convinced that evolution is true that they feel they need to harmonize the Scriptures with “science” • Are we willing to change the Scriptures every time a scientific theory is debunked or modified? @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  28. Gap Theory • Gap between Gen. 1:1 & 1:2 • Earth populated long ago by organisms that were destroyedand preserved as fossils • Is. 45:18; 2 Pet. 3:5-6 used as “proof texts” • Assumes that the geological agesoccurred before the creation week • Assumes that a cataclysm terminated the geological ages • After a long time, God then proceeded to re-make or re-create the earth in the six literal days described in Gen. 1:3-31 @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  29. Problems With Gap Theory • Death before sin • Organic evolution produces death • The fall of Satan after the geological ages • Gen. 1:31 makes clear that Satan had not yet rebelled • Scientific problems with the Gap Theory • No evidence of a monstrous cataclysm • Biblical problems with the Gap Theory • Ex. 20:11, “… in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is …” • Sun needed for life, but not created until 4th day, Gen. 1:14-18 @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  30. Theistic Evolution • Creation by continuous evolutionary processes, initiated by God • God revealed the fact of Creation in Scripture, but left the method of Creationto be worked out by scientists • Attempt to accept the “fact” of Evolution • Approved by none other than the Pope! • Sometimes referred to as “Biblical evolution”, creative Evolution, etc. @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  31. Problems With Theistic Evolution • Creation of distinct kinds precludes transmutations between kinds: • Ten major categories/kinds identifiedin Genesis 1 (“after his kind”) • 1 Cor. 15:38,39 “... one kind of fleshof men, another flesh of beasts ...” • No concept of evolutionary continuity • Too many missing fossil links • Mutations appear to be undirected • Humans are modified animals, rather than created in God’s image @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  32. Theological Contradictions • God’s omnipotence - can create in an instant, does not need eons of time • God’s personality - “man in His own image”, why wait until the tail end of “geologic time”? • God’s omniscience - fossils indicate extinctions, misfits, and other evidences of “poor planning” • God’s nature of love - “natural selection” is not loving • God’s purposiveness - creation and redemption of man. Why waste billions of years? • Grace of God - struggle for survival, fits with “humanistic” salvation by works @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  33. Progressive Creationism • God created universe via Big Bang • Over billions of years, our solar system formed, resulting in the formation of Earth • Diversity of life on Earth is a resultof God creating “kinds” of organismssequentially • Due to their sequential creation thesevarious “kinds” of organisms appearin the fossil record in the order we observe • The newer species still in existence were “specially” created and not genetically related to the older kinds @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  34. Progressive Creationism (cont’d) • Semantic variant of “Theistic Evolution” • God intervened on various occasions to create something new, i.e. evolution needed some help • God placed an eternal soul in a humanoid form at the proper time • Implies that God’s creative forethought was insufficient • Involves discontinuous evolutionary processesinitiated by God @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  35. Day–Age Theory • Attempt to accommodate Genesis to geology • Interpret creation so that ages of geology correspond to the history of creation, i.e. days must correspond (more or less) to geologic ages • Events occur in the same order as Gen. 1: • Inorganic universe • Simple forms of life • More complex forms of life • Man • But time periods much longer than a day: • 2 Pet. 3:8 “… a day is as a thousand years …” @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  36. Problems With Day–Age Theory • Proves nothing because assumptions cannot be validated • Must accompany “Day-Age” with “Theistic Evolution” or theory of “Progressive Creation” • Unacceptable on exegetical orscientific grounds: • Proper meaning of “day” and “days” [Hebrew yom] • Contradiction between Genesis and geological ages • Identification of geological ages with evolutionary suffering • Variations of “Day-Age” “A text without a context is a pretext.”, Henry Morris @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  37. Proper Meaning of “Day”/“Days” • Hebrew “yom” does not have to mean a literal day, could mean a “very long time” 2 Pet. 3:8, “thousand years as one day” • Translated as “time” 65 times • Translated as “day” 1200 times • Plural translated as “days” 700 times • Literal meaning is usually best • Other meanings can be gained from the context • Genesis 1 is written very carefully using words/phrases such as “first day”, “second day”, “evening and morning” @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  38. Meaning of “Day”/“Days” (cont’d) • When limiting numeral is used in OT (200 times), it always means literal day • God called the light day, and the darkness night (Gen. 1:5) • Precludes a geologic age • Vegetation can’t survive for a geologic age without sunshine • Gen. 1:14-19 -> divide day from night • Ex. 20:8-11, fourth commandment “six days, ... seventh day ...” • 2 Pet. 3:8 “a text without a context is a pretext” @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  39. Contradictions Between Genesis and Geological Ages @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  40. Identification of Geologic Ages With Evolutionary Suffering • Evolution is random, wasteful, cruel • Inconsistent with nature of God • Geological ages provide framework for evolution • Geologic systems and epochs are identified on the basis of fossils found in the rocks • Evolution is the basis for interpreting the fossil record, and the fossil record is the basis for establishing and identifying the geologic ages • An example of circular reasoning! • God is not the author of confusion @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  41. What The Bible Says AboutDeath and Suffering • God pronounced it all very good in Gen. 1:31 • No death and suffering before the fall: • Gen. 3:14-19 “... cursed is the ground ...” • Rom. 5:12 “through one man sin entered, ... so death spread to all men” • Rom. 8:20-23 “... whole creation groans ...” • 1 Cor. 15:21-22 “... by a man came death, for as in Adam all die ...” • Rev. 21:4-5 “... no longer any death ...” • No fossils before the fall @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  42. Framework Hypothesis • Does not treat Genesis as history • Treats Genesis as a literary framework • Hebrew poetry comprised of parallelism • e.g. synonymous parallelism in Ps 19:1-2 • e.g. antithetical parallelism in Prov. 28:1 • Alleged stylized framework in Gen. 1 • Days 4-6 parallel days 1-3 • Days 1-3 refer to days of the Kingdom • Days 4-6 refer to days of the Rulers @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  43. Summary • Even professing Christians seek to harmonize Scripture with the assumed evolutionary history of the earth and man • Gap Theory, Theistic Evolution, Progressive Creation, Day-Age Theory and the Framework Hypothesis all fall short of this goal • Some treat Genesis 1-11 as allegorical, liturgical, poetic, supra-historical • These force one to reject Genesisas either scientific or historical • Expunging Genesis 1-11 cuts out the foundation of the entire Biblical system @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  44. Genesis 1-11 As Literal History • The style of these early chapters of Genesis does not suggest a mythical, allegorical, or poetical approach • The view entertained by our Lord Jesus Christ • The inspired writers of the NT not only referred often to the narrative, but made doctrinal arguments which depend upon the historical validity of the Genesis account • The Bible teaches that the Creation of the heavens, the earth, and the inhabitants thereof, was for the glorification of Almighty God @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  45. Origins Found in Genesis 1-11 Heavenly Bodies The Earth Animal / Plant Life Human Life Law Marriage Sex Roles in the Family Childbearing Sin (need for Salvation) Forgiveness God as Provider ofthe Sacrifice Suffering and Death Clothing Work Crime & Punishment Freewill Offerings God’s Universal Judgment The Fossil Record The Rainbow Weather Patterns Change of Seasons Languages Agriculture Civilization @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  46. Conclusion Creation is an essential truth spoken of in the Bible Col. 2:8 “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.” @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

  47. Questions? Dr. Heinz Lycklama heinz@osta.com www.osta.com/creation www.osta.com/apologetics www.osta.com/messages Lycklama Lending Library (Books and DVDs) @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

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