CONTINUED:
Land Plants on Third Day
The Bible account adds: Let the earth cause grass to shoot forth, vegetation bearing seed, fruit trees yielding fruit according to their kinds, the seed of which is in it, upon the earth. And it came to be so.Genesis 1:11.
Thus by the close of this third creative period, three broad categories of land plants had been created. The diffused light would have become quite strong by then, ample for the process of photosynthesis so vital to green plants. Incidentally, the account here does not mention every kind of plant that came on the scene. Microscopic organisms, water plants and others are not specifically named, but likely were created on this day.
Fourth Day
Let luminaries come to be in the expanse of the heavens to make a division between the day and the night; and they must serve as signs and for seasons and for days and years. And they must serve as luminaries in the expanse of the heavens to shine upon the earth. And it came to be so. And God proceeded to make the two great luminaries, the greater luminary for dominating the day and the lesser luminary for dominating the night, and also the stars.Genesis 1:14-16.
Previously, on the first day, the expression Let light come to be was used. The Hebrew word there used for light is ohr, meaning light in a general sense. But on the fourth day, the Hebrew word changes to ma·ohr', which means the source of the light. Rotherham, in a footnote on Luminaries in the Emphasised Bible, says: In ver. ÞGe 1:Ü3, ôr [ohr], light diffused. Then he goes on to show that the Hebrew word ma·ohr' in ÞGe 1 Üverse 14 means something affording light. On the first day diffused light evidently penetrated the swaddling bands, but the sources of that light could not have been seen by an earthly observer because of the cloud layers still enveloping the earth. Now, on this fourth day, things apparently changed.
An atmosphere initially rich in carbon dioxide may have caused an earth-wide hot climate. But the lush growth of vegetation during the third and fourth creative periods would absorb some of this heat-retaining blanket of carbon dioxide. The vegetation, in turn, would release oxygena requirement for animal life.Psalm 136:7-9.
Now, had there been an earthly observer, he would be able to discern the sun, moon and stars, which would serve as signs and for seasons and for days and years. (Genesis 1:14) The moon would indicate the passing of lunar months, and the sun the passing of solar years. The seasons that now came to be on this fourth day would no doubt have been much milder than they became later on.Genesis 1:15; 8:20-22.
Fifth Day
Let the waters swarm forth a swarm of living souls and let flying creatures fly over the earth upon the face of the expanse of the heavens. And God proceeded to create the great sea monsters and every living soul that moves about, which the waters swarmed forth according to their kinds, and every winged flying creature according to its kind.Genesis 1:20, 21.
It is of interest to note that the nonhuman creatures with which the waters were to swarm are called living souls. This term would also apply to the flying creatures [that] fly over the earth upon the face of the expanse. And it would also embrace the forms of sea and air life, such as the sea monsters, whose fossil remains scientists have found in recent times.
Sixth Day
Let the earth put forth living souls according to their kinds, domestic animal and moving animal and wild beast of the earth according to its kind. And it came to be so.Genesis 1:24.
Thus on the sixth day, land animals characterized as wild and domestic appeared. But this final day was not over. One last remarkable kind was to come:
And God went on to say: Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness, and let them have in subjection the fish of the sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and the domestic animals and all the earth and every moving animal that is moving upon the earth. And God proceeded to create the man in his image, in Gods image he created him; male and female he created them.Genesis 1:26, 27.
Chapter 2 of Genesis apparently adds some details. However, it is not, as some have concluded, another account of creation in conflict with that of ÞGe Üchapter 1. It just takes up at a point in the third day, after dry land appeared but before land plants were created, adding details that were pertinent to the arrival of humansAdam the living soul, his garden home, Eden, and the woman Eve, his wife.Genesis 2:5-9, 15-18, 21, 22.
The foregoing is presented to help us understand what Genesis says. And this quite realistic account indicates that the creative process continued throughout a period of, not just 144 hours (6 × 24), but over many millenniums of time.
How Did Genesis Know?
Many find it hard to accept this creation account. They contend that it is drawn from the creation myths of ancient peoples, primarily those from ancient Babylon. However, as one recent Bible dictionary noted: No myth has yet been found which explicitly refers to the creation of the universe and the myths are marked by polytheism and the struggles of deities for supremacy in marked contrast to the Heb[rew] monotheism of [Genesis] 1-2. 3 Regarding Babylonian creation legends, the trustees of the British Museum stated: The fundamental conceptions of the Babylonian and Hebrew accounts are essentially different.
From what we have considered, the Genesis creation account emerges as a scientifically sound document. It reveals the larger categories of plants and animals, with their many varieties, reproducing only according to their kinds. The fossil record provides confirmation of this. In fact, it indicates that each kind appeared suddenly, with no true transitional forms linking it with any previous kind, as required by the evolution theory.
All the knowledge of the wise men of Egypt could not have furnished Moses, the writer of Genesis, any clue to the process of creation. The creation myths of ancient peoples bore no resemblance to what Moses wrote in Genesis. Where, then, did Moses learn all these things? Apparently from someone who was there.
The science of mathematical probability offers striking proof that the Genesis creation account must have come from a source with knowledge of the events. The account lists 10 major stages in this order: (1) a beginning; (2) a primitive earth in darkness and enshrouded in heavy gases and water; (3) light; (4) an expanse or atmosphere; (5) large areas of dry land; (6) land plants; (7) sun, moon and stars discernible in the expanse, and seasons beginning; (8) sea monsters and flying creatures; (9) wild and tame beasts, mammals; (10) man. Science agrees that these stages occurred in this general order. What are the chances that the writer of Genesis just guessed this order? The same as if you picked at random the numbers 1 to 10 from a box, and drew them in consecutive order. The chances of doing this on your first try are 1 in 3,628,800! So, to say the writer just happened to list the foregoing events in the right order without getting the facts from somewhere is not realistic.