Creation in Revelation – Part 2

In my last blog I wrote that Israel’s symbol, the menorah, displays how God’s light shines on Israel and that its seven branches remind the Levites of the seven days of creation. Levites (who were not Israel’s full-time professional priests) served five weeks per year in the Temple. During each week of service in the Temple, the Levites read daily portions from Genesis 1 and also from psalms. Each day’s reading focused on the meaning assigned n Genesis one to that day of the week.

I say this because John structures each section of Revelation around the seven days of creation. When I discovered this concept while exploring the Apocalypse it brought clarity and a beauty to the book.

Is each day of the Creation a literal 24 hours?

I feel that sometimes when people ask stilted questions, they miss the scripture’s beauty and full meaning. They are looking for quick and easy answers to today’s issues (not questions). Inquisitors are gauging a competitor’s theological stance. They do not seek discussion, only orthodoxy. 

But the Bible urges us to ask questions, seek answers, read between the lines, and in everything, pray and seek God. We build our individual relationship with God by making ourselves vulnerable to Heaven while probing the Bible for truth.

Does Genesis 1 teach or negate evolution?

The first section of the book of Genesis is not a book of science; it is a poetic passage about God. Genesis 1 contains the truth that God made the heavens and the earth and everything between them. The first portion of Genesis also relates some details about God’s relationship with humans and our relationship with God.

Sometimes people cloud the meaning of the Bible with their own issues. In our modern age some Christians have attempted to use the story of Creation to combat the teaching of Evolution. 

Other people in our world attempt to prove God does not exist by claiming the first chapter of Genesis is a non-scientific myth. These philosophers augment their argument by pointing out that the second chapter of Genesis seems to operate from a different chronology than the first chapter.

Both evolutionists and nay-sayers miss the beauty and teaching of the early chapters of Genesis. The book is neither a scientific textbook nor a pagan mythological fable. The book paints a beautiful picture of creation along with teachings about proper relationships and the necessity of showing appreciation.

What happened in pre-creation and on Day One?

God is eternal. Before creation, the everlasting existed. We cannot debate this point because we possess a finite mind and a limited lifespan. Our brains cannot contain eternity. If we try to debate with the Almighty, we will receive the same answer from the Creator that was given to Job, “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? “

To understand the limits of your mind, try this experiment: Answer the question: “If a spaceship with a never-ending supply of fuel was launched straight up into the sky, how far could it go?” If you honestly seek an answer, you will notice your mind tries to keep putting limits on space. We are finite. But if you examine the concept of space, there can be no end … and if you find one I will ask: What’s on the other side of the wall?

With all this in mind, the book of Genesis says, “Let there be light.” So what is the light? Is it illumination? What does the Bible say in Proverbs 8:22-23? On the first day of creation the Bible says God “separated the light from the darkness.“ Please help us understand.

What did God create on the second day?

“God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it.“ On the second day it seems God created the envelope of air where we survive. The Creator separated the vast sea on our planet into a blue body of water below and a blue sky in the water vapor over our heads. 

Of course, we have flown through the blue appearance of the sky, and there we discovered that space is empty. There is not a body of water up there. Some would say primitive people believed the blue sky was water. I will say that primitive people could see beyond the blue sky to observe stars far better than we can in our modern, light-polluted skies.

Separation: God uses this word to describe what occurred on both the first and second days of earth history. I can say that whether you believe in literally 24-hour days or undefined periods of time! 

Separation: Light from Dark; Earth below from Heaven above. It seems these words mean more when taken spiritually than scientifically. Perhaps in all our discussions we should seek to mend the separation from the omnipresent God in order to find an answer from the omniscient One. 

What did God create on the third day?

Some of the smartest people might answer “land” or “dry ground,” only to be proven wrong. God gathered the waters into one place so the existing dry ground, called land, appeared.

The sassiest people in our group will reply to my answer, “Finally! We have a place to stand!” Yes, I think that is a correct answer, But the best answer would be: God made “vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.“

Since the reader could apply spiritual meanings to created items on the first two days, we must also permit it here. I guess I could say, now that I have a place to stand, I can think and my mind can bear fruit. 

What did God create on second half of the week?

During the first half of the week our tethers were cut and we launched out into the unknown. The second part of the week mirrors the first, but is much more realistic and practical. 

Whereas God created light on the first day of the week, the Lord created the Sun, Moon and Stars to shine on the fourth day of the week.

Whereas the God Most High parted the sea to create an upper heaven and lower oceans on the second day, the Supreme Being invented fish to swim in the seas below our feet and birds to fly in the clouds over our heads on the fifth day of the week.

Whereas the author of Creation separated dry land from the seas and then provided plants for sustenance on the third day, the King of Kings invented a multitude of creeping, crawling, slithering and standing things to inhabit the dry land and eat vegetation on the sixth day. And on the sixth day the loving Creator also made people. Adam and Even in the image of God they were created.

What happened on the seventh day?

What a tiring week, God rested. The Sabbath day is matchless; it is original, it continues, but goes beyond both the spiritual and the practical. Enjoy the day. Maybe pick up one of my books and read.