The document provides a summary of Lesson 3 from a series on "The origins". It discusses the biblical account of the creation of the sun, moon, and stars on the fourth day according to Genesis 1:14-19. It also explores some alternative theories that attempt to reconcile the order of creation in Genesis with scientific understandings. The final section of the document discusses theories around whether the days of creation referred to in Genesis were literal 24-hour periods or longer time frames. It argues that a literal reading aligns with God's example of working for six days and resting on the seventh.

1. Lesson 3

2. “In the beginning God
created the heavens
and the earth”
Genesis 1:1
Key Text
2

3. “Then God said, “Let there be lights in
the firmament of the heavens to divide
the day from the night; and let them be
for signs and seasons, and for days and
years; and let them be for lights in the
firmament of the heavens to give light
on the earth”; and it was so. Then 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.
God set them in the firmament of the
heavens to give light on 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.
So the evening and the morning were
the fourth day” (Genesis 1:14-19)

4. 1. Sun and daylight are inseparable from our point
of view, but there are other light sources, “The
city had no need of the sun or of the moon to
shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The
Lamb is its light” (Rev. 21:23). So the light on the
first day could have come from God or other light
source; the Sun was not created until the fourth
day.
2. Sun, Moon and stars could have been created by God
“in the beginning”, but they took on their task on the
fourth day, “to rule over the day and over the night,
and to divide the light from the darkness” (Gn. 1:18)
3. The Sun already existed but was darkened by clouds
or volcanic ashes so it was not visible or functional
until the fourth day. Something similar happens
nowadays with the planet Venus.
There are several theories that make both days compatible:

5. 2“Then God said, “Let the waters
abound with an abundance of living
creatures, and let birds fly above the
earth across the face of the
firmament of the heavens.” So God
created great sea creatures and
every living thing that moves, with
which the waters abounded,
according to their kind, and every
winged bird according to its 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 birds
multiply on the earth.” So the
evening and the morning were the
fifth day”
(Genesis 1:20-3)

6. Were the first living
beings created as adult
animals or as embryos
or individual cells that
needed to grow?
The text explicitly states that God created “great sea creatures”, so they were
great, adult animals which could be fruitful and multiply.
God said that all the created animals were “good”; that is, they were well
designed, good-looking, without any defect and ready to fulfill their purpose.

7. “Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the
living creature according to its kind: cattle and
creeping thing and beast of the earth, each
according to its kind”; and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth according to its
kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind.
And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to
Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and
over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So
God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He
created them… Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So
the evening and the morning were the sixth day” (Genesis 1:24-27, 31)

8. God created a great variety of
species when He created the land
animals. He also created different
kind of beings within each species
with an ability to adapt to the
environment.
Some specimens have changed –
mostly after sin entered the
world–, but none has broken the
barriers God placed in each family
of the animal world.
There are a lot of different dogs,
tigers or bears nowadays. But no
tiger could ever evolve to become
a bear.

9. “In one of his most impressive lessons Christ says, “Behold the fowls of the air; for they sow not,
neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your Heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not
much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit to his stature?” The
great Teacher is here leading out minds to understand the parental care and love which God has
for his children. He directs them to observe the birds flitting from tree to tree, or skimming upon
the bosom of the lake, without a flutter of distrust or fear. God’s eye is upon these little creatures;
he provides them food; he answers all their simple wants. Jesus inquires, “Are ye not much better
than they?” Then why despond, or look into the future with sadness and foreboding?” E.G.W.
(Pamphlet “The Sanitarium Patients at Goguac Lake”, p. 14)
God created the animals and gave them amazing qualities. He cares for
each one of them and takes care of them. Wouldn’t He also take care of
the masterpiece of His Creation, the human being?

10. “Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of
them, were finished. And on the seventh day God
ended His work which He had done, and He rested on
the seventh day from all His work which He had done.
Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it,
because in it He rested from all His work which God
had created and made” (Genesis 2:1-3)

11. “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the
Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable” (Isaiah 40:28)
Why did God rest on the seventh day if He is
never weary?
“God looked with satisfaction upon
the work of His hands. All was
perfect, worthy of its divine Author,
and He rested, not as one weary,
but as well pleased with the fruits
of His wisdom and goodness and
the manifestations of His glory.
After resting upon the seventh day,
God sanctified it, or set it apart, as
a day of rest for man.”
E.G.W. (Patriarchs and Prophets, cp. 2, pg. 47)

12. “Following the example of the Creator, man was to rest upon this sacred day,
that as he should look upon the heavens and the earth, he might reflect upon
God’s great work of creation; and that as he should behold the evidences of
God’s wisdom and goodness, his heart might be filled with love and reverence
for his Maker” E.G.W. (Patriarchs and Prophets, cp. 2, pg. 47)
Humans needed the communion with their Maker in order to understand their place in
the universe. We need the Sabbath rest in order to prevent us from losing sight of God
and getting caught up in materialism and overwork.

13. Were the days in Creation literal 24-hour days
as we live them nowadays?
“Six days shall work be done, but the
seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest,
a holy convocation. You shall do no work
on it; it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all
your dwellings” (Leviticus 23:3)
“For in six days the Lord made the
heavens and the earth, the sea, and all
that is in them, and rested the seventh
day. Therefore the Lord blessed the
Sabbath day and hallowed it” (Exodus
20:11)
There is an obvious parallelism:
1. Six days of Creation for God  Six days of work for man.
2. One day of rest for God  One day of rest for man.
We work and rest in 24-hour days, why should that be different from the
divine work and rest in the week of Creation?
In order to emphasize this, God numbered the days, 1st, 2nd… 7th. Each of
those consecutive days was divided in two, the dark period (night) and the
light period (day) as in our current week.

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