Scripture
Genesis 1:14-19
[14] Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years;
[15] and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so.
[16] God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also.
[17] God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth,
[18] and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good.
[19] There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
This is the 38th Lecture on Genesis.
I’ll continue to explain the 4th day of the Creation from the last lecture.
God created the sun, the moon, and stars on the 4th day.
I said that it means God created our galaxy to which the earth and the Solar system belong.
The stars other than the stars in our galaxy had already existed in the original space, and God created the earth before the 6 Days of Creation.
When God created the sun, the moon, and stars, the standard of their location and size was this earth.
It is a fact that the earth revolves around the sun, but it was not the sun but the earth that was created first.
God created the sun, the moon, and stars in appropriate sizes, and then placed them in the appropriate locations from the earth.
By the way, our galaxy is 100,000 light years in diameter.
In other words, to travel from this end of our galaxy to the other end, it takes 100,000 years at the speed of light.
Our Solar System is located at a distance of 30,000 light years from the center of this galaxy.
Therefore, (if you look at the screen) from the Solar System to the left end of our galaxy is 20,000 lights years, and to the right end is 80,000 light years.
The Milky Way that you see in the night sky is a part of our galaxy.
It looks long since we on the earth are looking at the direction of the center of our galaxy which has the shape of a Frisbee.
God created all these stars of our galaxy on the 4th day.
Now, could these newly created stars be seen from the earth right away, or not?
Those who understand the speed of light may think these stars could not have been seen right away.
The speed of light is 300,000 kilometers per second, which means it can circle the earth 7 and half times in a second.
It takes about 8 minute and 19 seconds for the actual sunlight that you receive everyday to reach the earth.
Therefore, the sun that you see from the earth is actually the sunlight which was emitted 8 minutes 19 seconds ago.
Within this limit of knowledge, you may come to a conclusion that the stars which were created on the 4th day couldn’t be observed from the earth.
Theoretically, after the stars were created on the 4th day, you could have seen only the moon and a couple of planets of the Solar System that shine by reflecting the sunlight.
In astronomical terms, a celestial body that shines by itself is called a star, and it is said that the nearest star from the earth except the sun is 4.22 light years away.
Therefore, even if all the stars of our galaxy were created on the 4th day, it would have taken at least 4 years to be able to spot a self luminous star in the night sky.
Now, I said early that the one end of our galaxy is 80,000 light years away from the earth, and the other end is 20,000 light years away.
Therefore, to be able to see the whole Milky Way as you can now, it should have taken 80,000 years from the 4th day of the creation.
Within the limits of scientific knowledge of the world, you cannot but think in this way.
By the way, some the creationist scientists who believe in creation by God misunderstand the Bible, and insist on “Young Earth Theory,” that is “the earth is only 6,000 years old.”
They began counting the years of the earth’s age with the Six Day Creation.
In addition, they believe that all the stars in the first heaven were created on the 4th day.
They believe that not only the stars in our galaxy, but also all the stars in the entire universe were created on the 4th day.
This “Young Earth Theory” itself has become the source of arguments among the creationist scientists.
Now, we have the answer that can clearly solve and explain closeness of the creationism scientists and also the suspicion of other scientists of the world.
First of all, I said that the stars outside of our galaxy have existed even before the beginning, from the day of the original space.
The ages before the beginning are such long long years that go beyond your imagination.
Therefore, it has been observed until today that the farthest star from the earth is 13.1 billion light years away, and it is surely possible to explain it.
The age of the earth is not 6,000 years.
The earth was already created even before the 6 Days of Creation, and even after the 6 Days of Creation, much more than 6,000 years have passed.
The age of 6,000 years is the age from the moment when Adam and Eve were driven out to the earth from the Garden of Eden.
Even though Adam and Eve were created on the earth, they belonged to the Garden of Eden which is in the second heaven and lived there for many long years.
We don’t know how long it was, but it was surely a very long time.
And during such long years, the earth kept on getting older.
Therefore, the earth is much older than 6,000 years.
However, it doesn’t mean that it took countless years for the light of many stars to reach the earth.
In fact, the stars of our galaxy which were create on the 4th day could be seen from the earth on that very day.
How could it be possible?
It was possible because the creation work of God took place in the spiritual space which was surrounded by the original light.
In the spiritual space, the speed of light is much faster than in the fleshly space.
The distance that the light should travel for 100,000 years in the fleshly space can be traveled in a moment in the spiritual space.
Therefore, the light of the star which is 80,000 light years away from the earth could reach the earth instantly at the moment it was created.
There is another important fact.
The light of other previously existing stars which belong to other galaxies could also reach the earth after our galaxy was created on the 4th day.
Let me tell you an example to help you understand it better.
There are many different kinds of light that travel from the sun to the earth.
They are visible ray, ultraviolet ray, and infrared ray.
The light which can be seen by a man’s bare eyes is called a ‘visible ray.’
Man can see these visible rays.
But man cannot see ultraviolet rays and infrared rays.
These lights could be seen only through special devices.
Just as there are lights which are invisible to your eyes, any light of stars could be seen until the 3rd day of the creation, but they could be seen from the 4th day.
But all the lights were not seen at once, but they were seen gradually.
The light from the sun was seen first, and then, the light from the stars of our galaxy, and lastly the light from the stars outside of our galaxy.
What if I describe it from the earth’s point of view?
Say, the earth has eyes, and these eyes were closed until the 3rd day, and thus it couldn’t see anything.
And the eyes were finally opened on the 4th day.
The eyes became brighter and it could see things much farther away.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
When God created the sun, the moon, and stars on the 4th day, the space of the 1st heaven began operating by itself according to natural law.
According to the physical law of the 1st heaven, new stars were created, and some stars disappeared at the end of their lifespan.
Rotating or revolving, all the celestial bodies began operating according to the given rules.
When did I say these rules of the universe were established?
I explained to you that when God said “Let there be light” on the 1st day of the creation, all the orders and the natural Law of the fleshly world were established.
The sun, the moon, and stars which were created on the 4th Day started to operate according to the rules.
As the sun, the moon, and stars were operating according to the given rules, many ‘signs’ appeared on earth.
And ‘seasons and days and years’ were made up.
First of all, what were signs?
There were two kinds; first, are the atmospheric phenomena.
As the sun was created and its light reached the surface of the earth, seawaters became water vapor which rose into the sky to form clouds.
It’s known that the heat of the sun evaporates billions of water per second on the entire earth.
After the sun was created, a difference in temperatures resulted from the places where the sun shined its light and the places where the sun’s light didn’t shine.
Even if the sun shines equally, the amount of the heat of the sun was different between places on the earth such as between Polar Regions and lower latitudes.
Then, as temperature changed on the surface, the atmospheric pressure also became different according to regions, and it made the winds to blow.
It is because the heated air rises and the cooler air descends.
Due to the work of clouds and winds to carry them, it rained or snowed in different places of the earth.
Then, rivers and lakes were formed on the lands, and plants were provided with necessary water.
These atmospheric phenomena that began taking place due to the sunlight were the first ‘signs.’
The second ‘sign’ refer to all the phenomena which take place due to geological movement.
As the sun, the moon, and stars were created, crustal movements took place on earth.
Until the 2nd day of the Creation, waters were covering the entire flat surface of the earth.
On the 3rd day, North Pole area was dug and waters gathered there to form a sea, and South Pole area became dry land.
On the 4th day of the creation, however, as the sun, the moon, and stars were created, crustal movements started to take place.
The dry land which was originally one was split and divided.
Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions took place, and as results, uplifts and sinks happened on the surface of the land.
Uplift is a geological process most often caused by plate tectonics which increases elevation
The opposite of uplift is subsidence (or dip), which results in a decrease in elevation.
Now, why did these phenomena begin taking place as the sun, the moon, and stars were created?
To help you understand it, let me take one example.
Suppose a father is holding his child.
This child is not stepping on the ground with his feet. However, since he was being held by his father, he doesn’t feel difficulty or discomfort.
Before the sun, the moon, and stars were created, the earth was being held in the power of God just like the child held by his father.
However, after the sun, the moon, and stars were created, the earth maintained its position thanks to the gravitation between the sun, the moon, and stars.
This is a bit awkward to describe, but think of the child once again who was held by his father.
If the arms and legs of this child are tied and pulled from all 4 directions, this child will be suspended in the air.
Even though this child is suspended in the air, he will feel uncomfortable and very hard.
Moreover, imagine that you spin this child in the air.
He would feel much difficulty and dizziness wouldn’t he!
He is in the completely different situation from when he was held in the arms of his father.
You may find rides in an amusement park thrilling.
Some rides spin 3 different ways.
Just as a top itself spins, it also moves in any lateral direction, when you ride on a carnival tea-pot like ride, it spins like a top, and at the same time it moves laterally making big circles.
And the base where these tea-pots are fixed also spins.
You may take this ride for a few moments, but what if you take it for days?
Now, the earth has been doing this work of spinning for a long period of time.
The earth rotates on its axis, and it revolves, circling around the sun.
Also, all the celestial bodies of our galaxy including the earth and the sun are circling around the center of the galaxy.
Therefore, the earth is actually making a 3-way spin.
In addition, the speed of the spins is too fast to imagine.
First of all, the speed of the earth’s rotation is the speed of the earth completing a full rotation once a day.
Near the equator area, the speed is 1,570 kilometers per hour.
If you are riding in a car which is driving at 200 kilometers per hour, you may feel it is so fast.
But, the earth is spinning much much faster.
This earth is revolving around the sun at the speed of 108,000 kilometers per hour.
Also, the speed of the Solar System’s revolving around the center of the galaxy is about 900,000 kilometers per hour.
The moon also rotates and revolves around the earth. The sun also rotates.
But why don’t you sense it even though the speed of the earth’s rotating and revolving is so fast like this?
Compared to the size of the earth, a man is too small. It may be a reason, but there is another important reason.
For example, the flight speed of an airplane is so fast, but if it flies at a constant speed, the passengers in the plane don’t feel the speed.
However, if the airplane changes its altitude or speed, the passengers can feel the difference.
God created the earth to circle around the sun in the same orbit as it rotates at a constant speed.
Even though its rotating and revolving speed is so fast, it always maintains a constant speed.
And it’s rotating orbit and revolving orbit doesn’t change.
If the speed changes, or goes out of orbit even a little but, you will feel the aftermath right away.
Including we human beings, the things in the earth may bounce off out into space.
God the Father knew all this, and thus He planned things in great detail, and crated with great precision.
In such a space, the earth began receiving comprehensive action of tremendous force from the 4th day.
As its result, various geological actions took place on the earth.
Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions took place, and the dry land was divided into many pieces and started to move.
These kinds of geological movements began to take place from the 4th day of the Creation.
By the way, God knew in advance how the earth would transform as time passed by while receiving comprehensive actions of these forces.
He knew what kind of signs would be there at it would be close to the end of time when the human cultivation comes to an end.
And so, He let us know through the prophets, and our Jesus also talked about it.
In Luke 21:22, for example, the Lord said, “and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.”
He said there would be great earthquakes, that there would be famines due to natural disasters such as drought, flood, and windstorms.
Just as written in the Bible, there are many signs of the end time in the world these days.
Scientists utilize computers to predict the changes in the earth’s environment.
Many of them insist that global warming of the earth should greatly affect the future earth environment.
Global Warming is the process by which the average temperature of the earth surface increases.
Since the late 19th century, the annual average temperature of the earth has increased by 0.6 degree in Celsius.
Scientists expect that global warming will process much faster, and that it will result in many environmental changes.
They have scientific data such as how much the sea level will rise, how stronger the intensity of natural disasters like windstorms or drought will become; with this data, they predict the future.
As knowledge develops and men become wise, they can predict the near future even a little.
Then, what is it that God doesn’t know who created all things?
God the Creator knew how the earth would transform as it is gradually affected in the space.
God also knew how human beings would destroy the natural environment out of their selfish greed, and how they would break the laws of nature.
God knew how all these things would act in concert and what signs would takes; and then He had these things recorded in the Bible.
As human beings see such signs, God wanted them to realize the Judgment is very close.
Considering all these things, God set the beginning and end time of the human cultivation, and He has been accomplishing it without the slightest error.
Dear brothers and sisters.
After the sun, the moon, and stars were created, the earth came to have seasons, days, and years.
The expression “to have seasons”, means that seasons started to appear.
The reason the earth has seasons is that the earth is tilted by 23.5 degrees while revolving around the sun.
Even in the Polar Regions and lower altitudes, there are seasons.
The length of summer or winter is either longer or shorter than spring or fall in any place of the earth, and so there are seasons.
Now, “days” and “years” refer to the days and the years of the earth,
As the earth began rotating and revolving from the 4th day, the concept of ‘a day’ and ‘a year’ came to an existence.
The time that it takes for the earth to rotate once is ‘a day,’ and that it takes to revolve around the sun once is ‘a year.’
In addition, the time that it takes for the moon to circle around the earth once becomes ‘a month.’
It takes about 29.53 days for the moon to revolve the earth.
That’s why there are 29 and 30 days by turns in lunar calendar.
The moon is revolving almost at the same speed of it rotating speed, the earth can see always the same side of the moon.
The sun also rotates on a cycle of 27 days.
Through the long years of observation, people discovered the cycles of the sun, the moon, and stars, and they made calendars based on them.
The calendar which is widely used today was finally made in 1582.
Therefore, even though people counted years for a long time, since their calendars had different standard from current calendars, the years which have been counted so far may be different from the actual ones.
Even though you say it is 2010, it may not be exactly 2010 years yet.
However, God the Father is precisely counting the years of human cultivation.
Just as He began the human cultivation at the best time, He will finish at the best time.
Dear brothers and sisters.
I told you earlier that, even though Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden for a long time, you don’t know how long it was.
It means it was a very very long time; however, this implies another fact.
Days and years came to exist on the earth because the lights were created.
However, the Garden of Eden doesn’t have the concept of days and years since they don’t have nights, but days.
The period of time when Adam and Even lived in the Garden of Eden was such long years in a concept of time of the earth.
However, it is senseless to count the years in the Garden of Eden.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
I explained the creation works of the 4th day in 3 lectures.
Once the 4th day creation work was finished, the Bible again says, “God saw that it was good.”
God the Father felt good in His heart as He saw the environment for the human cultivation being beautifully prepared.
Even He created the sun, the moon, and stars, God put His divine nature in them, and endowed them with special meanings.
Particularly in the last lecture, I explained the spiritual meanings contained in the moon and stars.
Just as there are shining stars and the moon in the pitch of darkness, I told you to remember that God is with you even when you confront a hopeless and depressing moment.
Now, what is the spiritual meaning that is contained in the sun then?
The sun is the source of all the energy that is necessary for every living thing on earth.
Also, days and years could be made up of the sun, and it’s become the standard of life for human beings.
Now, Psalm 84:11 says, “For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”
Spiritually speaking, it is God the Creator who plays the role of the sun for human beings.
Just as men cannot live without the sun, a man who doesn’t meet God cannot survive spiritually.
You should realize that the word of God who is the light itself becomes the perfect standard of all things.
What God considers goodness becomes the goodness, and what God considers evil becomes evil.
God gives grace and glory to the one who adjusts one’s heart to the will of God and lives by it.
God the Father doesn’t withhold anything good from him, but He gives.
May you receive and enjoy such abundant grace and glory, in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, I pray!
[Amen!]
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