The Firmament, Dinosaurs And The Creation of Man & Angels (Genesis Chapter One - Part 3)

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts. Morse Corner is a non-denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's word through the ministries of the local church.

If you'd like more information, visit our website, morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message. On day two, God separates the waters. Now you've got to pay attention here. This is the most interesting part of the study and it leaves me a little confused, honestly.

I've never quite known what to make of this. Look at Genesis 1, 6 through 8. It says, Then God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters. Let it divide the waters from the waters. Thus God made the firmament and divided the waters, which were under the firmament, from the waters which were above the firmament.

And it was so. And God called the firmament heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day. Now what is the firmament? This is not a term that we usually use today. And what are these waters above?

Like we can understand the waters down here, the waters below. But what do you mean waters above? So this is a little perplexing. So the Hebrew word for firmament, and if you read some of the older commentaries, it speaks of something like a solid dome above, like a solid dome above holding back the waters.

Honestly, I'm not quite sure what to make of that. Of course, we know today there is water vapor above and we know there is the atmosphere above. There are many who believe that the flood or before the flood, the atmosphere of the earth was very different.

A matter of fact, it had to have been very different. It may have been something like a canopy so that the light did not come through the same way it does today. That could explain why they live so much longer.

There wasn't that radiation from the sun. If that's true, the whole earth, it would have been like a greenhouse. The whole earth, if you were up in Alaska, it would have been like a tropical climate all over the world.

So whatever it was like and whatever it's talking about here, and again, I find it very interesting, but God divided the waters on day two and he put in between the firmament or the first heaven. Then on day three, God caused dry land to appear and the earth's surface started to take form with continents and the seas and the ocean.

He also caused the land to bring forth vegetation. So plants, grass, trees that brought forth fruit, that was all created on day three. On day four, as I said, what's created on day four, right? The lights in the heavens, the sun, the moon, the stars, they were to now divide day from night.

And look at verse 14. The Lord says, 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. And 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.

Creation, Evolution, and the Meaning of "According to Its Kind"

Everything God creates is good. Everything. The only reason things are not so good today, well, that's chapter three. You know, we're going to talk about, I asked people, what would you like to hear a sermon about?

Or what's a topic that really interests you? And somebody said, why do people suffer? Why? Not just why do the righteous suffer, but why? Why do people suffer the way they do? Well, stay tuned for chapter three.

We're going to talk about that. But everything God creates is good. God makes no mistakes. Amen. People make mistakes. God doesn't. All right. Now it's on day five that God creates the first living creatures.

So this is the birds of the air and the fish of the sea. And then on day six, he creates land animals or land creatures. This is the cattle, the creeping thing. And if we were to read verse by verse through all of this, we would see that God creates everything, what?

According to its kind. And he keeps repeating that phrase, according to its kind, according to its kind. It's like, we get it. It's according to its kind. But why does God keep repeating that? By stressing this point, this is my personal belief.

We all know that God knows everything ahead of time. God knew this theory of evolution would be, it's really the predominant view on the face of the earth right now. So I view this according to its kind, that monkeys don't actually evolve into men.

And it's almost like a direct refutation of evolution thousands of years in advance. And I don't know about you, but I think that's pretty cool. Now, before we move on to the crown jewel of God's creation, there's one question that often comes up.

And one piece of information that appears to be left out. So what's the information that's left out? When did God create the angels? This is a common thing, right? What about the angels? When did God create them?

You know, the fact is, the scripture doesn't tell us when God created the angels. There's actually a lot of things we don't know about the angelic realm. I would say that while they are creatures, I mean, God did create them.

I'm not so sure they are part of this physical creation. What I do know is that by now on day six, the angels already exist. How do I know that? Because in the book of Job, Job chapter 38 talks about when God created the earth, when he laid the foundation of the earth.

It says, the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God, a reference to the angels, the B 'nai Elohim, shouted for joy. So the angels, I'm pretty sure, predate Genesis 1 .1. That's my best conclusion.

Amen? All right, I'm seeing a few heads shaking, so that's good. That's good. We're on the same page. Now, what about this next one? Are we going to be on the same page here? The other question, the kids might have wondered this.

Hey, kids, have you ever asked a question? What about the dinosaurs, right? What about the dinosaurs? That's a good question, kids. I'm glad you asked that. Thank you. Okay, good, good. First of all, the word dinosaur is a modern term.

It was first coined in 1842, so you're not going to find, you wouldn't expect to find the word dinosaur in the Bible. A lot of people think that when the Bible speaks of dragons, that that's probably a reference to those types of creatures.

We're not exactly sure, but this is a very common, and it's a good question that comes up. When did God create the dinosaurs? Well, as far as the land creatures, when did God create the land creatures?

Yeah, day six. So really, it's that simple. He created them on day six. The ones he created in the sea have been on a different day. So if you're interested in that subject, I would recommend that, how many of you know Ken Ham and his ministry, Answers in Genesis?

I would direct you to AnswersinGenesis .org. He has a lot of great material on that. But were the dinosaurs in existence now at this point on day six? Yes. They were land creatures, and many creatures have gone extinct over the years.

But that's a whole other sermon for a different day. Okay, now we come to the most important part of what I call the crown jewel of God's creation, where God created a being like himself. Look at verse 26.

Then God said,. And God said to them,. So it says that God created Adam. That's the Hebrew word Adam. You could probably guess how else that is translated, right? So here it's translated as man. It can refer to mankind as a group.

In the next chapter, it's translated Adam. So God created Adam. He is the first man. God created Adam and mankind, which means you. God created mankind, Adam, in his own image. And notice, God speaks of himself.

Here's another interesting thing. God speaks of himself in plural form. Sometimes people do that, or they speak of themselves in the third person. Sometimes you think, well, that's kind of strange. But God speaks of himself in plural.

The word God, it's Elohim. That's plural. God says, Let us make man in our image. So this is the first hint at the triune nature of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Let us make man. So what does it mean that man is made in the image of God?

Well, it means that man, or Adam, had intellect. Mankind has a will. We are moral creatures. We're not like the animals. The animals are amoral. Animals operate out of instinct. Man can think, and we can reason.

And most importantly, man can worship. We can have that knowledge of God and worship God with all of our heart, soul, and mind. You know, that's what Jesus identified as the first and great commandment.

He said, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. Only man can do that. The animals cannot. Man is the only creature that is like God. In this way.

And what's the second commandment? Love your neighbor as yourself. Why? Because they are made also in God's image. So, in conclusion, you know, this is why we are here. This is why God created mankind.

He created this world, this universe, and He created us for His own glory. That we may know Him and make Him known. God wants you to reflect His glory. But, of course, this is what we'll talk about when we get to Genesis chapter 3.

Even though the Lord created everything good, and even though the Lord gave the world to us to have dominion over it, mankind has lost that dominion because of his rebellion towards his creator. But the rest of the scriptures, from that time forward, from Genesis 3 forward, is all about God stepping in to do something about it.

To reconcile man back to himself. And this is the job of the church. This is the mission of the church. This is your mission, our mission, to reconcile, through the gospel of Jesus Christ, to reconcile man back to God.

Prayer for Salvation and the New Heavens and New Earth

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we stand in awe, really, of your creation. And how you did all of this simply by speaking the word. And even as beautiful as the creation is, and as amazing as man is, and all the things that he has made, it really doesn't come close to our potential and to the beauty that this world is going to reflect in the new heavens and the new earth.

Lord, it's in our heart that we desire that day, and it's in our heart to desire this close fellowship with you. If there's anyone here this morning who has never come to that personal knowledge, that personal relationship with their creator, Lord, I pray that they would ask, simply humble themselves and say, Lord, I want to know you.

I want to know you better. I want to have a relationship with you. Save me through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ for the forgiveness of my sin. I pray that they would do that. In Jesus' name, amen.

Thanks for listening. I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Morris Coronet Church. If you'd like to listen to the complete message, or if you'd like more information about the ministry, visit our website, morriscoronetchurch .com.

And we'd love to have you join us some Sunday morning here in Leverett. Until next time, may the grace of God be with you.