Eternity to Eternity 03 Genesis 1:1 — Joseph Balsan

Creation, Light, and the First Two Days

1. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth, and the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters, and God said, Let there be light, and there was light.

And God saw the light, that it was good, and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light day, and the darkness he called night, and the evening and the morning were the first day.

2. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And 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.

3. And God called the firmament heaven, and the evening and the morning were the second day. Let us turn to Genesis chapter 9. Genesis 9, and the first verse,. 4. And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.

And the fear of you, and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea. 5. Into your hand are they delivered.

Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you, even as the green herb have I given you all things. 6. But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall he not eat? And surely your blood of your lives will I require.

7. At the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man. 8. Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed. For in the image of God made he him.

9. And you, be fruitful and multiply, bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein. And one more portion in Genesis 11, and verse 1. And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech.

10. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. 11. And they said one to another, Go, too, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly.

12. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. 13. And they said, Go, too, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven, and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

14. And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the children of men built it. 15. And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language, and this they begin to do.

16. And now nothing will be restrained from them which they have imagined to do. 17. Go, too, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. 18. So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth, and they left off to build the city.

19. Therefore the name of it is called Babel, because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth, and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. May the Lord bless to us the reading of his word.

Dispensations and the Six Ages of Human History

Now, we have been noticing in the nights that are past that God's dealings with men are divided into dispensations or into ages. Now, these dispensations bring before us that the world is like a household which is ordered and directed or administered by God according to a certain pattern for each particular age.

And we have seen how that the six days in Genesis chapter 1, one doesn't like to call them the six days of creation because, as we have seen, creation is really brought before us in the first verse of the first chapter of Genesis, but the six days are rather six days of reconstruction or six days of reformation in which the Lord is forming the earth in order to make it a habitable place for man to live in.

And we have seen how these six days they foreshadow for us six ages of human history in which God deals with mankind from the very beginning of time to the very end of time. And we have seen how in the first day God said, let there be light, and there was light, and God saw the light that it was good, and God divided the light from the darkness, and God called the light day, and the darkness he called night, and the evening and the morning were the first day, or it was day number one.

And, in this day, we find how God brought the light to bear upon the chaotic state of creation, and, of course, all it revealed was nothing but water surrounding this entire earth, as yet there was nothing upon the earth.

It was so barren, it was a fruitless, it was a darkened earth, but the light begins to penetrate, and that is the way that God always begins to deal with man. Now, it's strange that men seem to have the idea that they can learn and know about everything under the sun, but when it comes to the knowledge of God, or knowing God, men and women are content to be in ignorance.

They're content to be in darkness. How many there are in the world today, if you were to ask them, do you expect to be in heaven? Well, they would answer, I'm not sure whether I'll be in heaven or not.

I hope I'll be there. I'm trying to do the best I can to be there, but after all, none of us can be sure until we leave this world, and then we'll find out whether we're going to be saved or not. But, the first thing that God does with the human soul is the first thing that he did with creation, and that is, God shines in with his light, and with his light, men in the first age of human history, a period from Adam to Noah of about 1656 years, men did have light from God.

Humanity’s Rejection of God’s Light

There was never a time in man's history when man did not have light from God. The reason why many heathen nations today are shrouded in darkness is not because they did not at one time have light from God, but it is because they have turned their backs upon the light, and as Romans chapter one tells us, when they knew God, well, let us turn to Romans chapter one.

I would like you to read how heathenism came into being, that heathenism was not always heathenism, but it was when men turned their backs upon the light that God gave them, that God gave them up to the darkness in which they are at the present time.

Notice in Romans chapter one and verse 19, because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power in Godhead, so that they are without excuse.

Because that when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imagination, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like the corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things, wherefore God also gave them up.

Now, there you notice, friends, that in the time when man did know God, when man did have the knowledge of God, when man had the light of God, instead of responding to that light, man turned his back upon the light, and the result was that he was given up to darkness.

And so, the result is that men and women over the entire face of the world are without excuse. People sometimes ask the question, well, are they even lost? What about those who have never had the gospel preached to them?

Are they lost? They certainly are lost, because they have had a witness from God, and they have turned their backs upon that witness. It is not, of course, in heathen countries the full light of the gospel.

It's a wonderful privilege to be born in Omaha, or to be born in Nebraska, or the United States of America, to have the word of God in its fullness at our disposal. My, just think what a wonderful bargain it is.

You can go into a store, into a dime store, and you can usually pick up a testament for about 25 or 50 cents, and for that 25 or 50 cents, you go to that testament, and that testament will give you the key to heaven.

That testament will tell you how you can become the possessor of unsearchable riches, unutterable, eternal riches, all through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, so that the person who is born and raised in America, and has the word of God at his disposal, who listens to the gospel, yes, and rejects that gospel, that person will be just as lost as the poor heathen who does not hear the gospel, but his responsibility will be greater.

When the poor heathen stands before God, who has never heard the gospel, but nevertheless has had life from God, so that he is without excuse, that person will not be punished with the same degree of punishment as the one who has heard the gospel, has had the word of God at his disposal, has neglected God's way of salvation, perished in his or her sins.

It would be far better to have been born a heathen in Africa, and never have had the opportunity to accept the gospel, and go into eternity, than to be born in Nebraska or the United States of America, have the opportunities that they do, and reject the Savior, and go into eternity without Christ.

Oh, if there's anyone in this audience this evening, and you are not saved, you are still rejecting the word, why don't be so occupied with what will happen to the heathen who have never heard the message?

The question is, what will happen to you who have heard the message, and yet have neglected the Lord Jesus Christ? There is one unanswerable question in the Bible, and that unanswerable question we find in Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 3.

How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? My friend, as you sit in this meeting tonight, how are you going to escape the wrath of God, the judgment of God, if you neglect God's salvation? There is no possible way that a person can escape if that person neglects the salvation of God.

And so, man had light, even the heathen had light at one time, and the reason he is a heathen today is because he has turned his back on the light that God gave, and the result is God has given them up to darkness.

And if you read that first chapter of Romans, you'll read three times over that God gave them up. He gave them up to the lust of the body. He gave them up to the fulfilling of the desires of their souls.

He gave them up in spirit when they desired not the knowledge of God. Cast the knowledge of God out of their educational system. And I think it's a very serious thing that our so-called civilization and our governance has cast the word of God out of our educational system, because if they would only read Romans chapter one from verse 28 to the end of the chapter, you'll find what will be the result of those who put the knowledge of God out from the reach of men and women, as we are doing in our so-called United States of America today.

Sin, the Promise of Salvation, and the Necessity of Christ’s Sacrifice

Now, we find that God gave man life. He gave him the light of creation to show that there is a God. He gave him the light of conscience. Man knew that he was a sinner, and he gave him the light of promise, for no sooner had man sinned in the garden of Eden that God gave the promise of a coming Savior.

Isn't that significant, friends? Adam and Eve had committed only one sin. They had committed only one sin, and people would look upon that sin as a very small sin. Why, just to partake of the forbidden fruit, what a small thing!

And yet, because of that one sin, they lost paradise. They lost their innocence. They were brought under death. They became subject to death. They received a sinful nature. They had a condemning conscience, and it required nothing less than the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary.

If another sin from that time to the time that Christ came into the world, if not another sin had been committed, Christ would have had to come into the world to die for that one sin, because there was no other way that that sin, or any sin, could be put away.

Am I speaking to someone tonight, and you think that perhaps your sins are not so many? Oh, you say, well, it's true that I do sin once in a while, but after all, my sins aren't so great. My sins aren't so many.

My sins aren't so terrible that people think that I'm a terrible sinner. But, friends, if you are guilty of only one sin, there's no way that that sin can be put away except through the death of the Lord Jesus on Calvary's cross.

You must come to him. You must have dealings with him. You must exercise faith in him, because the wages of sin, the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

But that one sin that was committed had in it the seeds of many sins, because those that were born into the world, Cain and Abel, and all who follow them, were born into the world sinners. And so, as sinners were multiplied, sin increased, and sin also multiplied, and we find that in that first age of human history, Abel had light from God.

Noah had light from God. Enoch had light from God, and we find that that first age of human history, when man had light from God, and he was left as it were to himself, we find that the world went so terrible.

Noah’s Days and the Closing Days of the Age

It was so filled with violence and corruption that God said, the end of all flesh is come before me. Now, if you'll notice, the first day and the fourth day are quite similar. In the first day, we have light.

In the fourth day, the heavens are arranged, the sun and the moon and the stars are arranged to shine upon the earth, picturing for us this fourth age of human history. There is a similarity between the first age and the fourth age.

Remember, our Lord Jesus in Matthew 24 said, as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it also be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man. And, the characteristics of Noah's day are the characteristics of the closing days of the church age, and the characteristics of the tribulation period, and what are they?

They are that the world was filled with violence. The world was filled with corruption. Those are the two characteristics of Noah's day. They were days in which the world was filled with violence. They were days in which the world was filled with violence increasing in our society, in some of the big cities.

Even here in your city of Omaha, it's not safe for a woman to walk down the streets at night in certain sections of the city. You've had incidents here in Omaha that have rocked and shocked parts of the Midwest with some of the gruesome crimes that have been committed on the streets of Omaha, and not only of Omaha, but of Des Moines and Chicago and New York and other cities where gangs and mobs are walking the streets, and where in certain places it's not safe for respectable people to be found after certain hours of the evening.

What does it bring before us? It brings before us that violence is increasing, and corruption as we think of the corruption that there is in so many different avenues of American life in our schools, in our business life, in our political society, in all avenues of life.

Corruption is speedily permeating the every rank and every status of life here in America. Corruption, what does it indicate? It indicates just as it did in Noah's day. When God looked down and saw it, God said, the end of all flesh is come before me.

And that age, we remember, was brought to a close with a flood, just as this age is going to be brought to a close by the return of our Lord Jesus and the taking out of this world of those who belong to him.

And so, the first age ended with a flood. Only eight people were saved in the ark. Noah, his wife, their three sons, and their three wives. And the waters of the flood rose until everyone in the earth perished.

The Universal Flood and the Firmament

Now, sometimes people wonder whether or not that flood was universal. Well, I believe that that flood was universal. I believe that it wiped out everything upon the face of the earth. People say, well, but how could it be universal?

After all, we can take all the water that there is in the earth, and we can measure it, and it wouldn't be enough to cover, while it would be enough to cover some mountains or some hills, but it wouldn't be enough to cover all the hills and the mountains that there are upon the face of the earth.

But, we must remember, my friends, that before the third day when the earth was in the chaotic condition, the entire earth was submerged in water. There was no dry land to be seen. And, on the second day of which we want to speak tonight, as the earth, because we believe that the earth was in that flooded, overwhelmed condition.

Evidently, what had happened when the original creation was brought into that chaotic state is that the sun was withdrawn from the earth, and the result was that all the waters that were in atmospheric clouds above, in the clouds above, all these condensed, and the result was that they precipitated down upon the earth, and the result was that the entire earth was submerged in water, and it was enveloped in vapors into which, on the first day, the light shone in.

Not, of course, as clearly as we have it today, because we have the atmosphere, we have also the sun in its proper relation to the earth, but nevertheless in such a state that it was possible to be said of it that light was.

But, here on the second day, we have brought before us an atmosphere brought into being that separated the waters which were above from the waters which were beneath. Notice what it tells us here in the sixth verse, and God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

And 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, and the evening and the morning were the second day.

Now, this word firmament is really and truly Hebrew scholars tell us who have looked at the original of the word and the Hebrew language, it is really an expanse, an expanse of space, an expanse that separates, as it were, the waters beneath from the waters which are above.

Now, we know that is the present state of creation. We are thankful for the waters that there are above the earth, as well as the waters which are in the earth. We know what a tremendous, what tremendous miracles are wrought before our eyes day after day, and miracles that are wrought that we cannot see.

What a miracle it is when rain comes down from heaven. I was just reading in the book of Job today, and it was speaking about, behold, God is great. How great is God? Well, where is the greatness of God to be seen?

It says in the 37th or 38th chapters of Job that he is great, he maketh small the drops of rain. Why? He maketh small the drops of rain. You know, it's wonderful that water comes down to us in that form, comes down so gently.

Sometimes we have a terrific rainfall in a very short time, and when that water comes down with such terrific force, and with such tremendous volume, what a terrible catastrophe it works upon the face of the earth.

But God, in many cases, he causes the rain to come down so gently that instead of destroying the plant, and dividing the earth, and causing great gullies in the earth, it comes down gently. It waters and ministers to the plant so that it can take it in.

Well, here we have the waters above separated from the waters beneath by the atmosphere. How much water there is in the oceans of the world? Salty water would be very easy for us to drink. We couldn't drink it and live on it, but every day a miracle is being performed as the sun is drawing that water from the salty sea, and as it draws it by means of evaporation, why, it draws it up into the heavens and purifies at the same time the winds take it, and they send it to the place where it is to be dropped, and then gently it falls upon the face of the earth.

In the January issue of the Reader's Digest, they have a very interesting article about the water shortage. Where is the water shortage? And this writer brings out some interesting points about the water, and one of the points that he impresses that causes the water shortage is he impresses upon the reader how that in certain spots in the United States, as well as in other parts of the world, as much as one-fourth of a body of water is evaporated within a period of a year.

I'm speaking of large bodies of water, so that we know that there are tremendous volumes and bodies of water in the heavens above. God introduces, or brings in in the second day, the atmosphere, a new element, a new power to affect life on the earth, and thus sets forth for us the second age of human history, when after the flood, as we see in Genesis chapter 9, God brought in something new in men's relations with one another, as well as his administration of their affairs.

Government, Human Authority, and Capital Punishment

What did God institute? That's what it tells us here in Genesis chapter 9, and verse 4, it says, But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat? And surely your blood of your lives will I require.

At the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man, at the hand of every man's brother, will I require the life of man. Whoso shedeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God made he man.

Now, here we have the principle of government introduced. Where did government come from? Why do some men have the authority and the power to rule over others? Have you ever asked yourself the question, well, where did government come from?

Why do some people have the right to rule over others, sometimes even to take the life of another person? Where do they get the authority? Where do they get the authority to come into a person's life and break up his life, take this person, perhaps, who is setting up his life, and suddenly the United States government says, well, we want you for our service.

Yes, but I'm married, and I've got a job, and I've got a family to raise. Yes, but we need you for our service. And without hesitation, they take him, and they'll break up a life. They'll break up several lives.

Where do they get that authority? Where do they get that power from? Up until the time of the flood, there was no government. As far as we know, up until the time of the flood, every man was his own ruler.

Every man did just what he pleased. In fact, when we turn to the fifth chapter of Genesis, we find that one man said, well, Cain threw a man because of something that he did, but he says, if anybody does anything to me, well, I'll do twice as much to him and to him.

We find that men were, as it were, self-willed, and that's what brought violence into the earth. I think it is very significant that today we're living in a day when people are despising government, when even so-called religious leaders are telling people, well, if you don't want to obey the law, if you think that a law is bad, why then you just disregard that law.

You violate that law, and many of these religious leaders are leading people in defiance of the orders of government, because they set themselves up as judges as to what law they think is good, and what law they think is bad.

Here we find that God gave into the hands of man the authority of government. God gave into the hands of man the authority to take a fellow man's life on one condition. Whoso shall have man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God made he man.

I know there are people today who don't believe in capital punishment, but I want you to notice that here God said, whoso shall have man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God made he man.

Christian Submission to Government

And the farther men get away from the deeper the difficulties that they get into. But people say, well, after all, is that verse consistent with the Christian profession? Do you think that a person in this Christian age should have his life taken from him?

Let us turn to Romans chapter 3. What is to be our responsibility toward government? Notice what we have Paul teaching in Romans chapter 13, and verse 1. He says, Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers, for there is no power but of God.

The powers that be are ordained of God. Now, notice when Paul was writing this to the Romans, they didn't have a very pleasant form of government over them. The Roman government was an enemy of Christianity.

The Roman government commanded that they should worship the emperor whom they considered deity. Something, of course, against which Christians took a stand, and for which they were martyred during the early days of the Christian testimony.

Rather than worship the Roman emperor, or worship according to the Roman's religion, they lay down their lives for their faith. If government commands us to worship someone else beside the Lord, even to worship it instead of the Lord, or above the Lord, by then, of course, we must take our stand for the Lord, and the time comes when we must obey God rather than obey man.

If the government commands us to do something immoral that is contrary to the moral laws of God, why then we must take our stand for that which is right, and that which is moral, and clean in contradiction, contradistinction to that which is evil?

But, on the other hand, we are to recognize that every soul is to be subject unto the powers that be. That is observing the speed limits, too. As much as Paul, one time riding with a brother, and he came to a stop sign, playing bat and then stopped.

I said, well, brother, I said, that was a stop sign there. He says, well, he says, you know, he says, I was keeping the spirit of the law. He says, I wasn't obeying the law itself, but I was keeping the spirit.

Well, my father didn't say anything, but I was thinking about it, and I'd come to the conclusion that it wasn't the spirit of the law, but it was the spirit of lawlessness that he was really and truly acting out.

When you see a sign and see it S-T-O-P, it means stop. Not just slow down, but stop. You might say, well, what's the use of a sign being there? It shouldn't be there in the first place. Well, stop anyway.

Be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake. And so, the first responsibility of a Christian is to be subject. In other words, we are to obey the powers that be. Whosoever therefore resists of the power, resists of the ordinance of God, and they that resist shall receive to themselves judgment.

For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Will thou then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same. For he is the minister of God to thee for good.

Did you ever think of that policeman as being a minister of God? Did you ever think of that legislator as being a minister of God? Do you think of the governor as being a minister of God? Do you realize that he's just as much a minister of God as the gospel preacher, or the bible teacher, or any other one who would seek to serve the Lord in a spiritual way?

He is a minister of God. He is a servant of God to thee for good. Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same. For he is the minister of God to thee for good, but if thou do that which is evil, be afraid.

For he beareth not the sword in vain. For he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore, he must needs be subject not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.

For for this cause pay ye tribute also, for they are God's ministers attending continually upon this very thing. So, we are not only to be subject, but we are to pay our taxes as well. Pay ye tribute also, for they are God's ministers.

Render therefore to all their dues, tribute to whom tribute is due, custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. Such is the Christian's responsibility and obligation in regard to government.

And so, God gave Noah and all his descendants who would be in the place of authority, he gave them authority to rule over their fellows. Well, what do we find? We find that Noah couldn't even rule over himself.

Isn't that the way it often is? Men who are in places of authority, they often can't even rule themselves. And we find that God had told men that they were to be fruitful, multiply, bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.

Babel, Religious Formalism, and the True Church

God told them to scatter abroad upon the face of the earth. When we come to the 11th chapter of Genesis, what do we find? We find instead of obeying God and scattering abroad upon the face of the earth, instead it tells us here, it came to pass as they journeyed from the east.

Now, the east is where the light is, but they turned their backs upon the east. They turned their backs upon the light. How that reminds us of what happened in the church age. God told his disciples to scatter abroad upon the face of the earth, to preach the gospel to every creature.

But what happened? One of the first things that happened is they turned away from the word of God. If you doubt that, all you have to do is read some of the church early fathers. Read about Polycarp, and Clement, and a number of these men.

Why, before the apostles were even gone, these men had turned their backs upon the word of God. They had erected a bishop in the place of Christ. They had brought in into baptism as a way of salvation, instead of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

They brought in so many different things, gradually turning their backs upon the word of God. And here's what they did. They turned their backs upon the light. They left the high places, and they came to a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there.

And it says, they said one to another, go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. They said, go to, let us make brick. Now, you know how a brick is formed?

Very simple. You take the clay, and you begin to fashion it and form it. And then you take that brick, and you put it into an oven, and you heat it. And then after it's been heated and baked, you bring it forth, and men build their buildings with it.

And that's what they began to build this great town. They had brick for stone, and men are doing that in this church age too. They're raising a great religious edifice that's made of bricks. They take a child when it's eight days old, and they test it.

And then a little while later, when that child begins to walk and can understand, they begin to catechize it. They begin, as it were, to form it. And then they, as it were, put it into the oven. They put it to a test through a time of questioning.

How many of you talk to them about whether they're saved or not? Well, I think I'm saved. Well, why do you think you're saved? Well, I made my confession of faith. When did you make that confession of faith?