Day One

When I had a chance to study the first chapters of Genesis as an elementary school student, I thought it odd
that God seemed so inactive on the first day of Creation. After all, what did He do on this day besides creating
light? Compare that to the third day of Creation, for instance, when He was busy bringing forth dry land and
creating all the types of vegetation, or the fifth day, when He created all the creatures of the sea and those of
the air. However, a careful examination of Scripture along with a bit of logical reasoning (and a dose of
speculation now and then) reveals that God was far more active on Day One than merely creating what we call
visible light.

Time— “In the Beginning” (Genesis 1:1) (All passages NIV)

The first three words of Genesis include already the first of God’s creatures—time. It may be hard to think of
time as something God created for our world. It is something that did not exist before God began the creation
process and, as we know, it will not exist when we enter eternity, at least not as we know it. “Eternity” in the
dictionary has two main definitions. Eternity can be defined as “time without end” as in “it seemed like an eternity
before I got my term paper finished.” To me it makes more sense to define eternity as “timelessness” or “a
condition in which time does not exist.” Admittedly, theologians and philosophers are not in agreement as to the
better definition.

When we die, or if the Second Coming should happen during our lifetime, we enter a condition where there is no
time as we know it. Will we be using past and future tense words such as “before” and “soon” in eternity, or will it
seem like a perpetual present time? Now we use clocks and calendars. It is highly unlikely there will be clocks
and calendars in heaven, for what will there be for these devices to measure?

Time is a limiting factor in this present world. Science fiction stories
notwithstanding, we can’t go back into time; we can’t really make time
stand still; and we can’t go forward any faster that 60 seconds per
minute. However, not faced with the restraints of time, Moses and Elijah
could easily have reentered time from eternity when they appeared
before Jesus and three disciples at the time of the Transfiguration
(Matthew 17:1-8)

It is interesting to note that some creationist astronomers are theorizing
that time is not a constant. Using Einstein’s theory of relativity as a

starting point, they propose that time has starting point, they propose that time has traveled exponentially faster
in the far reaches of space compared to the speed of light in the neighborhood of Earth. If true, this could
explain how we can see stars billions of light-years away in a world only a few thousands of years old. It also
tends to prove that time was created, not something that has always existed.

God has given each of us a certain amount of time which He wants us to use in His service. And how important
is it that we throw ourselves at the feet of Jesus to receive His forgiveness and salvation before “our time runs
out”?Here we might speculate a bit about our own deaths. People sometimes wonder what will happen between
the time that we die and when our bodies are resurrected. Our souls will be in heaven while our bodies lie
decaying in a grave. Yet, from the standpoint of heaven where there is no time, could it be that our deaths and
the reunion of our souls and bodies might seem almost instantaneous? It may not make sense now, but it will
when it happens.

Here we might speculate a bit about our own deaths. People sometimes wonder what will happen between the
time that we die and when our bodies are resurrected. Our souls will be in heaven while our bodies lie decaying
in a grave. Yet, from the standpoint of heaven where there is no time, could it be that our deaths and the
reunion of our souls and bodies might seem almost instantaneous? It may not make sense now, but it will when it
happens.

Space— “God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1)

Closely allied with time is space. God has given us a certain amount of
space in which to exist. The total amount of space He created is called
the universe. It is basically a three-dimensional space. We can move
forward and backward or left and right or up and down. Space has
height, width, and depth.

Like time, space is a limiting factor. We can only be in one place at a
time, and two objects cannot occupy exactly the same space at any one

time. Of course, if one factors in time as a 4th dimension, we can be in two different spots but only at different
times, or two different objects can occupy the same space only at different times.

Is there space in eternity? It may well be a kind of super space or ultimate dimension, but it’s hard for us to
imagine it. We do know God is not limited by space? He can be all over at once. We call this feature of God:
omnipresence. Also, Jesus with His resurrected body could pass through a wall or closed door (Luke 24:36),
not limited by these objects or the space they were occupying. He also tells us in Matthew 18:20, “Where two or
three come together in my name, there am I with them."

Basic Building Materials—“Now the earth was formless and
empty” (Genesis 1:2)

When a contractor plans to construct a new house or other building, he
first gathers the materials he will need: concrete, lumber, glass, nails, etc.
The Creator did the same thing. He first created the original building
materials. These materials for the universe would probably be mostly
unrecognizable to us today since the earth was described as being
formless and empty. Before the first day was over, God began fashioning
some of this material into substances we can now recognize.

Water and elements— “the Spirit of God was hovering over the
waters” (Genesis 1:2)

At some point during the first day God created water. Because water is
made up of hydrogen and oxygen, this also means that by this time He must
also have created at least part of what today we call the Periodic Table in
chemistry. Later during the Creation week God would gather this water into
oceans, lakes, and rivers.

As far as we have been able to determine, other objects in the universe are made up of the same elements as is
Earth, though, of course, not in the same proportions.

Light and energy— “And God said, ‘Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3)

Now we come to the best known of God’s first day nonliving creatures—light. But what is light? Light is the visible
part of what physicists call the electromagnetic spectrum.

The electromagnetic spectrum consists of every form of radiation energy
that travels and spreads out as it goes. As the diagram to the left shows,
visible light is but a small part of this electromagnetic spectrum which also
includes radio waves, microwaves, infrared and ultraviolet light, and X-rays.
It seems highly unlikely that God would have created only the visible light
part of the spectrum without also creating the entire spectrum at this time.

Thus we can say God created all the forms of radiation energy on the first
day of creation, with visible light being the most obvious part of this creation.

God later would take this light energy and infuse it into other creatures—
stars on the fourth day; luminous fish and fireflies on the 5th day, etc.

Although we weren’t there during the Creation, it is obvious from Scripture
that God was very busy during the first day of Creation just as He was on
the other five days as well. We gratefully acknowledge the many gifts the
Creator offers us in His created world, gifts that remain sources of
sustenance and comfort despite the negative effects of sin on what was a
perfect world when first created. We also look forward to eternity where we
will discover what a perfect world is really like. We also will experience
something new—total joy, as we find the ultimate pleasure in living with our
Gracious Creator and Savior. LSI