Troublesome Topic: The Celestial Bodies were Not Created until Day Four

Genesis 1:14

Translation

Then ELOHIM said, “I command lights to appear in the beaten surface of the heavens to separate the interval between the day and the night, and let them be for signs of seasons and days and years.

Paraphrase

Then THE CREATOR AND OWNER OF ALL THINGS said, “Oh lights, I command you to appear in the vast, strong, thin, arched surface of the heavens, in order to separate the day and the night, and to serve as indicators of seasons and days and years.

Genesis 1:16

Translation

And God made two great lights; the greater light to power

the day, and the lesser light to demonstrate its power

during the night; and He made the stars.

Paraphrase

Here is how God did it, He made two great sources of light (He made the greater of the two lights to provide the power needed for the day, and He made the lesser of the two lights to provide what is needed during the night), He also made the stars.

Genesis 1:19

Translation

And there was evening, and there was morning, the fourth day. (See comment below.)

Paraphrase

When the periods of time and their transitions from night to day and day to night had passed, and it was time for the next transition, it marked the completion of another day, day four. (See comment below.)

The Celestial Bodies Were Not Created Until Day Four

God did not make the stars or the sun or moon until day four. This fact stands in sharp contrast to the Big Bang model. Also anyone who strives to promote a biblical explanation for the creation of the sun, moon and stars needs to keep this in mind. Any explanation that puts the formation of galaxies ahead of the formation of this earth has violated the order of events God describes here in Genesis 1. God is the only eye-witness to the event. He did it, and He has told us how He did it; we should trust Him, even if many scientists disagree.

The next lesson is: Signs of Seasons and Days and Years

Footnotes

1: “power”

This word usually means “to rule, to govern, to have dominion over.” But how does the sun “rule” over the day? We are accustomed to the word “ruling” having to do with the enforcement of laws and the execution of judgment. But with the sun it is different, so something else must be going on. The word used here also means “power” and points to “the authority to govern” which is usually demonstrated in obvious ways so the populous will fear and obey the authority figure. In this context the idea of “power” makes more sense. Here it is a demonstration of the sun’s power which simultaneously provides the power we need on earth to sustain life. Every living thing that I know of gets energy in one way or another from the sun.

2: “demonstrate its power”

This is the same word used of the sun earlier in this verse, but its usage here is different because the object is different; the sun and the moon act differently. We know that the moon does not have any power of its own, it only reflects the sun’s light. The moon is not a source of energy through light and heat like the sun is; it is only a source of light which it borrows from the sun. Because of that this verb cannot mean that the moon powers the night, for that would be inaccurate, but it can mean that the moon’s demonstration of power, its light, provides what is needed for the night just like the demonstration of the sun’s power provides what is needed for the day.

3: “He made the stars”

This is added as a side-note, as if it were no big deal, as if to say, “By the way, you know those innumerable sources of light which are outside of your reach for proper study and analysis? Well, He made those too. It was easy.” The purpose of the stars is not given in this verse because the stars do not have a unique function of their own. Their purpose was revealed in the previous verse because it is the same general purpose as the sun and moon.

4

See the in-text comment below about Genesis and science for more details about the celestial bodies being created on day four.