and fill the water and the sky with creatures after their kinds.
The perfection and intricate design of all creation filled both God and His angels with joy. But the best was yet to come. In only a few hours, He was about to fashion His most special creation of all!
PRIMARY PASSAGES
Genesis 1:1–23; John 1; Hebrews 11:3; Colossians 1:16, Job 38:4–7
KEY VERSE
“For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.” (Colossians 1:16)
WRAP UP
“Heavenly Father, thank You for revealing that You created everything in just six days, not billions of years. As I think of the infinite universe and earth’s microscopic details, it leaves me in awe of Your power. Lord, it is so good to know that You made a perfect world. Please soften my heart and give me a clear mind. I want to know Your Word, the Bible, and I want to honor You, the Creator!”
1 Regarding geology, Noah’s Flood logically explains the majority of the world’s rock layers that have fossils. Related topics are also easily understood in light of the worldwide Flood of Noah’s day, and the transitions that occurred in the years just after the Flood.
2 Creation from nothing is clear from the early verses of Genesis 1, and expanded upon in the New Testament (John 1:1–3), the worlds were framed by the word of God (Hebrews 11:3).
3 www.answersingenesis.org/articles/nab/could-god-have-created-in-six-days by Ken Ham.
4 www.answersingenesis.org/articles/nab/why-christians-shouldnt-accept-millions by Dr. Terry Mortenson.
5 Much has been written on this subject and is available from numerous books, videos, periodicals, and websites. Good sources for such information include AnswersinGenesis.org, CreationToday.org, ICR.org, AnswersBookstore.com, BibleArchaeology.org, CreationResearch.org, CreationMuseum.org, and ChristianAnswers.net.
6 We know from various Bible passages that the angels were created during creation week, and that they shouted for joy when God laid the foundations of the earth (see Job 38:7), so they evidently were created sometime between day 1 when the earth was “formless and empty” and early on day 3 when God made the dry ground appear. www.answersingenesis.org/articles/kw/feedback-angels,www.answersingenesis.org/articles/nab2/satan-and-origin-of-evil.
7 The biblical term “kind” is roughly equivalent to the taxonomic term “family” in most instances. See Dr. Gary Parker’s article, “Species and Kind,” at www.answersingenesis.org/articles/cfl/species-kind.
8 Recent estimates are more than 300 sextillion stars. That is 3 trillion times 100 billion. The estimate varies depending on who is doing the estimating, but virtually all agree that the number is immense.
9 “Monsters” is the most literal translation (YLT, NASB). Most contemporary versions simply state “sea creatures” or similar, which does not adequately denote the immense length and bulk of some of the creatures both current and in the fossil record.
10 The giant pterosaur “Quetzalcoatlus” had a wingspan of up to 36 feet, equal to some 6-passenger airplanes.
11 Genesis 1:30.
—2—
GOD CREATES MARRIAGE
(Day 6, c. 4004 B.C.)
On the sixth day, God first made the land animals. Then He made man!
It was probably early in the morning when God made the earth bring forth land animals on day 6.1 He formed the original kinds of antelope, horses, elephants, rhinoceroses, turtles, giraffes, apes, cattle, cats, dogs,2 and many others — including dozens of different kinds of dinosaurs!3
Next, God again took dust of the ground and formed the first man, Adam, and breathed life into him.
Adam and all of creation were perfect. There was no corruption, no disease, no death.4 Genesis reveals that God planted a special garden in Eden and placed Adam there to work it and watch over it.5 Work was actually part of the original, perfect creation!6
God then told Adam he could eat any plant that yielded seed and the fruit from all the trees in the garden, except one. He was not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. If he did, he would begin to die.7
After God created Adam, He declared that it was not good for man to be alone. However, before making him a companion, God brought many of the animals to him to name. Thankfully, Adam only had to name the birds, the livestock, and the beasts of the field.8 He did not have to name the fish or the hundreds of thousands of modern sea creatures. He did not name what now amounts to over a million species of insects, beetles, spiders, and other animals.9 In all, Adam probably had to name fewer than 1,000 kinds of creatures. He could have done that in only a few hours.10
Adam undoubtedly realized that although there were many kinds of creatures, none was right for him. Also, each already had a mate, yet he did not.11 Then in another miracle of creation, rich in symbolism about marriage, Genesis chapter 2 documents that God caused a deep sleep to come over Adam and then took a rib from His side and fashioned it into the first woman, Eve.
When God presented Eve to Adam, he was delighted!12 She was perfect in every way, and although they were both naked, they were unashamed.
In her perfection, Eve was exceptionally beautiful.13 It is important to realize that beginning at the beginning, in the Garden of Eden, the Creator intended marriage for one man to one woman. Eve undoubtedly excited something in the amazed young Adam, who saw her beauty and that she was uniquely suited for him.
Through the first marriage, God also established the basis for the family and its place in the world. He told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and produce many children,14 and to exercise dominion over creation by caring for it and ruling over the creatures and environment.
Man is not an animal, nor is he an angel — both of which God made during the first six days. Rather, mankind is the most special
