Creation Time - Events
By Robert E. Gentet
© January 2017
Scripture offers a comprehensive over-view of history and the future. This Creation Time-Events chart offers a skeleton outline of the past and of the future.
Before Time (BT)
What existed before the creation of matter/energy? It is the existence of the "unseen" and "eternal" things (II Cor. 4:18). Time came into existence as a function of the energy/material universe. Before the material universe was created, God exists in all eternity. Scripture tell us the angels were created beings (Psalm 148: 2, 5). They are not specifically mentioned in the creation week of Genesis 1 or 2. We know Satan was not created evil, but along with many other angels, fell from his created state of perfection (II Pet. 2:4). When this fall occurred has been a matter of conjecture. St. John says the devil sinned "from the beginning" (I John 3:8). John's usage of the term "beginning" may coincide with the beginning mentioned in Genesis 1:1 (see John's use of the word in I John 1:1 and John 1:1-2). If so, Satan had already sinned before the material universe was created (Gen. 1 and 2). We know definitely Satan had sinned before the first human sinned (Gen. 3).
The First Creation
The Bible describes the beginning of all energy/matter in its very first verse. God is revealed as the Creator of all things. All three persons (Genesis 1:1, Genesis 1:2 and John 1:1-3) in the Godhead participated in the creation acts. The first creation is described as being "very good." The perfect creation came later in Christ. Now the Church shares His perfection (Col. 1:28 and Romans 8:3-4) through grace. Christ and His Church are the beginning of that perfect creation which ends with the "new heaven and earth" where the saints dwell forever with God.
Creation of Heavens and Earth (CHE)
The creation of matter/energy and its various forms takes place in six creative days. These days are described as ordinary days, not unknown lengths of time. It was six days of what might be called creative miracles. That is, the creative events defy our ordinary means of scientific study. When the results of these creative acts are viewed through the lenses of scientific inquiry, the seeming results will be misunderstood. The evidence that God did it is given in the magnificence and power of the creation itself.
Day 1 reveals the Earth in a state of darkness. Light (and hence time) shines in the initial darkness. Physical Earth is created covered with water.
Day 2 sees a separation of the waters of creation and the creation of expanse/sky. The atmosphere of the Earth is being readied for life.
Day 3 witnesses the sudden upward thrust of the lands from under the universal ocean. This sudden emergence of land creates a marked nonconformity upon all the land surfaces that is still visible today. This universal erosion mark forms a major time line present in the rock record. Upon this newly created land appears the first life - plants reproducing after their "kind." The rain cycle of evaporation and precipitation begins to water the vegetation and earth.
Day 4 records the creation of the sun, moon, and stars. These new light sources begin our current way of telling time. The earlier unspecified light source is no longer needed. The seasons begin.
Day 5 begins the creation of the maze of life living in the waters/oceans of the earth. Flying creatures (birds, etc) join the creation.
Day 6 is the final day of physical creation. First, the various "kinds" land animals are created. Mankind is God's final creation in two phases: first Adam from the earth itself and then Eve from Adam.
Day 7 pictures a rest day of God. Day 7 is later used throughout the Bible as a type of God's everlasting salvation offered through Christ to fallen mankind. For that reason, the seventh day has no "evening and morning" as all the previous ones.
After Adam and Eve's creation, an unknown period of time takes place before they disobey God's command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This time of perfect relationship with God becomes broken. It is now being restored through our relationship with the perfect Messiah/Lamb of God who reconciles us to the Father.
Ancient Changing Earth (ACE)
The broken relationship between man and God has an effect upon the earth itself. The earth is cursed. The created harmony between man and his earthly habitation is lost. This curse upon the earth becomes progressively worse as sin increases in the long period between Adam and the beginning of the Deluge in Noah's time. The Creation/Curse/Catastrophe (CCC) biblical geologic model gives many reasons for expecting to find geologic strata and fossils from this pre-Flood Ancient Earth. Geologically, in many areas, it represents the time when much of the rock and fossil record of the Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and some of the early Cenozoic was formed.
The Genesis Flood Event (GFE)
The Flood is the final, climatic event visited upon the sinning Ancient Earth. God has been dealing intimately with the people through local catastrophic events to turn them from their evil ways. God punishes their lack of repentance with one final and this time worldwide catastrophic event - the Flood.
The Scriptures greatly emphasize the 40 days and nights of rainfall from the atmosphere. The waters bursting forth from the great deep (the heated waters of deep ocean volcanoes) supersaturate the earth's atmosphere and create tremendous rainfall. This maga-erosive event tears away huge portions of land as the super rivers flow off land areas into surrounding oceans. All land life not in the Ark perishes. This massive water runoff from the continents created a second major line of demarcation in the earth's rock layers. This is the worldwide land surface upon which the inhabitants of the Ark descend. Between the worldwide erosion surface left on the 3rd day of creation and the new land surface area, we can see what rock layers originated in the ACE and survived into our current world.
The Flood itself can be described in four major phases:
Erosive from 40 days and nights of unending, torrential rainfall worldwide
Waters prevailing and covering the whole earth for an additional 110 days
Recessional when water covering the land areas begin to very slowly retreat back into the oceans (163 additional days)
Disbarkment of life from the Ark required another 57 days so the land is sufficiently dry and new plant life has time to spring up to nurture the Ark's inhabitants.
In all, from the time the eight humans and representatives of land/air life entered the Ark until it is safe to depart comprised 370 days or a year and 10 days.
Modern Changing Earth (MCE)
Immediately in the new world, God makes a covenant with all mankind to never again flood the whole earth. While there will be local disturbances (floods, tornadoes, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, etc.), never again until the end of this age will all the earth be affected at the same time. This shows diminishing effects of the curse on the earth.
In addition, the punishment of wrong doing (sin) is now delegated to human governments (under God) who are authorized to maintain justice and peace. Before the Flood, justice was provided directly from the hand of God. After the Flood, God governs in the affairs of men more indirectly. Nevertheless, God punishes wayward governments who fail to administer justice.
Geologically, we find fewer geologic events occur after the Flood (MCE) compared with the ACE and GFE. Such recent geologic activity appears on or near the current surface of the earth. Volcanoes, mountains elevated, massive local erosion and other geologic happenings can be seen from MCE events.
Consummation of First Creation (CFC)
The Bible speaks of the aging of the earth (Psalm 102:25-27 and Isaiah 51:6). This present creation will one day be changed into a new and eternal one. This occurs at the return of the Messiah and the end of the age. This future change occurs with universal fire. The destruction of the first creation by fire makes way for the creation of the eternal second creation.
The Second Creation
The first creation is a material prototype of the spiritual and eternal second creation. This is shown by Adam's creation from the dust of the Earth and the promise of a new, spirit body for believers patterned after the resurrected body of Christ.
Creation of New Heaven and Earth (NHE)
The final two chapters of the Book of Revelation contrast the second creation with the one recorded in Genesis 1. The first creation is affected by the laws of thermodynamics, death, suffering, and despair. The new heaven and earth will have none of that. There will be no more curse on the earth. All may freely take of the Tree of Life. There will be no devil, no temptation or tears. It will be a new creation filled with everlasting joy and productivity, dwelling with the Creator Himself for ever and ever.