The Creators Workshop

THE CREATOR AND HIS WORKSHOP

www.maranathamedia.com.au
1951
By Reu Hoen
Pacific Press Publishing Association

USA
Contents
INTRODUCTION
1. “HE IS BEFORE ALL THINGS”
2. “ALL THINGS WERE MADE BY HIM”
3. “THE HOST OF HEAVEN WORSHIPETH THEE”
4. LET THERE BE LIGHT, AND A FIRMAMENT
5. “THE MOUNTAINS ROSE”
6. “LET THE EARTH BRING FORTH GRASS”
7. “CONSIDER THE LILIES”
8. “LET THERE BE LIGHTS”
9. “BEHOLD THE HEIGHT OF THE STARS”
10. “EVERY LIVING CREATURE”
11. “ASK NOW THE BEASTS”
12. “LET US MAKE MAN”
13. “GOD PLANTED A GARDEN”
14. “THE WORKS WERE FINISHED”
15. “REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY”
16. “THE FIRST DOMINION”
17. “THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM”
18. “THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL”
19. “HE SHALL SAVE HIS PEOPLE”
20. “MY SPIRIT SHALL NOT ALWAYS STRIVE”
21. “OVERFLOWED WITH WATER”
22. MESSAGES THROUGH NATURE
23. “THEY ARE WILLINGLY IGNORANT”
24. “RESERVED UNTO FIRE”
25. THE RESTORATION OF THE DOMINION
26. “EYE HATH NOT SEEN”
27. CREATIONISM INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET
This Is My Father’s World
This is my Father’s world,

And to my listening ears,
All nature sings, and round me rings
The music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world;

I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
1 www.maranathamedia.com.au
His hand the wonders wrought.

The birds their carols raise;
The morning light, the lily white,
Declare their Maker’s praise.

He shines in all that’s fair;
In the rustling grass I hear Him pass,
He speaks to me everywhere.

Oh, let me ne’er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the Ruler yet.

Why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King; let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let the earth be glad.
-Maltbie D. Babcock.
Reprinted from “Thoughts for Everyday Living” by Maltbie D. Babcock,

Copyright 1901 by Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1929 by Katharine T. Babcock; used by permission of the
publishers.
Creationism On The Internet

www.answersingenesis.org
www.icr.org
www.christiananswers.net
Introduction
www.answersingenesis.org
THE Scriptures contain a revelation of many important truths, of which three are of the highest
significance. Two of these are introduced in the first verse of Genesis: “In the beginning God,” and “God
created the heaven and the earth.” [1] “The first and most fundamental truth of religion is that as to the
existence of God And when we open that book which purports to be such a revelation, the first words thus
quite naturally are, ‘In the beginning God.’ The creation of the universe by God is thus the second great
fundamental truth of religion.” [2]
These two grand and basic concepts are repeatedly emphasized in the Bible. They are concisely
stated by Paul in the words, “He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.” [3] The third
fundamental truth adds to these two the redeeming love of God, for “he that comes to God” not only “must
believe that He is,” but also “that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” [4] What a grand trio
is this: God, creation, and redemption!
Never should these truths be concealed or minimized. Especially important for this present time is
the message of the angel, “Fear God, and give glory to Him: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth,
and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” [5] Attention is thus forcibly directed to the true God, who is
identified as the Creator of all things. Every effort should be made, therefore, to become acquainted with
Him through every possible avenue, and with every revealed aspect of His character. The more one studies,
the more apparent it is to him as it was expressed to Job that one cannot “by searching find out God unto
perfection,” and that all the wonders of the visible world are only “parts of His ways. But how little a
portion is heard of Him?” [6]
Acquaintance and love are complementary, for the more one knows about a subject, the more he
learns to love it, and the more he loves it, the greater effort will he put forth to know more about it. “He that
loves not knows not God; for God is love.” [7] Since “love, the basis of creation and of redemption, is the
basis of true education,” [8] it is important to examine the love of God as manifested in His word, in His
creation, and in His marvelous plan for re-creation and redemption.
In unlimited measure and by manifold means God has revealed Himself and His truth to mankind.
When the world was still young, Jehovah spoke face to face with some of the patriarchs and prophets,
notably with Adam, [9] with Abraham, [10] and with Moses. [11]
Very frequently was the promise fulfilled to holy men of old that, “If there be a prophet among
you, I the Lord will make Myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.” [12]
Lest these divine revelations to the patriarchs and prophets be lost on account of the frailty of man’s
memory, they were put into the form of the written word, the Scriptures of the Bible. “For whatsoever
things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the
Scriptures might have hope.” [13]
“When the fullness of the time was come,” [14] the second member of the Godhead, the Word
which “was God,” “was made flesh, and dwelt among us the Only Begotten of the Father.” [15] Through
Him who thus became a Son of God and of man, “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in
time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, by whom also
He made the worlds.” [16]
Still further, “the mystery of Christ which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men
is now revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.” [17] That Holy Spirit is the divine
Representative who has been sent in the name of Christ to “teach you all things, and bring all things to your
remembrance.” [18] He is the personal gift of the Savior to the world.
From the very beginning, God’s plan for communication with man and for the portrayal of His
character to man included much more than verbal instruction by all these methods. Adam and Eve were
surrounded with His created works, the greatest of visual aids to spiritual, mental, and physical education.
“Nature was their lesson book. In the Garden of Eden the existence of God was demonstrated, His
attributes were revealed, in the objects of nature that surrounded them The invisible things of God, ‘even
His everlasting power and divinity,’ were clearly seen, being understood by the things that were made.”
[19]
Tragically, man’s transgression resulted in dimming the record of the divine character which God
had placed in nature. Though “the whole natural world is designed to be an interpreter of the things of God,
nature is now marred and defiled by sin.” “While the Bible should hold the first place in the education of
children and youth, the book of nature is next in importance. God’s created works testify to His love and
power.” [20] Thus nature still is one of God’s two greatest books, for “God’s object lessons are not
obliterated; even now, rightly studied and interpreted, she speaks of her Creator.” “In the natural world,
God has placed in the hands of the children of men the key to unlock the treasure house of His word. The
unseen is illustrated by the seen; divine wisdom, eternal truth, infinite grace, are understood by the things
that God has made.” [21]
In the things of nature there are unnumbered revelations of the Creator, the true God. The mighty
manifestations of perfectly balanced physical forces in atom and star, the exquisite beauty and variety of a
myriad of plant and animal forms, and the intricate capability and versatility of the human mind, all
constitute a brilliant and awesome display of the products of divine handicraft in His infinite workshop.
The pattern worked out on the loom of God’s ideal for this earth may appear somewhat drab to
man, who has an imperfect view of it from beneath. Because the fabric is still unfinished, the eventual plan
is obscure to finite minds. But from above and in the mind of the Master Weaver, the design for re-creation
of the damaged web is being worked out harmoniously and in perfect beauty.
He who does all things well will direct every detail of the fabrication of the spiritual web of
Christian character for each individual who is willing to be fashioned after the divine pattern. May the God
of creation and redemption take up His abode in each heart and establish His workshop therein. Then will
each seeker for truth pray with the psalmist, “Create in me a clean heart, 0 God; and renew a right spirit
within me.” [22] “For thus said the high and lofty One that inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell
in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit.” [23]
1. Genesis 1:1.
2. L. F. Gruber, “The Six Creative Days,” Page 11, 12.
3. Colossians 1:17.
4. Hebrews 11:6.
5. Revelation 14:7.
6. Job 11:7; 26:14.
7. 1 John 4:8.
8. “Education,” Page 16.
9. Genesis 3:9, 10.
10. Genesis 17:1, 3, 22.
11. Exodus 3:4, 14; Numbers 12:7, 8; Deuteronomy 34:10.
12. Numbers 12:6.
13. Romans 15:4.
14. Galatians 4:4.
15. John 1:1,14.
16. Hebrews 1: 1, 2.
17. Ephesians 3:4, 5.
18. John 14:26.
19. “Testimonies” Volume 8 Page 255; cf. Romans 1:20.
20. “Counsels to Teachers,” Page 186,185.
21. “Counsels to Teachers,” Page 186, 187.
22. Psalm 51:10.
23. Isaiah 57:18.
1. “HE IS BEFORE ALL THINGS”

http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/God.asp
THROUGHOUT the years, men have sought by reasoning to answer the questions of origin, duty,
and destiny. The heathen have imagined that some fanciful man or beast or rock or star was the parent of all
things earthly. From such imaginations it was but a step to idolatry in its varying forms. Men “changed the
glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed
beasts, and creeping things,” whereby they “worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator.” [1]
Their idolatrous practices included “the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have
worshiped.” [2]
Many presumably educated men have endeavored to develop what they thought to be a more
rational form of philosophy, and have postulated that the material of the earth-in fact, of the entire universe-
always existed. To them such eternal material constituted the building stuff of all the varied and numerous
animate and inanimate forms now observable. Beliefs of this sort are merely a refined form of pagan
idolatry. Still other men have presumed that there is or was a God of creation, but that He contented
Himself with forming the building stuff possessed of unlimited developmental ability, and forthwith
abandoned it to its own devices for elaboration and organization. This latter sort of theistic evolution has
drawn to its ranks most of the professed Christians of the present time.
Other groups of individuals have endeavored to identify God with nature and thus have ignored
entirely His personal attributes of omniscience and purposefulness, of benevolence, love, and justice.
According to such pantheistic ideas, every animate and inanimate thing would be part of the Deity, and
each person would thereby become his own god, comprising the essence of divinity in every part of his
being. This pagan philosophy would make man a victim of his whims and his environment, and would deny
all moral responsibility to a higher being.
“These Three Are One”

The Biblical doctrine of the God of creation is far different from any of these speculations and
imaginations of men. In the Scriptures, God is portrayed as a triune Deity, omnipotent, omniscient, and
eternal. He is embodied in three separate persons, much as the board of trustees of a corporation. One of
these, designated as the Father, may be compared to the chairman or president. Another, denoted as the
Son, a second member but not inferior in any way, is the vice-president in charge of production and
maintenance. He is the Creator of all and the Redeemer of mankind. Still another, a third member, the Holy
Spirit, is the vice president in charge of communication, and minister of foreign affairs. As “these three are
one,” [3] they constitute the Godhead, a corporate unit in plans and purposes, but distinct in personality and
function. Thus while “the Lord our God is one Lord,” [4] there is separate recognition in the Scriptures “of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” [5]
In the beginning God created [6] is at once an affirmation that He antedates everything that He
created. What a grand truth is portrayed in the words, “He is before all things”! [7] It is vain to speculate
into anything more remote.
Specifically concerning the eternal existence of Him who became Jesus Christ, John says, “In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” [8] Christ Himself prayed
to the Father, “Glorify Thou Me with Your own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world
was,” [9] and He also affirmed, “You shall see the Son of man ascend up where He was before.” “In
harmony with these Scriptures Ellen G. White wrote, “Christ was God essentially, and in the highest sense.
He was with God from all eternity, God over all, blessing for evermore. The Lord Jesus Christ, the divine
Son of God, existed from eternity, a distinct person, yet one with the Father.” [11]
Less information is given concerning the Holy Spirit, but He is designated as “the eternal Spirit,”
[12] and of Him the promise is made “that He may abide with you forever.” [13] He was a co-agent of the
Creator before the introduction of light on the first day of creation week, [14] and He will extend
invitations to the redeemed at the close of the reign of sin. [15] Throughout the years the Holy Spirit has
been a principal means of divine communication with man. “By His Spirit He is everywhere present.
Through the agency of His Spirit and His angels, He ministers to the children of men.” [16]
“I Am That I Am”
The true God is the eternally existent One. He introduced Himself to Moses and through him to
the Israelites as the “I AM” [17] the self-existent One. He is “the high and lofty One that inhabits eternity.”
[18] His is an ageless existence, for throughout the eternity of the past and of the future He is “the same
yesterday, and today, and forever.” [19] To Him “a thousand years are but as yesterday when it is past.”
[20] In praising Him the psalmist exclaimed further, “From everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God.” [21]
It is interesting to note that Christ is described in the same terms, which indicate His eternity of
existence. In response to the question by the high priest concerning His divinity, “Art Thou the Christ, the
Son of the Blessed?” Jesus repeated the same words that as Jehovah He had employed for His identification
to Moses. He replied simply, “I am.” [22] When the mob sought Him in Gethsemane, He used the same
words of identification. To their inquiry also His response was, “I am”. [23]
Surely, while “the fool hath said in his heart, There is no God,” [24] the fear of the Lord will
impart wisdom to His children to say, “Thy throne is established of old: Thou art from everlasting,” “and
Thy years shall have no end.” [25]
It is indeed comforting to know that while “the high and lofty One that inhabits eternity” dwells
“in the high and holy place,” He abides “with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the
spirit of the humble, and the heart of the contrite ones.” [26]
1. Romans 1:23, 25.

2. Jeremiah 8:2; cf. 7.18; 19:13
3. 1 John 5:7.
4. Deuteronomy 6:4, Hebrews, “Elohim,” plural.
5 Matthew 28:19; cf. 2 Corinthians 13.14; Jude 20, 21.
6. Genesis 1:1.
7. Colossians 1:17.
8. John 1:1; cf. vs. 2.
9. John 17: 5.
10. John 6:62.
11. “Signs Of the Times,” April 26, 1899. “Review and Herald,” April 5, 1906.
12. Hebrews 9:14
13. John 14:16.
14. Genesis 1:2
15. Revelation 22: 17.
16. “The Ministry of Healing,” Page 417.
17. Exodus 3:14.
18. Isaiah 57:15
19. Hebrews 13:8:
20. Psalm 90:4.
21. Psalm 90:2.
22. Mark 14:61, 62.
23. John 18:5, 6. The word “He” is supplied in the common versions.
24. Psalm 53:1.
25. Psalm 93:2; 102:27.
26. Isaiah 57:15.
2. “ALL THINGS WERE MADE BY HIM”

http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/genesis.asp
ONE of the most interesting sights is that of a factory where complicated machines are operating
with only occasional attention from a human supervisor. Raw materials are transformed and are rapidly
converted into useful articles. Fabrics, garments, kitchen utensils, furniture, musical instruments, tools and
implements, automobiles and tractors, telephones and radios -all these and many more are the products of
man’s ingenious devices and production lines.
How much more fascinating is the workshop of the Creator! In it He not only is the Designer, the
Architect, and the Fabricator of infinitely more intricate and marvelous objects than those of human art, but
He is also the Source, the Originator, and the Creator of the materials themselves. Though the door to this
remarkable divine workshop is barely ajar, frequent glimpses of the activities within can be seen if the
observer is patient, diligent, devout, and sincerely thoughtful. He realizes that “all things were made by
Him.” [1] “The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein,” for “He hath
made His wonderful works to be remembered.” [2]
To one looking skyward on a clear evening the message comes, “Lift up your eyes on high, and
behold who hath created these things: for that He is strong in power; not one fails.” [3] We see the
wonderful workmanship displayed in the stars, and we feebly sense the magnitude of all those heavenly
bodies. The number of them is beyond our comprehension. But the thrill and wonderment should be merely
an intermediate goal; we must “behold who hath created these things!” It is the Creator of the universe
“which makes Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades,” [4] and all the other stars in the heavens.
Directing our vision cast, west, north, or south, we see mountains, valleys, plains, and seas. The
grandeur of the landscape is impressive. We desire to travel over those wide expanses, to climb scenic
heights, and to explore uncharted areas. Again something is more important than geography or scenery,
“for, lo, He that forms the mountains and treads upon the high places of the earth, The Lord, The God of
hosts, is HIS name.” [5]
Considering the grace of a deer in the woodland, the antics of a squirrel over a morsel of food, the
song of a robin in the meadow, or the energy of an ant or a honeybee, we are thrilled at the versatility and
activity of the animal world. Once more a deeper lesson is before the mind: “Ask now the beasts, and they
shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee. The hand of the Lord hath wrought this.”
[6]
Enjoying the carpet of grass beneath our feet, the waving fields ready to be harvested, the lily in
the quiet pond nearby, the gorgeous rainbow colors of a myriad of spring-blooming flowers, or the stately
trees of yonder forest, we are speechless at the glorious spectacle. The lesson is vividly clear: It is God who
“causes the grass to grow” and “the cedars of Lebanon, which He hath planted.” [7]
Examining more closely the molecules and atoms of which everything is composed, the student of
chemistry or physics is especially favored by being permitted to draw aside a portion of the curtain. He is
sometimes able to obtain at close range a fleeting glimpse of the activities within the workshop of the
Master Artisan. Though the means of human observation in this realm are extremely limited, the view
obtained is awe-inspiring. To the mind is visualized the incessant movements of molecules and atoms, the
veritable building blocks of the earth. As these inconceivably minute particles dart to and fro with
prodigious speed, but with unerring precision, they form compounds of marvelous complexity. In their
activity they often unite. temporarily and then separate again in the course of their energetic service to man,
beast, and plant. Thus these tiny shuttles are speeding to build and repair, weaving and reweaving the web
of the universe for all living things. But it must ever be remembered that all of these activities are
performed in constant accordance with the laws of Him who at the beginning placed the pattern on the
loom.
“Lo, these are parts of His ways: but how little a portion is heard of Him? But the thunder of His
power who can understand?” [8] From the distant star to the atom and electron, one learns the universal
lesson that it is God who has “meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a
measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance.” [9] The origin and organization
of the universe was no chance affair. Every detail was planned in advance, for “the Lord by wisdom hath
founded the earth; by understanding bath He established the heavens.” [10]
“They Willingly Are Ignorant”

The heathen have always tried to represent the Creator by some object of their own devising and
construction. “To whom then will you liken God? or what likeness will you compare unto Him? The
workman melts a graven image, and the goldsmith spreads it over with gold, and casts silver chains. He that
is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooses a tree that will not rot; he seeks unto him a cunning
workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.” [11] The prophet Isaiah further portrays the
utter folly of the entire’, performance of idol construction and worship. He describes how a man selects a
piece of sturdy wood, carves an image, and then burns the shavings to warm himself and to cook his food.
Finally, he worships the portion from which the chips have been hewn, and says to it, “Deliver me; for thou
art my god.” [12] The psalmist likewise has portrayed the futility of idols and their worship, and concludes,
“They that make them are like unto them; so is everyone that trusts in them.” [13]
It is indeed stupid to think that one may make his own god, and then believe that this helpless
fabrication has made its own worshiper. “He feeds on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he
cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?” [14] It is difficult for the individual
who has committed himself to such a course of idolatrous thinking to experience conversion and to obey
and worship the living God.
Besides the so-called heathen there are others whose minds have become warped until they no
longer sense the important truth that there is a God who is the Creator and Upholder of all things.
Evolutionist philosophy in these modern days has permeated nearly all minds. This is apparent in the study
of language, history, and education, as well as the natural sciences, including biology, geology, astronomy,
and even physics and chemistry. Every branch of learning and activity is portrayed as the culmination of
progressive development. It is presumed by many persons that all human success has resulted from an
innate urge and inherent possibilities. They entirely ignore the fact that all these achievements have arisen
from the use of the intellect with which man was originally endowed by the Creator. Men also neglect to
consider the progressive deterioration of human intellect since creation.
Self-styled progressive philosophers speculate that there was matter originally, whence it came
they know not and that through its inherent potentialities it developed first into the stars, suns, and planets
of the universe. Then, upon this earth at least, portions of the material spontaneously congregated into
elaborate protein substances within a single cell. And this cell then acquired the ability to imbibe materials
for its nourishment and growth, and, finally, to reproduce itself in the form of other individuals. A further
marvel of all this speculation is the presumption that from one or a few such types of cells, all of the
present multitudinous array of plant and animal forms arose by their own self modification and selective
improvement. Another amazing aspect of this theory is that, with such presumed ability for self-promotion
up the so-called evolutionary scale, most of the creatures were content to remain as simpler forms, all along
the line. There still are plenty of amoebas, worms, clams, insects, horses, and monkeys, each sort
continuing to perpetuate its own kind rather than progressing toward some “advanced” type.
There is only one significant difference between idolatry as practiced by- the heathen and the
reasoning of evolutionists. The heathen make their idols of material substances, such as wood, stone, or
metals, or else select them - ready-made as trees, animals, stars, or the sun, while present-day philosophers
select evolutionist theories which are mere figments of the imagination. Both are worshiped with equal
ardor and zeal, and are equally difficult to displace in favor of the Scripture truth, “By the word of the Lord
were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.” [15]
“All the gods of the people are idols: but the Lord made the heavens.” [16] There is abundant
assurance that “our God is in the heavens: He hath done whatsoever He bath pleased,” [17] and that “the
gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under
these heavens.” [18]
“The Lord That Makes All Things”

Neither the impotent idols of the heathen nor the vain speculations of men answer the fundamental
questions of the origin of matter, of energy, nor of life. It is refreshing to turn from these human inventions
to Him who “spoke, and it was done,” who “commanded, and it stood fast!” [19] The search for ultimate
origins is rewarded when “by faith we understand that the worlds have been framed by the word of God, so
that what is seen hath not been made out of things which appear!” [20] As expressed in another version, 1t
is faith that enables us to see that the universe was created at the command of God, so that the world we see
did not simply arise out of matter.” [21] Thus, “in the formation of our world, God was not indebted to pre-
existing matter The heavens and all the host of them, the earth and all things therein, are not only the work
of His hand; they came into existence by the breath of His mouth.” [22]
To devise and produce such a magnificent universe required both infinite energy and infinite
wisdom. Every detail of the creation reveals a plan and design in its structure. “The Lord by wisdom bath
founded the earth; by understanding bath He established the heavens.” [23] “He hath made the earth by His
power, He hath established the world by His wisdom, and hath stretched out the heaven by His
understanding.” [24]
Every human being may well join in the exclamation of the psalmist, “0 Lord, how manifold are
Thy works I in wisdom has Thou made them all.” [25]
1. John 1:3
2. Psalm 111:2,4.
3. Isaiah 40:26.
4. Job 9:9
5. Amos 4.13.
6. Job 12:7-9.
7. Psalm 104:14,16.
8. Job 26:14.
9. Isaiah 40:12.
10. Proverbs 3:19.
11. Isaiah 40:18-20.
12. Isaiah 44:9-20.
13. Psalm 115:4-8; cf. 135:15-18.
14. Isaiah 44:20.
15. Psalm 33:6.
16. 1 Chronicles 16:26.
17. Psalm 1153.
18. Jeremiah 10:11.
19. Psalm 33:9; cf. Isaiah 44:24.
20. Hebrews 11:3, A. R. V.
21. Hebrews 11:3, Goodspeed.
22. “Testimonies,” Volume 8, Page 258, 259; Cf. “The Ministry of Healing,” Pages 414,415.
23. Proverbs 3:19.
24. Jeremiah 51:15; cf. 10:12.

25. Psalm 104:24.
3. “THE HOST OF HEAVEN WORSHIP YOU.”

http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/astronomy.asp
THROUGHOUT the boundless reaches of the universe there are galaxies, star systems, suns,
planets, and satellites without number. Even with the aid of modern high-powered telescopes the number of
the galaxies is beyond our computation. The Creator not only “tells the number of the stars,” [1] He “brings
out their host by number: He calls them all by names by the greatness of His might, for that He is strong in
power; not one fails.” [2] Grander than our understanding of the number and magnitude of all these bodies
is our concept of the Creator by whom all these were brought into being, organized so uniquely, and
populated with intelligent beings.
“But unto the Son He said, Thy throne, 0 God, is for ever and ever And, Thou, Lord, in the
beginning has laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of Your hands.” [3]
“ For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible:
all things were created by Him, and for Him.” [4]
“By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His
mouth.” [5]
“I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even My hands, have stretched out the heavens,
and all their host have I commanded.” [6]
“I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right hand
and on His left.” [7] “Thou art Lord alone; Thou has made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their
host; and the host of heaven worships Thee.” [8]
“Bless the Lord, you His angels Bless you the Lord, all you His hosts; you ministers of His, that
do His pleasure.” [9]
Nothing is known or can be known of the procedure by which all of the universe was established,
nor of the means and manner by which extensive portions of it have been populated with intelligent beings
ranging from the most exalted angels of heaven to the lowliest men of earth. The fact that there is an
infinite universe of heavenly bodies, and that heaven and earth are populated with such a host of living
beings, is adequate evidence of an in-finite Creator, and of the authority of that Creator to regulate and
control the affairs of His realm. Every creature of heaven and earth therefore owes reverence and
unconditional allegiance to Him.
“I Will Be Like the Most High”

But an irrational behavior sometimes manifests itself. Pride and self-confidence may prompt one
to ignore or even despise his origin and ancestry. “Shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not?
or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?” [10] “Shall the clay say to
him that fashioned it, What makes thou? or thy work, He hath no hands “Woe unto him that strives with his
Maker!” [11]
It was exactly that attitude which was displayed by one of the highest angels in heaven. Lucifer, a
leader among the hosts of heaven, was the anointed covering cherub. Of him it was said by God Himself
that he was “full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty” and in his ways from the day that he was created until
iniquity was found in him. [12]
The following quotations depict the course of Lucifer’s rebellion:
“How art thou fallen from heaven, 0 Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the
ground! For thou has said in your heart I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will be like the Most
High.” [13]
“Before the fall of Satan, the Father consulted His Son in regard to the formation of man. They
purposed to make this world, and create beasts and living things upon it, and to make man in the image of
God, to reign as a ruling monarch over every living thing which God should create. When Satan learned the
purpose of God, he was envious at Christ, and jealous because the Father had not consulted him in regard to
the creation of man.” [14]

“To dispute the supremacy of the Son of God, thus impeaching the wisdom and love of the
Creator, had become the purpose of this prince of angels The Son of God had wrought the Father’s will in
the creation of all the hosts of heaven; and to Him, as well as to God, their homage and allegiance were
due. Christ was still to exercise divine power, in the creation of the earth and its inhabitants.” [15]
“God in His wisdom permitted Satan to carry forward his work, until the spirit of disaffection
ripened into active revolt. It was necessary for his plans to be fully developed, that their true nature and
tendency might be seen by all. Lucifer, as the anointed cherub, had been highly exalted; he was greatly
loved by the heavenly beings, and his influence over them was strong. God’s government included not only
the inhabitants of heaven, but of all the worlds that He had created; and Satan thought that if he could carry
the angels of heaven with him in rebellion, he could carry also the other worlds.” [16]
Excluded From Heaven

“And there was war in heaven: Michael and His angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon
fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great
dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the devil, and Satan, which deceives the whole world: he was
cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” [17]
“God declared that the rebellious should remain in heaven no longer Then there was war in
heaven. The Son of God, the Prince of heaven, and His loyal angels, engaged in conflict with the arch rebel
and those who united with him. The Son of God and true, loyal angels prevailed; and Satan and his
sympathizers were expelled from heaven Angels in heaven mourned the fate of those who had been their
companions in happiness and bliss. Their loss was felt in heaven. The Father consulted Jesus in regard to at
once carrying out their purpose to make man to inhabit the earth The Father and Son carried out Their
purpose, which was designed before the fall of Satan, to make man in Their own image. They had wrought
together in the creation of the earth and every living thing upon it. And now God says to His Son, ‘Let Us
make man in Our image.” [18]
“When Satan became fully conscious that there was no possibility of his being brought again into
favor with God, then his malice and hatred began to be manifest When Adam and Eve were placed in the
beautiful garden, Satan was laying plans to destroy them.” [19]
“As he could not gain admission within the gates of heaven, he would wait just at the entrance, to
taunt the angels and seek contention with them as they went in and out. He would seek to destroy the
happiness of Adam and Eve.” [20]
“Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and
Satan came also among them. And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comes thou? Then Satan answered
the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.” [21]
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking
whom he may devour.” [22]
From the foregoing and other related statements it appears that the events of creation and the
rebellion of Lucifer went somewhat like this:
God, through Him who became Jesus Christ, brought into existence all of the created heavenly
beings, among whom were innumerable angels. One of the chief of the angels was Lucifer, the covering
cherub. The Creator also brought into existence the material of which the universe is composed, and
fabricated many units of it into inhabited worlds. As the Father and the Son laid plans to form the material
of this earth into a habitable world and to create man upon it, Lucifer became jealous and started rebellion
in heaven. Consequently the plans for the organization and peopling of the earth were halted until the
rebellion had ripened into open revolt and Satan and his angels had been cast out of heaven. Thereupon the
plans for the completion of the earth were at once consummated. Man was created a free moral agent to
choose between obedience and disobedience. He was warned and counseled by his Creator, but tempted by
the adversary. Ever since the fall of man in Eden, Satan has posed as “the prince of this world” [23] and
“the god of this world.” [24] “He has continued to claim it as his exclusive realm,” [25] meanwhile “going
to and fro in the earth” and “seeking whom he may devour.”
God’s Way Triumphs

God and His righteous plans always have prevailed, and will continue to prevail, over evil; but on
every possible occasion since Lucifer’s first disaffection in heaven he has carried on a program of
obstruction to the immediate execution of God’s plans. Diversion to the struggle in heaven delayed creation
week for this earth. Later, the yielding of Adam and Eve to Satan’s temptations postponed a universal and
perpetual Eden on earth. Noah was given a further opportunity to establish and maintain a godly race.
“It was not the will of God that Israel should wander forty years in the wilderness; He desired to
lead them directly to the land of Canaan. But ‘they could not enter in because of unbelief.’ In like manner,
it was not the will of God that the coming of Christ should be so long delayed But unbelief separated them
from God.” Now again, in these last days, “in mercy to the world, Jesus delays His coming, that sinners
may have an opportunity to hear the warning.” If all who had labored unitedly in the work in 1844, had
received the third angel’s message and proclaimed it in the power of the Holy Spirit, the Lord would have
wrought mightily with their efforts Years ago the inhabitants of the earth would have been warned, the
closing work completed, and Christ would have come for the redemption of His people.” [26]
But such delays are nearly over, and we must not make any contribution to the obstructionist
schemes of the enemy of souls. “Now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer
than when we believed.” [27] Soon “the devil that deceived them” will be prevented from further activities
and will be “cast into the lake of fire.” [28] Then the re-creation of the earth according to the original plan
and the redemption of mankind will be complete. “There shall be no more curse: and His servants shall
serve Him.” Then again will all the hosts of heaven unite in praise of the Redeemer and the King of the
universe.” [29]
1. Psalm 147:4.
2. Isaiah 40:26.
3. Hebrews 1:8, 10.
4. Colossians 1:16.
5. Psalm 33:6.
6. Isaiah 45:12.
7. 1 Kings 22:19.
8. Nehemiah 9:6.
9. Psalm 103:20,21; cf. 148:2,5.
10. Isaiah 29:16.
11. Isaiah 45:9.
12. Ezekiel 28:12-15.
13. Isaiah 14:12-14.
14. “Spiritual Gifts,” Volume 3, Page 36.
15. “Patriarchs and Prophets,” Page 36.
16. “The Great Controversy,” Page 497; cf. “ Patriarchs and Prophets,” Page 41.
17. Revelation 12:7-9.
18. “The Spirit of Prophecy,” Volume 1, Page 22-25; “The Story of Redemption,” Page 18-21;
Also in part in “Spiritual Gifts,” Volume 1, Page 18; Volume 3, Page 33, 34.
20. “The Spirit of Prophecy,” Volume 1, Page 30; “The Story of Redemption,” Page 27.
21. Job 1:6, 7.
22. 1 Peter 5:8.
23. John 16:11.
24. 2 Corinthians 4:4.
25. Matthew 4:8, 9; Luke 4:6.
26. “The Great Controversy,” Page 458.
27. Romans 13:11.
28. Revelation 20:10.
29. Revelation 22:3
4. LET THERE BE LIGHT, AND A FIRMAMENT

http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/geology.asp
“DARKNESS was upon the face of the deep,” [1] and in turn the waters of this great deep “stood
above the mountains” [2] of the earth when its material had been spoken into existence by the Creator. All
of the solid part of the earth lay hidden beneath a deep covering of water so that no vestige of land was
visible. Above the water, dense clouds of condensed water vapor constituted “the garment thereof,” and
thus was “thick darkness a swaddling band for it.” [3]
Had He so desired, the Creator could have completed the creation of the earth and its furnishings
in a moment of time, but in His omniscience He chose to do otherwise. He needs not to hurry; for His
“pleasure they are and were created.” [4] For us, too, the day-by-day record of creation is inspiring and
intriguing. Unfinished tasks are a joy so long as progress is evident. Such tasks are dreaded only when
progress ceases. Though some persons may insist that God would never have created a vacant, dark world,
and left it for even a day, the thought of an unlighted, water covered earth is not that of thwarted effort.
Such a condition was but one of the steps chosen and employed by the Creator in the fabrication of a world
of beauty.
“The Day Is Your, the Night Also”

Magnificent was the dawn of that first day as the “swaddling band” of cloud was diminished and
was penetrated by light, glorious light, to mark the beginning of time for this earth. There was yet no clear
sunshine or moonlight or starlight, for though it had become less opaque, the cloud garment still permitted
only diffuse light to reach the surface of the earth. Many such days are observed now, when clouds obscure
the direct light from heavenly bodies, but under such conditions there is no mistaking the difference
between night and daylight, between evening and morning. God divided the dark area from the hemisphere
which was illuminated. The former He called night, and the latter day. As the psalmist declares, “The day is
Your, the night also.” [5] Thus these two areas existed simultaneously on opposite sides of the earth, and as
the earth rotated into and out of these regions, the sequence of evening and morning resulted.
The duration of this sequence, “from even unto even,” [6] is the day unit of time measurement, in
contrast to the day which designates the light portion of such an interval. Time is measured duration, and
began with the first occurrence of the evening morning sequence on the first day of creation week. It is
folly to refer to tens of thousands or millions or billions of years prior to that first evening-morning
sequence. Prior to that first day there was no measurement of duration in days or months or years so far as
the earth is concerned. All prior duration was unmeasured, and was but a fragment of that eternity of Him
with whom “a thousand years are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.” [7]
Time reckoning for this earth had begun, and has not since been interrupted. “God Himself
measured off the first week as a sample for successive weeks to the close of time. Like every other, it
consisted of seven literal days Of each successive day of creation, the Sacred Record declares that it
consisted of the evening and the morning, like all other days that have followed.” [8] “When the Lord
declares that He made the world in six days and rested on the seventh day, He means the day of twenty-four
hours, which He has marked off by the rising and setting of the sun.” [9]
Above the fluid waters of the great deep surrounding the earth, there was yet a dense blanket of
saturated water vapor and cloud through which the light diffused gently. “And God said, Let there be a
firmament in the midst of the waters and it was so.” [10] With the introduction of this firmament-heaven,
the atmosphere, the Creator provided a marvelous medium of protection, control, and exchange.
“The Firmament Shows His Handiwork”

In a completely vacant space, or vacuum, water will evaporate so nearly instantly as to maintain a
condition of saturated vapor, of 100 per cent humidity. But into a gaseous atmosphere such as surrounds the
earth, the rate of evaporation is greatly reduced, and a saturated vapor condition is not so quickly attained.
When vapor high up in this atmosphere is cooled and condensed again to the liquid form, the resulting
drops are retarded in their fall by this same atmosphere of air. Were there no such resistance, raindrops
falling from mile-high clouds would acquire a speed of about four hundred miles an hour by the time they
reached the surface of the earth. Thus both unduly rapid evaporation and devastating torrential downpours
are effectively inhibited. It was surely by a wise and protective provision of the Creator that He established
such a two-way barrier that “divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which
were above [and within] the firmament.” [11]
The proportion of the gaseous element oxygen in the atmosphere is highly important. Its partial
pressure is about three pounds per square inch-approximately one fifth of the total atmospheric pressure.
Were it much less than this, human beings and most of the animal creation would suffocate. If it were very
much greater, fires would be uncontrollable, and even the iron of stoves, implements, and buildings would
be consumed. The nitrogen which constitutes nearly four fifths of the atmosphere serves to dilute it and to
further control burning by the cooling effect of this nearly inert gas.
Then, too, nitrogen contributes largely to the weight or density of the air. Without an atmosphere
of considerable density and consequent buoyancy, the birds and flying insects would be earthbound and
wholly incapable of flight. It was part of the Creator’s plan that the birds might “fly above the earth in the
open firmament of heaven.” [12] Consequently He prepared the atmosphere in advance for them even as
He subsequently prepared the seas and rivers as a home for the fishes, and the dry land for other animals
and for plants. He always provides in advance for every need or emergency.
Were the buoyant effect of the atmosphere much less than it is, water vapor would not float in it so
easily. Water vapor is less than two thirds as dense as air, and thus the Creator provided a means whereby
“He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth.” [13] Though no heavy, threatening clouds
darkened the Edenic sky, the heavens overhead were beautifully diversified and adorned with delicate,
protective masses of condensed water vapor. It is uplifting for us, as it was for “the pupils of earth’s first
school,” [14] to study “the balancing of the clouds, the wondrous works of Him which is perfect in
knowledge.” [15] How beautifully again was there a planned provision to “divide the waters from the
waters,” [16] “when He established the clouds above.” [17]
But the nitrogen of the atmosphere was destined by the Creator for a far more important function.
It is absorbed by certain simple plants and converted into compounds which are essential to the
manufacture of proteins by higher plants. In turn, these proteins are indispensable as tissue-building foods
for animals. Every particle of the protoplasm of living cells is dependent upon protein in its structure.
Without it, no living functions of plants or animals are possible.
The presence of invaluable carbon dioxide in the air is another provision of an all-wise Creator.
Plants absorb this gaseous substance, combining it with the elements of water with the aid of the energy of
sunlight, and therefrom make energy-giving food for themselves and the entire animal creation. In the same
process, plants return oxygen to the air, and this in turn is essential to all animals. Without oxygen they
could not utilize the energy of food and could not long exist. Thus again a wonderful medium of exchange
was provided in the atmosphere.
“0 the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His
judgments, and His ways past finding out! For who bath known the mind of the Lord? Or who bath been
His counselor? For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be glory forever.” [18]
1. Genesis 1:2.
2. Psalm 104:6.
3. Job 38:9.
4. Revelation 4:11.
5. Psalm 74:16.
6. Leviticus 23:32.
7. Psalm 90:4.
8. “Patriarchs and Prophets,” Page 111, 112; “The Spirit of Prophecy,” Volume 1, Page 85, 86.
9. “Testimonies to Ministers,” Page 136.
10. Genesis 1:6, 7.
11. Genesis 1:7.
12. Genesis 1:20.
13. Psalm 135:7; Jeremiah 10:13; 51:16.
15. Job 37:16.
16. Genesis 1:6.
17. Proverbs 8:28.

18. Romans 11:33-36.
5. “THE MOUNTAINS ROSE”

http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/young.asp
THE entire realm of nature reveals much concerning the infinitely painstaking design of the
Creator and the magnificence of His achievement. When He planned the earth for a habitation for mankind,
the Infinite Architect “laid the measures thereof” and “stretched the line upon it.” Then as the Master
Builder, He “laid the cornerstone thereof” while “the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God
shouted for joy.” [1]
During the first two days of earth’s first week, the evening morning sequence had been initiated,
and the atmosphere had been introduced as a protective gaseous barrier for the vapor water relationships
above the surface of the earth. When the third day began, the earth still was covered with a vast expanse of
water, a world-wide shoreless sea. There was not a spot on which anything except aquatic life could have
been established.
But plans had been made ‘for a much more beautiful and diversified earth. In a mighty creative
upheaval “the mountains rose, the valleys sank down” [2] to the positions designed for them. On that day,
at the voice of the Lord, the waters which previously had “stood above the mountains,” [3] fled and
hastened to their assigned locations. These waters descended into the depressions between the uplifted land
areas and were confined by them in the form of seas, lakes, and rivers. Thus the Creator “set a bound that
they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth.” [4] He gathers the waters of the sea
together as an heap. He lays up the depth in storehouses,” [5] “and set bars and doors, and said, Hitherto
shall thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed.” [6]
At the close of that third day the geography of the earth bore little resemblance to its present state.
“Its surface was diversified with mountains, hills, and plains, interspersed with noble rivers and lovely
lakes; but the hills and mountains were not abrupt and rugged, abounding in terrific steeps and frightful
chasms, as they now do. The sharp, ragged edges of earth’s rocky framework were buried beneath the
fruitful soil.” [7]
Because no portion of the land was remote from bodies of water, there were no waste and deserts.
Likewise, no region of the seas was so far distant from land as at present. To every part of the earth there
was available sufficient moisture for the vegetation which was yet to appear. Closer proximity to the seas
and smaller bodies of water made possible less variation in temperature and other features of climate, and
consequently no tempestuous winds or torrential rainfall occurred.
Provision was made, however, for the return of water from the atmosphere in the form of mild and
needful precipitation, for “there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.”
[8] Until the Deluge, “rain had never fallen; the earth had been watered by a mist or dew. The rivers had
never yet passed their boundaries, but had borne their waters safely to the sea.” [9] Even since the Deluge,
certain regions near the oceans and larger lakes receive considerable moisture by a process similar to that
antediluvian system. Drifting with the wind over adjacent land areas, the vapor arisen from the sea
condenses as a mist or fog, and collects on cooler objects such as trees and other vegetation. As it falls
beneath the foliage or is directly condensed upon the ground, the soil receives moisture essential for the
growth of vegetation.
“The Sea Is His, and He Made It”

In creating water the Omniscient One designed a truly remark able substance, one that is without a
peer in the chemical and physical realms of nature. Its vapor is less dense than the atmosphere, hence from
its source in the seas and other bodies of water it is buoyed high in the air. When warm and laden with
water vapor, any portion of the atmosphere is lighter than other equal but less humid portions. Hence the
pressure of the atmosphere is less in such moisture-laden regions than in and ones. Since the air is forced
from areas of higher pressure to those of lower pressure, there results a surface wind toward the “low” from
the “high” area. The lighter vapor-laden air thus is pushed upward and conveyed away from its source to
locations above the land. Upon cooling at high altitudes the vapor condenses to cloud, mist, and rain, and
thereby returns to water the earth. “He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; and brings
forth the wind out of His treasures.” [10]
As the water falls upon the land, much of it seeps through the soil and is retained there for some
time, whence “He sends the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills. They give drink to every
beast of the field.” [11] Thus, though “all the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place
from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.” [12] It is a wonderful round-trip journey that is
experienced by the drops of water as they complete their cycle of appointed service from sea to soil and
back to sea again.
“And a river went out of Eden to water the garden.” [13] “Thou visits the earth, and waters it.
Thou greatly enriches it with the river of God, which is full of water Thou waters the ridges thereof
abundantly: Thou settles the furrows thereof: thou makes it soft with showers They drop upon the pastures
of the wilderness: and the little hills rejoice on every side.” [14]
“His Wonders in the Deep”

In its liquid form water is more dense than most kinds of wood, and it is therefore easily possible
to construct boats that will float in it. When other more dense materials, such as iron, are employed, the
vessel must of course be so constructed as to incorporate considerable volumes of lighter materials, such as
air, within its water-resistant boundaries. The Creator designed water so uniquely that in its solid form, ice,
it is less dense than in the liquid state. Consequently ice will float upon liquid water. Were it otherwise, as
with most other common liquids, ice would sink to the bottom, bodies of water would be frozen to their
depths in winter and would scarcely thaw out in an entire summer. Fish would have no protection, and
would be permanently entombed; ice harvesting would be difficult, and ice skating would be impossible.
Even glaciers would pile higher and higher in their tortuous valleys, for the volume-reducing effect of great
pressure would not serve to melt their icy way past obstacles in their paths.
Much heat is absorbed by the melting of a block of ice---in fact about four fifths as much heat as
would be required to raise the temperature of the liquid water obtained from it to the boiling point. Hence
ice serves as a good refrigerant, and it is far more effective for that purpose than are most other solid
substances. Similarly, great quantities of heat are required to change water to vapor or steam. More than
five times as much heat is required to boil away a cupful of water as to heat the same amount of ice water
to the boiling temperature. Were it otherwise, as is the case with most other liquids, a pot of food on the
stove would quickly be boiled dry, and the steam would escape with almost explosive violence in the
process of ordinary cooking. The release of this large amount of heat from steam as it condenses back to
water again provides a means of heating rooms and buildings. In a still larger way the condensation of
water vapor as dew, mist, rain, or snow is the Creator’s mechanism for providing a veritable steam-heated
earth. For this reason regions near the sea have less extremes of temperature than have inland areas.
Doubtless this accounts in part for the mild character of the Edenic climate.
Water is the most universal solvent, enabling a variety of cleansing processes to be accomplished.
Even the air itself receives a purification through the agency of the water precipitated from it. The bodies of
all plants, animals, and man himself consist largely of solutions and suspensions contained in this wonder
fluid. Without it, living bodies lose their rigidity and wilt or collapse.
The intake of mineral substances by osmosis into the plants from the soil depends on this same
solvent medium, water. It is by a similar differential diffusion that digested food materials are absorbed by
animal tissues from solution in water. The enlargement of most growing tissues depends upon diffusion
movements of this kind in water solutions.
Water is one of the products of the reaction between food substances and the oxygen of
respiration, and it is an essential medium in which and by which the physiological functions of living things
take place. It is also important in the control of the temperature of plants and animals. Only by evaporation
of their perspiration are many animal bodies cooled in an unduly warm environment.
Of the simpler chemical substances, no other has been endowed by the Creator with a larger
number of essential and desirable characteristics. Surely “He hath made the earth by His power, He hath
established the world by His wisdom, and hath stretched out the heaven by His understanding.” [15] His
infinite foresight and skill are revealed in the properties of the substances of which He fabricated land and
sea, and all that in them is. Truly, “the sea is His, and He made it,” and He has therein revealed in a
marvelous manner “His wonders in the deep.” [16]
“The Strength of the Hills Is Mine Also”
To most living creatures the value of dry land is incalculable. It constitutes a solid foundation
underfoot for beasts and creeping things, and a firm support for trees, shrubs, and minor plants. Practically
every particle of rock or soil is more dense than water, and hence does not float away on the streams.
Finely divided particles of earth may remain suspended in water for a time, but eventually they settle out
from it as a sedimentary deposit to provide fertile land along the watercourses.
Certain special elements and compounds from the earth are more highly prized than others on
account of their beauty or durability. “Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they
fine [refine] it. Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone.” [17] Ever since the curse
and the Deluge it has been necessary to search diligently to locate worth-while deposits of minerals. Many
prospectors have spent their entire lives in fruitless search for minerals and wealth. Again, there have been
discovered such profitable deposits of precious metals and of the more common ones that expensive and
extensive plants and equipment have been installed for the recovery of these materials. Gold mines in South
Africa and California, iron in Scandinavia and Minnesota, lead and zinc in Missouri, copper in Bolivia and
Montana, and tin in Malaya and England are but a few of the well-known instances. But to Adam in Eden,
gold and precious stones were readily available. [18] When the earth is re-created, these materials will
again be prominent and commonly obtainable. [19]
As a pedestrian treads upon a path or highway, he may think of earth as little more than a support
for his feet, of the stones as simply obstacles to his progress, and of the dust as merely common dirt. But to
the farmer or gardener, soil is far more than these. Many elements and compounds are contained therein,
and a large number of these are essentials for the growth of vegetation. They thus ultimately become the
basis of nutrition for animal and human life. Furthermore, they are the constituents of the bodies of living
things. “And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree!” “And out of the ground the Lord
God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air.” “And the Lord God formed man of the dust
of the ground.” “Out of it was thou taken: for dust thou art.” [20]
The solidity of rocks and stones makes them of great value They constitute enduring building
materials and provide stable foundations. In a still larger way they are the under girding framework of the
earth and its mountains. Here the Creator “by His strength sets fast the mountains; being girded with
power.” [21] “In His hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is His also And His
hands formed the dry land.” [22] In His infinitude of power He “hath measured the waters in the hollow of
His hand, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and
the hills in a balance Behold, He takes up the isles as a very little thing.” [23]
1. Job 38:5-7.
2. Psalm 104:8, A.R.V.; cf. A.V., margin.
3. Psalm 104:6.
4. Psalm 104:9.
5. Psalm 33:7.
6. Job 38:10, 11
7. Patriarchs and Prophets,” Page 44.
8. Genesis 2:6.
9. “Patriarchs and Prophets,” Page 96, 97.
10. Jeremiah 10:13; cf. 51:16; Psalm 135:7.
11. Psalm 104:10, 11.
12. Ecclesiastes 1:7.
13. Genesis 2:10.
14. Psalm 65:9-12.
15. Jeremiah 51:15.
16 Psalm 95:5; 107:24.
17. Job 28:1, 2.
18. Genesis 2:11, 12.

20. Genesis 2:9, 19, 7; 3:19.
21. Psalm 65:6.
22. Psalm 95:4, 5.
23. Isaiah 40:12-15.
6. “LET THE EARTH BRING FORTH GRASS”
ASIDE from the incomprehensible wonder of the origin of matter itself, the marvel of the creation
of living things outranks the formation of seas and mountains and other physical features of earth and sky.
Each step of the procedure during creation week seems increasingly more remarkable than those which
preceded it, though each was a necessary prelude to the next. The achievement of every succeeding day
revealed more fully the wisdom and forethought and omnipotence of the great Designer and Architect of all
things.
On a miniature scale, men may move mountains or impound lakes and reservoirs, but no man has
ever discovered even the slightest clue to the method by which the life processes of plants and animals
originated or are maintained. The actual production of a single living cell apart from the reproductive
mechanism provided by the Creator is not even a remote possibility. It is a fundamental fact that life
proceeds only from life, and that the great and only Source of all life is the eternal self-existent One in
whom “we live, and move, and have our being.” [1] Just how God accomplished the work of creation He
has never revealed to men; human science cannot search out the secrets of the Most High. His creative
power is as incomprehensible as His existence!” [2]
Seriously atheistic is the belief frequently expressed that undesirable plants such as weeds simply
spring from the soil. This is a belated relic of the superstitious thinking prevalent two or more centuries
ago. Many then thought, and unfortunately some still insist, that certain plants require no parentage, and
spontaneously come forth without antecedent seeds or other propagating structures. Such a belief is an
actual denial of the Creator and is as pagan as any tenet of paganism or any mechanistic theory of
biological origin or evolution. There has never been a single living thing that did not owe its existence to
God-given life bestowed upon it or its ancestors during creation week.
Adherents of the doctrine of biological evolution also are loath to part with their theories of
spontaneous generation and development of living things, and they are equally loath to admit the idea of a
Creator of all things, lifeless or living. It is unique that, practically to a man, such philosophers freely
admit, and even assert emphatically, that under present conditions no living thing comes into existence
except under the influence of some other living thing. And, further, that the new organism is the direct
descendant of, and of the same kind as, its predecessor. Those who thus believe and teach, the while
promoting evolutionist theories, are in the anomalous predicament of denying spontaneous generation at
present, but of insisting on the supposition that it occurred under special conditions during ages long past.
The whole intent of such inconsistent philosophy manifestly is to ignore the fact and the necessity of a
Supreme Being to plan and to produce living things.
Purposeful Plants
As the fiat went forth, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb and the fruit tree,” portions of the
soil of earth [3] were transformed into gorgeous plants of every sort and size. The process was no
spontaneous union of atoms and molecules under merely their own inherent urge or accidental encounter.
The plan and design of each particle of living tissue is far too unique and elaborate for such a chance origin.
Instead, “All things, material or spiritual, stood up before the Lord Jehovah at His voice, and were created
for His own purpose.” [4] “He spoke, and it was; He commanded, and it stood fast.” [5]
The introduction of this vegetation was an essential part of the great plan to make a habitable
world. God always provides in advance for every need. In this instance the animals yet to be created were
provisioned in advance of their appearance. “He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the
service of man: that He may bring forth food out of the earth,” “who makes grass to grow upon the
mountains,” whereby “He gives to the beast his food” and “the valleys also are covered over with corn.” [6]
Likewise was shelter provided in the form of magnificent trees and luxuriant vines. Some of these were
“the cedars of Lebanon, which He hath planted; where the birds make their nests: as for the stork, the fir
trees are her house.” [7]
Besides supplying the more material benefits required by man and beast, many esthetic services
were to be performed by the plants. “God is a lover of the beautiful; and in the world which He has fitted
up for us He has not only given us everything necessary for our comfort, but He has filled the heavens and
the earth with beauty. We see His love and care in the rich fields of autumn, and His smile in the glad
sunshine. His hand has made the castle like rocks and the towering mountains. The lofty trees grow at His
command; He has spread earth’s green velvet carpet, and dotted it with shrubs and flowers.” [8]
Upon completion of His work of adorning and embellishing the earth, the Creator Himself “saw
everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good,” [9] for “He bath made everything beautiful in
His time.” [10] He is a God of the physical as well as of the mental and the spiritual; He is a God of the
practical, of the rational, and of the ornamental. “Honor and majesty are before Him: strength and beauty
are in His sanctuary.” [11] “When the earth was created, it was holy and beautiful. God pronounced it very
good. Every flower, every shrub, every tree, answered the purpose of its Creator.” [12] Thus the entire
earth was planned, purposeful, and perfect.
The creative work already accomplished as the third day drew to its close has been fittingly
described in the following words:
“When God had formed the earth, there were mountains, hills, and plains, and interspersed among
them were rivers and bodies of water. The earth was not one extensive plain, but the monotony of the
scenery was broken by hills and mountains, not high and ragged as they now are, but regular and beautiful
in shape. The bare, high rocks were never seen upon them, but lay beneath the surface, answering as bones
to the earth. The waters were regularly dispersed. The hills, mountains, and very beautiful plains, were
adorned with plants and flowers, and tall, majestic trees of every description, which were many times
larger, and much more beautiful, than trees now are. The air was pure and healthful, and the earth seemed
like a noble palace. Angels beheld and rejoiced at the wonderful and beautiful works of God.” [13]
1. Acts 17:28.
2. “Patriarchs and Prophets,” Page 113,
3. Genesis 1:11; 2:9.
5. Psalm 33:9.
6. Psalm 104:14; 147:8,9; 65:13.
7. Psalm 104:16,17.
8. “Counsels to Teachers,” Page 185.
9. Genesis 1:31.
11. Psalm 96:6.
12. “Testimonies,” Volume 7, Page 87.
7. “CONSIDER THE LILIES”

http://www.icr.org/pubs/imp/imp-sub.htm
“HE STUDIED the life of plants and animals, and the life of man. From His earliest years He was
possessed of one purpose; He lived to bless others. For this He found resources in nature; new ideas of
ways and means flashed into His mind as He studied plant life and animal life. Continually He was seeking
to draw from things seen illustrations by which to present the living oracles of God.” [1] Thus Jesus learned
from the great library of His own created works.
Beauty Reveals God’s Character

God desires to portray to His creatures the love that prompts His every act. “All that was needed
for existence would have been yours without the flowers and birds, but God was not content to provide
what would suffice for mere existence. He has filled earth and air and sky with glimpses of beauty to tell
you of His loving thought for you ‘Consider the lilies.’ [2] Every flower that opens its petals to the
sunshine obeys the same great laws that guide the stars, and how simple and beautiful and how sweet its
life! Through the flowers, God would call our attention to the loveliness of Christ like character. He who
has given such beauty to the blossoms desires far more that the soul should be clothed with the beauty of
the character of Christ.” [3]
“The flowers of the field, the grass that carpets the earth, share the notice and care of our heavenly
Father. The great Master Artist has taken thought for the lilies, making them so beautiful that they outshine
the glory of Solomon As the sunbeam imparts to the flowers their varied and delicate tints, so does God
impart to the soul the beauty of His own character.” [4]
It is not enough simply to admire and emulate the beauty of the flower, the grandeur of the sea, or
the magnitude of yonder star. God desires further that His followers learn the ways of His creation and
become acquainted with the how and the why of the natural world. The call to Moses came when he sought
why the desert bush was not burnt. [5] To less inquiring minds the scene might have been considered
merely a brush fire, and the creative Power that spoke from its unconsumed midst would have aroused little
concern. That searching spirit of Moses was used by Jehovah to transmit spiritual guidance and Christian
education to an illiterate multitude and to organize and administer a government for them after God’s plan.
Life Only From God

“Consider, says Jesus, how the lilies grow; how, springing from the cold, dark earth, or from the
mud of the river bed, the plants unfold in loveliness and fragrance. Who would dream of the possibilities of
beauty in the rough brown bulb of the lily? But when the life of God, hidden therein, unfolds at His call in
the rain and the sunshine, men marvel at the vision of grace and loveliness It is the word of God that creates
the flowers, and the same word will produce in you the graces of His Spirit.” [6]
As one observes intently the growth of a plant, he becomes increasingly aware that the activity
displayed is not that of mere soil and air and water. It is not the result of accident or chance. Unpromising
though the seed or bulb or root may appear to be, the plant is unmistakably the progeny of a line of similar
plants created on the third day of earth’s first week. Though “a man should cast seed into the ground; and
the seed should spring and grow up, he knows not how,” [7] there is one final answer to the questions
concerning the how and why of all growth. That answer resides in the great Cause of all things, the Source
of all life, “who makes grass to grow upon the mountains.” [8] By His provision of seed and soil, sunshine
and showers, and through the marvelous laws of heredity which He has established, the plants of earth
continue to reproduce, each “after his kind.” [9]
Faith and Works

The growth of the plant is not a sudden affair. Days and weeks of waiting by the farmer are finally
rewarded with the harvest of food and shelter and raiment. Therein is a lesson in Christian patience. Too
many have abandoned their spiritual harvest prematurely. “He that endures to the end shall be saved.” [10]
“Behold, the husbandman waits for the precious fruit of the earth, and bath long patience for it, until he
receive the early and latter rain.” “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord.” [11]
1f you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to
yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” [12] What a faith is this! And
what a privilege it is to possess it! But what does it mean? Did you ever consider the faith of a mustard
seed?
Some persons expect the results of faith to be like mushrooms or like Jonah’s miraculous gourd,
and become full-grown overnight. It would be disastrous to a mustard plant to be pulled up to its full stature
suddenly instead of growing to it. Some expect that yonder mountain will be removed and conveyed away
in one giant steam-shovel load. But mustard seeds grow silently, slowly, surely. They remove the earth of
the mountain molecule by molecule, particle by particle, not by the truckload. They place their energy at
the disposal of the Creator and in accordance with His great plan. The mustard seed does not aspire to
becoming a lily or a sequoia, but rather the best mustard plant that its heredity and environment will permit.
1n our labor we are to be workers together with God. He gives us the earth and its treasures; but
we must adapt them to our use and comfort. He causes the trees to grow; but we prepare the timber and
build the house Show that, while God has created and constantly controls all things, He has endowed us
with a power not wholly unlike His. To us has been given a degree of control over the forces of nature.”
[13]
“While God was working in Daniel and his companions ‘to will and to do of His good pleasure,”
[14] they were working out their own salvation. Herein is revealed the outworking of the divine principle of
co-operation, without which no true success can be attained. Human effort avails nothing without divine
power; and without human endeavor, divine effort is with many of no avail His grace is given to work in us
to will and to do, but never as a substitute for our effort.” [15] If we have prayed for the removal of a
mountain of difficulty, God will complete the job for us if we demonstrate our earnestness by getting some
mustard seed and a shovel and starting to dig.
Receiving and Giving

“The palm tree, beaten by the scorching sun and the fierce sandstorm, stands green and flourishing
and fruitful in the midst of the desert. Its roots are fed by living springs The tree of the desert is a symbol of
what God means the life of His children in this world to be They are to point their fellow men to Him who
gives the invitation, “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink.” [16] Thus the Christian will
share the spiritual blessings which have watered his own soul.
“Blessed is the man that trusts in the Lord, for he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that
spreads out her roots by the river and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from
yielding fruit.” [17] “Blessed is the man” whose “delight is in the law of the Lord He shall be like a tree
planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth his fruit in his season; and whatsoever he does shall
prosper.” [18]
The tree receives water and mineral substances from the soil, and carbon dioxide from the air.
These are brought together in the leaves, where the energy which God provides in the sunshine enables the
living chloroplasts to produce food. The tree does not hoard all that it manufactures. It produces fruit for
the nourishment of other creatures, and thus it gives liberally of that which it has received. Even the up
building of its own structure is not for merely selfish ends, for the larger the tree becomes, the more
abundantly does it provide shade and shelter to the creatures about it. “Freely you have received, freely
give,” [19] is the law of nature and the ideal of Christian liberality.
As a Man Sows
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap.” [20]
“Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? And the fruit of righteousness is sown
in peace of them that make peace.” [21] “Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Wherefore by
their fruits you shall know them.” [22] This is the law of heredity. By no spontaneous evolutionary process
does a thistle become a fig tree. Should such an extraordinary thing occur, or should a grain of corn
produce potatoes, even the modern philosophers would be so surprised that it would take them a long time
to obtain assurance that the observations were not in error.
God’s creation is not so erratic and capricious. In the life of each kind of plant has been placed a
measure of that dependability which is characteristic of its Creator. The farmer and the gardener count on
it. They know that seed corn yields corn, not cucumbers, and that pansy seed produces pansies, not
sunflowers. They also know that weed seeds yield weeds. “They that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness,
reap the same.” [23] The rule of the harvest is indeed, “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can
a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.” [24]
1n the laws of God in nature, effect follows cause with unerring certainty. The reaping will testify
as to what the sowing has been So in spiritual things: the faithfulness of every worker is measured by the
results of his work Every seed sown produces a harvest of its kind. So it is in human life. We all need to
sow the seeds of compassion, sympathy, and love; for we shall reap what we sow.” [25]
“You Are the Branches”

According to the accepted rule of horticulture the character of the fruit produced by a tree is
determined by the bud or scion which is grafted into or upon the rooted stock. By a variation of this rule,
Paul drew a forceful illustration of the relation of Gentiles and Jews to the Christian body. He emphasized
that his comparison is contrary to nature; but, with that modification, the lesson is unmistakably clear.
“Thou wilt say then, Branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. Well; by their unbelief they were
broken off, and thou stands by thy faith. Be not high-minded, but fear: for if God spared not the natural
branches, neither will He spare thee For if thou was cut out of that which is by nature a wild olive tree, and
was grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree. How much more shall these, which are the natural
branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?” “It is not thou that bears the root, but the root thee.” [26]
Jesus made a personal application of the same sort of illustration. Said He: I am the Vine, you are
the branches: He that abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without Me you can
do nothing.” [27] Further, “Any branch of Mine that does not bear fruit He trims away, and He prunes
every branch that bears fruit, to make it bear more.” [28] An intimate, vital connection with Christ is
essential to holy living. But a responsibility attaches to this privilege of union with the true Vine. If no
“fruit of the Spirit” [29] is borne, and “if a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch.” [30]
As the heavenly horticulturist inspects His vineyard, He removes all the lifeless, unfruitful
branches. They are beyond remedy. He gives another and special attention to the active, growing twigs.
Many of them in their zeal have grown beyond their support, and their tips are too far from the vine. They
must be shortened so that there will be a nearer supply of nourishment from the Vine whereby to “bring
forth more fruit.” [31]
Other branches have put forth side branches of their own, and through the multitude of apparently
harmless activities they have dissipated the energy which has been so bountifully supplied to them. The
question, Is it wrong to do this or to engage in that activity?” cannot always be answered in the negative.
Rather the question must become, Is this activity promoting the main purpose of Christian living abundant
fruit production for God?” Consequently we must be content to allow the pruning shears of the divine
husbandman ‘to remove the superfluity of even the apparently good things we may choose to do and enjoy.
Those which remain will be the more enjoyable and productive.
Perfection in Little Things

“Even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the
grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, 0
you of little faith?” [32] The leaf on yonder tree, the flower in the most remote woodland, or the
insignificant blade of grass in the meadow--every one is perfect even though no human eye should ever
chance to behold it. That is the way the Creator does things in His workshop. He does a perfect job of
everything, be it large or small, whether anyone is looking or not. His delight is in work that requires no
apology. He can always say of His achievements, as He did at the close of creation week, that they are
“very good.” And His work pleases us, too.
“Perfection exists in the least as well as in the greatest of the works of God. The hand that hung
the worlds in space is the hand that fashions the flowers of the field. Examine under the microscope the
smallest and commonest of wayside blossoms, and note in all its parts the exquisite beauty and
completeness. So in the humblest lot true excellence may be found; the commonest tasks, wrought with
loving faithfulness, are beautiful in God’s sight.” [33]
“He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much.” [34] May every detail of the
accomplishments of God’s under workmen be gratifying to themselves and to Him. “Be you therefore
perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect,” [35] whether any fellow man is looking or not.
1. “The Desire of Ages,” Page 70.

2. Matthew 6:28
3. “Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing,” Page 143,144.
5. Exodus 3:2, 3. 1
6. “Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing,” Page 144.
7. Mark 4:26, 27.
8. Psalm 147:8.
9. Genesis 1: 11, 12.
10. Matthew 10:22.
11. James 5:7.
12. Matthew 17:20.
13. “Education,” Page 214, 215.
14. Philippians 2:13.
15. “Prophets and Kings,” Page 486, 487.
16. Education,” Page 116.
17. Jeremiah 17:7, 8.
18. Psalm 1:1-3.
19. Matthew 10:8.
20. Galatians 6:7.
21. James 3:12-18.
22. Matthew 7:16-20.
23. Job 4:8.
24. Matthew 7:18.
25. “Christ’s Object Lessons,” Page 84.
26. Romans 11:19-24, 18, A.R.V.
27. John 15:5.
28. John 15:2, Goodspeed.
29. Galatians 5:22, 23.
30. John 15:6.
31. John 15:2.
32. Matthew 6:29, 30.
34. Luke 16:10.
35. Matthew 5:48.
8. “LET THERE BE LIGHT”

http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/compromise.asp
PERHAPS no part of the creation record has been more the subject of conjecture and speculation
than that concerned with the activities of the fourth day. On this topic great diversities of thought have been
expressed. Some presume that the earth was the first created body in the universe, and that its existence
antedates that of all others-stars, suns, and planets-by more than three days. There are probably all ranges
of belief, from this idea, to the highly evolutionist philosophy that the dispersed matter from which all
heavenly bodies were formed antedated all else. However, neither compromises nor extremes are
necessarily the basis of truth.
Though the Scriptures present limited details concerning the relation of the earth to other heavenly
bodies, and still less concerning the creation of any of the latter, there are a number of items both in the
Sacred Word and in the natural world with which a correct pattern of belief should be consistent. Some of
these will be examined.
In the first place, it is evident that there were stars already existent when the Creator 1aid the
foundations of the earth,” for He Himself asked Job, “Who laid the cornerstone thereof; when the morning
stars sang together?” [1] There were then also inhabited worlds as well as stars, for when the Father and the
Son were planning the creation of man and his dwelling place, and Lucifer was fomenting rebellion among
the hosts of heaven, “God’s government included not only the inhabitants of heaven, but of all the worlds
that He had created. And Satan thought that if he could carry the angels of heaven with him in rebellion, he
could carry also the other worlds.” [2] At that time also the presumptuous aspiration of Lucifer was, I will
exalt my throne above the stars of God.” [3]
The Days of Creation Week

The first three days of creation week were identical in length and character with the last four.
Concerning each of the first six days the record of the Scripture is identical. “And the evening and the
morning were the first [second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth] day.” [4]
“I was then carried back to the creation and was shown that the first week, in which God
performed the work of creation in six days and rested on the seventh day, was just like every other week.
The great God in His days of creation and day of rest, measured off the first cycle as a sample for
successive weeks till the close of time.” [5]
“The Bible recognizes no long ages in which the earth was slowly evolved from chaos. Of each
successive day of creation, the Sacred Record declares that it consisted of the evening and the morning, like
all other days that have followed.” [6]
“The sophistry in regard to the world’s being created in an indefinite period of time is one of
Satan’s falsehoods. When the Lord declares that He made the world in six days and rested on the seventh
day, He means the day of twenty-four hours, which He has marked off by the rising and setting of the sun.”
[7]
Since the entry of light permitted by the partial dispersion of the earth’s swaddling band of cloud
on the first day, the sequence of evening and morning had occurred in regular sequence for three days.
Also, beginning with the second day, the atmosphere had borne its burden of water vapor high above the
earth in a diffuse but completely overcast cloud formation. From the third day forward, the land and water
areas were in their prescribed locations, and lush vegetation adorned the landscape. When the third day
closed, the newly arisen land with its pristine foliage presented more definite reference points for time
recording than had previously been visible.
“Lights in the Firmament”

As the fourth day began, a brilliant ruddy cloud bank fast cleared, presenting a gorgeous twilight
scene. The silvery orb of night appeared distinctly as “He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knows
his going down,” [8] and the Creator accomplished the fruition of the plan for “the moon and stars to rule
by night” and for “the sun to rule by day.” [9]
The pertinent subject of Psalm 19 is the handiwork of God as revealed in the heavens, the
firmament, and the sun. “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.
In them bath He set a tabernacle for the sun His [its] going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his [its]
circuit unto the ends of it. And there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.” The wording is unique: The
tabernacle of the heavens, the firmament, is set for the sun, not the sun for the tabernacle, and there ceases
to be an obstruction to the free passage of sunlight through the firmament, for now “is nothing hid from the
heat thereof.” [10]
With this the Genesis record is in perfect accord: “Let there be lights in the firmament of the
heaven to divide the day from the night;” and further, “God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give
light upon the earth.” [11] Several scriptures which refer to this same creative act of causing the heavenly
bodies to appear through the firmament employ the words prepare, appoint, ordain, and ordinance rather
than the term create. All of the organizational activities of the first week of earth were definitely creative,
most of them consisting of uniquely fashioning the world and the things therein and thereupon from the
material which the Creator Himself brought into existence at the outset.
“The day is Yours, the night also is Yours: Thou has prepared the light and the sun. Thou has set
all the borders of the earth: Thou has made summer and winter.” [12] “Light” as occurs here is identical
with the “lights” of Genesis 1:14-16, and definitely signifies light giver or luminary. The American
Translation, by Smith, renders this sentence, “Thou did establish sun and moon.” Other descriptions of the
establishment of the functions of the sun, moon, and stars are the following: “When I consider Thy
heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou has ordained; what is man, that Thou
art mindful of him?” [13] “Thus said the Lord, which gives the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of
the moon and of the stars for a light by night.” [14]
Truly it was a grand and spectacular achievement which marked the fourth day of creation week
when the omnipotent God “appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth,” [15] and completed the
assignment of sun, moon, and stars as the precise timekeepers for this earth so that they should serve “for
signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years.” [16]
“The Greater Light”

God commissioned the greater luminary to serve as the ruler of the day. It performs this function
most conspicuously as a source of light to enable the activities of earth to be carried on. Every day “the sun
arises Man goes forth unto his work and to his labor until the evening.” [17] “Truly the light is sweet, and a
pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun.” [18]
Practically every source of energy available on the earth, with the exception of that of radioactive
substances and of elevated land areas, has been derived directly from the sun. The energy of waterfalls, of
winds, of fuel and foods, of midday heat and summer warmth, all are transmitted from the Creator’s energy
store by way of the sun. The commission given the sun included the communication of energy to the earth
as light and heat. How God maintains the supply to the sun has not been discovered nor revealed to men;
that is one of His secrets and at present it is past finding out.
Sunlight is absolutely indispensable for photosynthesis, the exclusive food-making process by
which the green chlorophyll in the leaves of plants is enabled to produce sugars, starch, and oxygen from
carbon dioxide and water. By way of these and other foods produced from them, animals are nourished.
The plants themselves build their tissues from the same foods, and thereby produce wood and other fuels,
as well as building materials for man’s comfort. Thus all living things are activated from the great reservoir
of energy which the Creator established in the sun. “Blessed of the Lord be his land, and for the precious
fruits brought forth by the sun.” [19]
“The Lesser Light” – “The Stars Also”

“The moon and stars to rule by night.” [20] The same intent and purpose are indicated in the
words, “The lesser light to rule the night: the stars also,” [21] for here the words “He made” are not a part
of the original text. Truly the Creator ordained that the stars should be rulers of the night. Without such
guides, nights would be dismal and monotonous. There would be little means of ascertaining the directions
or the time of night. When apparently lost in a strange locality, one can look to the stars and recognize his
directions and the same celestial environment as at home.
Mariners and surveyors, and thus indirectly all other persons are dependent on observations of
certain stars for the location of their positions on sea and land. The boundaries of land, whether it be of a
country or a state, a farm or a city lot, are established by similar observations. The accurate setting of
clocks the world over depends also on the stars.
The word “month” signifies a relation to the moon. For centuries each month began with the new-
moon phase. Since approximately twenty-nine and a half days witness the return of the moon to the
corresponding phase, the months were alternately of twenty-nine and thirty days. Since the time of the
Caesars the months have been designated arbitrarily and at present bear little relation to the motions of the
moon.
Astronomers still reckon signs and seasons, days and years, by the relative positions of the sun,
moon, and stars. The calculations which are made thereby are invaluable as calendar guides, and
incidentally as predictions of such spectacular events as eclipses of the sun and moon.
Worship of the Heavenly Bodies

Man’s immediate physical dependence for his livelihood on the things about him has caused him
often to look to nature instead of the God of nature for his origin and maintenance. As men became
forgetful of God, they progressively “changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served the
creature more than the Creator.” [22] Through the ages many of them have “worshiped all the host of
heaven.” [23] To Israel, God pronounced severe penalties against any who have “gone and served other
gods, and worshiped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not
commanded.” [24] God also spoke with severity through His prophets against “the astrologers, the
stargazers, the monthly prognosticators,” for “they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them.” [25]
God is equally displeased in these days with any similar tendency of men to look upon nature as
the guardian of mankind. Under the direction of the Creator, man was to have dominion over nature, not
nature over man; but many people have disowned faith in God and in their divinely appointed dominion.
They have adopted instead fearsome and superstitious beliefs in luck and chance, astrology and palmistry,
ladders and black cats, witching rods and knocking on wood, and a host of other omens for imaginary
prognostication.
Instead of such devices or means of divination, the fundamental faith of the Christian should be, I
know the thoughts that I think toward you, said the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an
expected end.” [26] “Perfect love casts out fear” [27] and develops a confident trust in the God of love.
“There shall not be found among you anyone that uses divination, or an observer of times, or an
enchanter, or a witch. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord!” [28]
1. Job 38:4, 6, 7.
2. The Great Controversy,” Page 497.
3. Isaiah 14:13.
4. Genesis 1:5, 8,13,19, 23, 31.
5. Spiritual Gifts,” Volume 3, Page 90; “The Spirit of Prophecy,” Volume 1, Page 85.
7. “Testimonies to Ministers,” Page 135,136.
8. Psalm 104. 19.
9. Psalm 136:9, 8; cf. Genesis 1:16,18.
10. Psalm 19:1-6.
11. Genesis 1:14,17.
12. Psalm 74:16,17.
13. Psalm 8:3.
14. Jeremiah 31:35.
15. Jeremiah 33:25.
16. Genesis 1:14.
17. Psalm 104:22, 23.
19. Deuteronomy 33:13, 14.
20. Psalm 136:9.
21. Genesis 1:16.
22. Romans 1:25.
23. 2 Kings 17:16; 21:3.
24. Deuteronomy 17:3.
25. Isaiah 47:13, 14.
26. Jeremiah 29:11.
27. 1 John 4: 18.
28. Deuteronomy 18:10-12.
9. “BEHOLD THE HEIGHT OF THE STARS!”

TOEVERYONE whose soul is attuned to the divine messages expressed in all of the works of the
Creator, “the heavens declare the glory of God.” [1] David stated further concerning the means by which
God communicates with men, “There is no speech nor language; their voice is not heard,” but,
nevertheless, “Their line [“sound,” see Romans 10:18] is gone out through all the earth, and their words to
the end of the world.” [2]
The language of nature is not couched in the words of dictionaries and grammars; the “music of
the spheres” is not inscribed in notes and scores. But-
To him who, in the love of Nature, holds Communion with her visible forms,
She speaks a various languages. [3]
1n His teaching from nature, Christ was speaking of the things which His own hands had made,
and which had qualities and powers that He Himself had imparted. In their original perfection, all created
things were an expression of the thought of God. Rightly understood, nature speaks of her Creator.” [4]
“The Stars of God”

The magnitude of the stars and the immensity of the space occupied by them portrays the
infinitude of the God who created the universe of heavenly bodies. No gradual spontaneous urge has ever
been conceived which would produce even a single one of the millions of planetary systems with their
complexity of motion and composition. Some Source of energy, as well as of matter itself, exterior to the
heavenly bodies, must have been responsible for their origin and for the physical laws that govern their
activities.
Even evolutionist writers, though attempting to explain the present order of things in terms of
inherent tendencies of previously existing bodies, admit that a star or a planet cannot originate its own
motions. While staunchly supporting another rival theory of evolution, most of such writers have
abandoned the nebular evolutionary hypothesis as wholly inadequate. They point out that while the planets
of our solar family comprise only about one tenth of 1 per cent as much mass as the sun, they possess about
97 per cent of the total angular momentum of the entire solar system.
Consequently there have been developed other and more recent evolutionist theories of a
catastrophic nature to attempt an explanation of the origin of the present arrangement of the solar system.
These all invoke the aid of some other passing star from outside the solar system, and presume that the
planets resulted from some sort of tidal disintegration of a portion of the original body of the sun. Such
theories merely magnify the problem instead of solving it. They do not explain how the passing body
acquired its mass or its momentum, nor whence came both such passing star and the precursor of the solar
system.
There is no more adequate explanation of origins than the Scriptural one. “Seek Him that makes
the Pleiades and Orion.” [5] “Lift up your eyes on high, and see who hath created these, that brings out
their host by number; He calls them all by name; by the greatness of His might, and for that He is strong in
power, not one is lacking.” [6]
“Not one is lacking” - what an infinite task! With the unaided eye, on a clear night, one can
distinguish about two thousand stars at any one time. With large and powerful telescopes the number
revealed reaches into billions. Man cannot even count the stars; the great Creator not only “tells the number
of the stars” and “calls them all by their names,” [7] but also made each one and superintends its activities.
More than that, He has made provision for every detail of the needs of the insignificant dwellers on each
inhabited orb. “For thus said the high and lofty One that inhabits eternity. I dwell in the high and holy
place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit.” [8] “BY His Spirit the heavens are garnished
Lo, these are but the outskirts of His ways: and how little a portion is heard of Him!” [9]
The Glory of the Stars

“There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the
glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another
glory of the stars: for one star differs from another star in glory.” [10] But with all their glory, it is only in a
limited way that the untold millions of stars of “the heavens declare the glory of God,” [11] for “His glory
is above the earth and heaven.” [12] “0 Lord our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth! Who has
set Thy glory above the heavens.” [13]
The Creator is a God of glory and majesty. He has chosen to place beauty and grandeur in the stars
and in their systematic and artistic arrangement. “Can thou bind the cluster of the Pleiades, or loose the
bands of Orion? Can thou lead forth the Mazzaroth [signs of the zodiac] in their season? Or can thou guide
the Bear with her train?” [14] These stars and constellations are among the best-known objects of the sky.
Particularly thrilling is the description of the shaking of the powers of heaven at the voice of God. “The
atmosphere parted and rolled back; then we could look up through the open space in Orion, whence came
the voice of God. The Holy City will come down through that open space.” [15] From this description it is
evident that the throne of the King of the universe lies far beyond even that remote constellation.
To a person traveling on horseback, by auto, or by rail the earth appears to be a large body. Even
to a traveler by air the distances from place to place seem considerable. But the entire circumference of the
earth, a scant 25,000 miles, is but a trifle in comparison with the distance to the sun or to yonder star.
Merely a journey to the moon, if such could be arranged, would equal ten trips entirely around the earth. A
corresponding tour to the sun would equal more than - 3,700 trips around the earth, or nearly 400 times the
distance to the moon.
“How High They Are”

Often light is thought to be instantaneous in its transmission from place to place. It requires travel
time, however, although its speed of 186,300 miles a second is inconceivably swift. Even at that rate the
light from the sun requires more than eight minutes to traverse the 93,000,000 miles to the earth. At the
same rate of travel, the light from the nearest one of the true stars-not the nearby planets-must be on the
way about four years before arriving at the earth. Consequently the distance to this nearest star, Proxima
Centauri, is said to be four light-years.
The distances to other stars likewise are expressed in light years, convenient distance units for
such remote expanses. The familiar Milky Way, or Galaxy, is an enormous group of stars actually forming
a giant cluster. The sun is one of the billions of stars of this galaxy. The stars within this pattern average
more than ten light-years from their nearest neighbors, though because of their distance they appear to be
relatively close together.
Then hundreds of thousands of light-years away, remotely beyond and around our galaxy, are
other galaxies. Apparently there are millions of these, each in turn doubtless consisting of billions of stars
as does our own galaxy. What a marvelous journey it would be to visit all those celestial bodies!
“All the treasures of the universe will be open to the study of God’s redeemed. Unfettered by
mortality, they wing their tireless flight to worlds afar With undimmed vision they gaze upon the glory of
creation,-suns and stars and systems, all in their appointed order circling the throne of Deity.” [16] No truer
picture could be given of the wheel-within-a-wheel pattern which the satellites, the planets, the stars, and
the galaxies of the universe comprise.
“When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou has
ordained; what is man, that Thou art mindful of him?” [17]
Stars of Hope
“The stars also have a message of good cheer for every human being. In those hours that come to
all, when the heart is faint, and temptation presses sore; where, then, can such courage and steadfastness be
found as in that lesson which God has bidden us learn from the stars in their untroubled course?” [18]
“And they that be wise [“teachers,” A.V. and A.R.V. margin] shall shine as the brightness of the
firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” [19] What a glorious
promise this is to all who share their faith and who go on God’s errands, be they large or small!
1. Psalm 19:1.
2. Psalm 19:3,4, A.R.V
3. William Cullen Bryant, “Thanatopis.”
5. Amos 5:8, ARV.
6. Isaiah 40:26, ARV.
7. Psalm 147:4.
8. Isaiah 57:15.
9. Job 26:13,14, ARV, margin.
10. 1 Corinthians 15:40, 41.
11. Psalm 19:1.
12. Psalm 148:13.
13. Psalm 8:1.
14. Job 38:31, 32, A.R.V.
15. “Early Writings,” Page 41.
17. Psalm 8:3.

19. Daniel 12:3.
10. “EVERY LIVING CREATURE”

http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/design.asp
THE world was indeed a quiet place when sunset drew the curtain upon the activities of the fourth
day. Little besides the rustle of the leaves in the forest and the waving of the grass in the meadow amid a
gentle breeze gave any evidence of earthly activity. There was not a bird in the sky, not a fish in the sea,
nor any creature upon the land. During the fifth and sixth days the word of the Creator brought into
existence these active types of life.
“And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air.”
[1] Portions of the earth were shaped into the pattern of all manner of fishes, birds, and other vertebrate and
invertebrate animals of land and sea. As these were infused with life from Him “in whose hand is the soul
of every living thing,” [2] the waters were caused to “swarm with swarms of living creatures,” there were
multitudes of kinds of birds of every description to My above the earth in the open firmament of heaven,”
and there were further untold numbers of terrestrial creatures, insects, “cattle [domestic animals], and
creeping things, and beasts of the earth [wild animals] after their kind.” [3]
The creation of earth’s first living forms, the plants, on the third day was a remarkable thing. By
no accident or chance could the materials of an inorganic world have become thus arranged and activated.
But the creative acts of the fifth and sixth days far outshone even those unique achievements. The animals
which He now formed and vivified were endowed by the Creator with greater functional abilities than those
given to plant life. These animate creatures were provided with sensation, mobility, and the powers of
choice and selection to varying and marvelous degrees. Such characteristics indeed are not self-acquired.
Amazing is the credulity of those who profess to believe that living forms selected and assumed
their essential functions in advance of the possession of such characteristics. A creature certainly cannot
choose to develop an essential organ or protective mechanism for which it has experienced no need. And
had the individual creature needed such an organ or defensive provision to continue its existence, it would
have perished before it could develop the required protection or could transmit to its progeny either the
necessary inheritance or the urge for such protection. Those who propound the idea of transmission to
progeny of acquired characters, whether physical or mental, have not given sufficient attention to these
important points.
Instincts of the Animals

The Creator marvelously provided the animals with facilities, habits, and instincts suitable to their
existence. These are mutually interrelated with and dependent upon other organisms in a manner that even
intelligent man would never have imagined. The animals themselves could not have invented nor
discovered such instincts. Many of the creatures have no opportunity to instruct their offspring in these
essentials to their life. While God has withheld “wisdom” and “understanding” from the animal creation,
[4] He has caused these creatures to possess and transmit by inheritance unique instincts or unlearned
behavior patterns which are essential to their existence and survival. Thus in order to carry on their
activities, animals require none of the mental training and home and school discipline which mankind
needs. “Yea, the stork in the heaven knows her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the
swallow observe the time of their coming; but My people know not the judgment of the Lord.” [5]
A pertinent example of a unique mutual arrangement between’ animals and plants is observed in
the life history of the moth, Pronuba yuccasella, and its host plant, the yucca, which grows abundantly in
the southwestern part of the United States and in other arid regions. “The flowers are open and scented at
night when the female moth becomes active, first collecting a load of pollen and then depositing her eggs,
generally in a different flower from that which has supplied the pollen. The eggs are deposited in the ovary
wall, usually just below an ovule; after each deposition the moth runs to the top of the pistil and thrusts
some pollen into the opening of the stigma. Development of larva and seed go on together, a few of the
seeds serving as food for the insect, which when mature eats through the pericarp and drops to the ground,
remaining dormant in its cocoon until the next season of flowering when it emerges as a moth.” [6]
No unguided chance could possibly have been responsible for such a collaboration in vital
activities. Without the moth the yucca would not be pollinated, for the pollen of the plant is too sticky to be
transferred by wind or gravity. Without the yucca plant the moth larva would be without nourishment. Had
such symbiosis or co-operative plan of living been accidental, one might ask some questions similar to
those which would be pertinent in a thousand other instances. “How did this kind of moth survive until it
could discover the favorable yucca and develop such a method of care for its progeny?” “How did the
yucca propagate its kind until the moth had perfected its plan of reproduction?” Further questions could
well arise concerning the fine timing of emergence of the moth with the flowering period of the yucca, and
concerning the instinct which prompts the moth unwittingly to place the pollen where it will serve to make
possible the fertilization of the ovules and the production of seeds as food for her young. Consideration of
this and many other marvelous instances of interdependence in nature prompt the exclamation, “0 Lord,
how manifold are Thy works! In wisdom has Thou made them all.” [7]
Even the most ardent evolutionists admit that there is no evidence that a given phylum or class of
animals has been derived from any other phylum or class that is now in existence. And many of them also
deny that the present groups have arisen from any of the others represented by ancient fossil specimens.
“After His Kind”

Austin H. Clark has said, “Since all our evidence shows that the phyla or major groups of animals
have maintained precisely the same relation with each other back to the time when the first evidences of
life appear, it is much more logical to assume a continuation of the parallel interrelationships further back
into the indefinite past, to the time of the first beginnings of life, than to assume somewhere in early pre-
Cambrian times a change in these interrelationships and a convergence toward a hypothetical common
ancestral type from which all were derived. This last assumption has not the slightest evidence to support it.
All of the evidence indicates the truth of the first assumption.” [8]
Thus with valid reason this authority indicates a denial that the present forms of animal life arose
by divergence from some unknown intermediate forms. There is not the slightest evidence of “missing
links,” either among presently existing animals or among the abundant fossils. There would be required for
the evolutionist theory not merely one or a few such links, but an entire chain of which almost all of the
links are missing.
There has been extensive variation within the “kinds” of animals originally created, until there are
many varieties of dogs, fowls, horses, and cattle, and other animals, both wild and domesticated. But after
all the variation which has occurred since creation, dogs are still of the dog kind and horses are still of the
horse kind. No essentially new types or “kinds” of animals have appeared since that momentous sixth day
of creation week. There is not a single authentic record of progeny resulting from a cross between the
Genesis “kinds.” [9]
On the whole, evolutionist philosophy has not proceeded further than speculation concerning how
the present animal forms descended from simpler and quite diverse earlier organisms. It never has
answered, nor can it ever answer, the question, “Whence came the original life?”
Life Only From Life

The most fundamental principle in biology-that life comes only from life-has been thoroughly
established by the researches of the past two centuries, culminating in the epochal work of Pasteur. “No
biological generalization rests on a wider series of observations, or has been subjected to a more critical
scrutiny than that every living organism has come into existence from a living portion or portions of a pre-
existing organism.” [10]
But in spite of the evidence presented by scientists, and the clear statements of the Scripture that
all life came from the great Source of life, there are still those who think that sometime, somewhere, an
exception to the laws of nature occurred. Many apparently intelligent men believe and teach that in the
remote Past, atoms and molecules chanced to combine so as to form simple living creatures, and that
subsequently some of these aspired to and achieved the status of higher and more elaborate kinds of
creatures. Thinking along much the same direction, many uninformed persons believe as did their medieval
ancestors that certain simple animals, mostly pests such as insects and worms, come into existence directly
and spontaneously from nothing but the materials of the soil.
It is interesting to read from evolutionist writers such statements as this: “As may be supposed,
theories of the origin of life apart from doctrines of special creation or of a primitive and slow spontaneous
generation are mere fantastic speculations. The most striking of these suggests an extraterrestrial origin. H.
E. Richter appears to have been the first to propound the idea that life came to this planet as cosmic dust or
in meteorites thrown off from stars and planets.” [11] So while believing in some form of spontaneous
generation, evolutionists in general at least deny the “fantastic speculation” that simple living creatures
rode in to this earth from some remote heavenly body. There is abundant reason for this denial, for the
conditions of inter-planetary space are not favorable for the maintenance of life, and the high temperatures
of arriving meteors are still less favorable. Further than this, such a hypothesis does not answer the
fundamental question of the origin of life, but merely places the origin in a more remote locality.
Thus there have been many attempts on the part of godless men to divert minds to nonessentials
and away from the Creator of all life. The basic teaching of God’s word is that “the works were finished
from the foundation of the world,” [12] and that “the heavens and the earth were finished” [13] (including
the animal creation) before the first Sabbath was celebrated.
“Every Green Herb for Food”

Before initiating animal life, the provident Creator had brought into existence abundant food in the
form of all kinds of plants and plant products. “He causes the grass to grow for the cattle.” “That Thou
gives them they gather: Thou opens Your hand, they are filled with good.” [14] “Who gives food to all
flesh.” “Who makes grass to grow upon the mountains. He gives to the beast his food, and to the young
ravens which cry.” [15] “To every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the heavens, and to everything
that creeps upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for food.” [16] “Behold the
fowls of the air. For they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father
feeds them.” [17]
The necessary water for the animals had also been supplied in all parts of the earth. “He sends the
springs into the valleys, which run among the hills. They give drink to every beast of the field By them
shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation.” [18]
The need of appropriate shelter and living quarters had been anticipated in the grand creation plan.
When the animals were created, there were already “the cedars of Lebanon, which He hath planted; where
the birds make their nests: as for the stork the fir trees are her house. The high hills are a refuge for the wild
goats; and the rocks for the conies.” [19] Water animals had as their habitation the “great and wide sea,
wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts There is that leviathan, whom Thou
has made to play therein.” [20]
“Behold now, behemoth, which I made as well as thee;

He eats grass as an ox
Surely the mountains bring him forth food,
Where all the beasts of the field do play
The lotus trees cover him with their shade;
The willows of the brook compass him about.” [21]
Servants of Man
Man was to “have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the
cattle.” [22] In return, some of the domestic animals were to assist man in his efforts to “bring forth food
out of the earth.” “He makes grass grow for the cattle, and fodder for the working animals of man, so that
bread may come forth from the earth.” [23] “Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by
the strength of the ox.” [24] Flocks and herds also provide milk and wool for human needs. “The lambs are
for thy clothing and thou shall have goats’ milk enough for the food of thy household.” [25]
The domestic animals learn to depend upon man as their immediate source of food, shelter, and
protection. “The ox knows his owner, and the ass his master’s crib.” [26] As regent over the animal
creation, man should not only provide care and protection to his charges, but also should be kind and
considerate of them. “For the scripture said, Thou shall not muzzle the ox that treads out the corn.” [27] “A
righteous man regards the life of his beast.” [28]
“Few realize as they should the sinfulness of abusing animals or leaving them to suffer from
neglect. He who created man made the lower animals also, and ‘His tender mercies are over all His works.’
[29] The animals were created to serve man, but he has no right to cause them pain by harsh treatment or
cruel exaction. A record goes up to heaven, and a day is coming when judgment will be pronounced against
those who abuse God’s creatures.” [30]
1. Genesis 2:19.
2. Job 12: 10.
3. Genesis 1:20,24, A.R.V.
4. Job 39:17.
5. Jeremiah 8:7.
6. “Encyclopedia Britannica,” 11th Edition, Volume 16, article “Liliaccae,” Page 683, 684.
7. Psalm 104:24
8. Austin H. Clark, “The New Evolution-Zoogenesis,” Page 104.
9. Frank L. Marsh, “Evolution, Creation, and Science,” Chapter 9.
10. “Encyclopedia Britannica,” 11th edition, Volume 3, article “Biogenesis,” Page 952.
11. Ibid., Volume 16, article “Life,” Page 601.
12. Hebrews 4:3.
13. Genesis 2:1.
14. Psalm 104:14,28.
15. Psalm l36:25; 147:8, 9.
16. Genesis 1:30, A.R.V.
17. Matthew 6:26.
18. Psalm 104:10-12.
19. Psalm 104:16-18.
20. Psalm 104:25, 26.
21. Job 40:15-22, A.R.V.
22. Genesis 1:26.
23. Psalm 104:14, Smith.
24. Proverbs 14:4.
25. Proverbs 27:26, 27.
26. Isaiah 1:3.
27. 1 Timothy 5:18; cf. Deuteronomy 25:4; 1 Corinthians 9:9.
28. Proverbs 12:10.
29. Psalm 145:9.
11. “ASK NOW THE BEASTS”

http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/dinosaurs.asp
EVERY new acquaintance with the handiwork of the Creator produces a fuller appreciation of His
wisdom, His power, and His love. Adam’s first assignment in Eden was to become sufficiently informed
concerning the animals about him so that he could select names for them all, “and whatsoever Adam called
every living creature, that was the name thereof.” [1] As the world’s first and foremost taxonomist, he
enjoyed the privilege of reviewing God’s animate creation in its pristine beauty and perfection “With every
living creature, from the mighty leviathan that plays among the waters, to the insect mote that floats in the
sunbeam, Adam was familiar. He had given to each its name, and he was acquainted with the nature and
habits of all The order and harmony of creation spoke to them [our first parents] of infinite wisdom and
power.” [2]
“They Shall Teach Thee”

Outstanding as he was as author, composer, philosopher, and administrator, Solomon found time
to become versed in botany and zoology. In addition to treatises which ranged “from the cedar tree that is
in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springs out of the wall: he spoke also of beasts, and of fowl, and of
creeping things, and of fishes.” [3]
In order to persuade job of his need of humility and of his absolute dependence upon God, the
Lord Himself employed convincing lessons from the animal world.
“Do you know the time when the mountain goats bear young?
Their young are robust, they grow up in the open,
They go forth, and do not return to them
And who loosened the bonds of the mustang,
Whose range I made the steppe, And his dwellings the salt marshes?
He laughs at the roar of the city. The shouts of the driver he does not hear.”
“Can you give strength to the horse? Can you clothe his neck with power?
Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars,
And spreads his wings toward the south?
Or does the vulture fly high at your command,
When he sets his nest aloft? He occupies the cliff and makes a lodging
Upon the peak of the cliff and the rocky hold.
Thence he searches for food; His eyes look afar off.” [4]
Man can determine neither how nor when many of the activities of the animal world occur, and
much less can he direct or control the behavior of the creatures in the wilds. After reflection on the
impotence of mankind, everyone may well conclude concerning the omnipotence of the Creator as did Job,
“I know that Thou can do everything, and that no thought can be withheld from Thee Therefore have I
uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.
“I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye sees Thee.” [5]
Repeatedly the Bible writers of old chose lessons from the animate creation to instruct God’s
people in the ways of truth and righteousness. An exhortation to co-operate with God’s educational
program is presented in the promise, I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shall go Be
you not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding. Whose mouth must be held in with bit
and bridle.” [6]
Group co-operation in essential activities is illustrated by the locusts which “have no king, yet go
they forth all of them by bands.” [7] The ant not only sets an example in diligence, but also in making
provision for imminent physical needs as she “provides her bread in the summer, and gathers her food in
the harvest.” [8] In a similar way courage and intrepidity are displayed by “the lizard” which “thou can
seize with thy hands, yet is she in kings’ palaces.” [9]
“But My People Know Not”

The instincts of the animals guide their behavior in accordance with the laws which the Creator
established in their very being “Yea, the stork in the heavens knows her appointed times; and the turtledove
and the swallow and the crane observe the time of their coming. But My people know not the law of
Jehovah.” [10]
Long have the migrations of birds aroused wonder and admiration. No simple physical causes,
such as differences in food supply, temperature, wind direction, magnetism, or sunlight, have ever been
proposed as satisfactory explanations for these migratory movements. The arrival of birds in northern
latitudes is frequently spoken of as an omen of spring, but this gives no account of the means by which
these creatures become aware of the seasons Still less information is available as to how the birds know
directions and locations far remote from their previous haunts.
One of the most notable migrations is that of the Arctic tern. It nests in coastal areas as far north as
Labrador and Greenland in the northern summer, then spends another summer as far as eleven thousand
miles away on islands of the Antarctic south of South America. The speeds at which birds travel have been
estimated quite accurately, and have been found to range in various species from twenty to one hundred
miles an hour. It is noteworthy also that many individual birds return to the same locations year after year.
After its nesting season in northeastern North America, a certain white-throated sparrow was repeatedly
trapped and identified on several occasions from 1916 to 1921 within a hundred yards of the spot where it
was captured the first time. [11]
The seasonal migrations of fishes is equally remarkable and mysterious. In the case of many
species the parent fish never leave the breeding grounds after the eggs are deposited, yet the young pass
down the rivers to the sea, where they remain until mature. Then they return up the streams again to the
place of their origin, without previous instruction or guidance, to repeat the experience of their parents. The
behavior of birds and fishes as they migrate in accordance with definite patterns of seasons and areas is
truly a marvel of creation. These hereditary unlearned habits and instincts are a part of the wonderful
complement of characteristics with which the Creator endowed the animals. The creatures cannot behave
otherwise than in accordance with the laws of behavior which are a part of their very being.
“The material world is under God’s control. The laws of nature are obeyed by nature. Everything
speaks and acts the will of the Creator And can it be that man, made in the image of God, endowed with
reason and speech, shall alone be unappreciative of His gifts and disobedient to His will?” [12]
Christ’s Object Lessons

As Jesus was a youth in Nazareth, “His early years were given to the study of God’s word. And
spread out before Him was the great library of God’s created works. He who had made all things studied
the lessons which His own hand had written in earth and sea and sky He studied the life of plants and
animals, and the life of man The parables by which, during His ministry, He loved to teach His lessons of
truth show how open His spirit was to the influences of nature, and how He had gathered the spiritual
teaching from the surroundings of His daily life.” Further, “Every child may gain knowledge as Jesus did.”
[13] From such a foundation of acquaintance with the animate world, Jesus drew that grand lesson of
human dependence upon God: “Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor
gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much better than they?” [14]
The King of the universe gave up His high estate to become the Savior of mankind. “Though He
was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor.” [15] He illustrated the degree of that poverty by comparison
with the provision which He Himself had made for the lowly creatures of earth. “The foxes have holes, and
the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man bath not where to lay His head.” [16]
In the parable of the lost sheep is depicted likewise the earnestness with which the Master
Shepherd seeks out the straying, and the joy which He shares with all heaven over the salvation of a single
repentant sinner. [17] This parable “has also a wider meaning. By the lost sheep Christ represents not only
the individual sinner, but the one world that has apostatized, and has been ruined by sin. This world is but
an atom in the vast dominions over which God presides; yet this little fallen world-the one lost sheep-is
more precious in His sight than are the ninety and nine that went not astray from the fold.” [18]
Above all, the Son of God became the sacrificial “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”
[19] “He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He opened
not His mouth He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” [20] by His supreme
mediatorial sacrifice. May we never fall to “behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the
world.” [21]
1. Genesis 2:19.
3. 1 Kings 4:33.
4. Job 39:1-7, 19, 26-29, Smith; cf. 38:1-3; 40:1-5.
5. Job 42:2-5.
6. Psalm 32:8, 9.
7. Proverbs 30:27.
8. Proverbs 6:6-8; cf. 30:25, ARV.
9. Proverbs 30:28, ARV, margin; See also A.V. margin in some editions.
10. Jeremiah 8:7, ARV.
11. Alexander Wetmore, “The Migration of Birds,” Page 62.
12. Christ’s Object Lessons,” 1900 ed., Pages 81, 82.

13. “Desire of Ages,” Page 70.
14. Matthew 6:26.
16. Matthew 8:20; cf. Luke 9:58.
17. Luke 15:4-7.
20. Isaiah 53:7-12.
21. John 1:29, 36.
12. “LET US MAKE MAN”

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THE sixth day of creation week was an eventful one. “After the earth with its teeming animal and
vegetable life, had been called into existence, man, the crowning work of the Creator, and the one for
whom the beautiful earth had been fitted up, was brought upon the stage of action.” [1] The entire plan for
the physical and biological features of the earth, its daily sequence of darkness and light, its buoyant water-
controlling atmosphere, its water and land areas, its vegetation energized by sunlight, its animal life of sea
and air and land, all was focused upon two great objectives. The first of these was to reveal the power and
glory of the Creator. The other, to provide a suitable and attractive home for man. “Thou has created all
things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created.” [2] “God Himself formed the earth and made it; He
created it not in vain, He formed it to be inhabited.” [3]
“In the creation it was His purpose that the earth should be inhabited by beings whose existence
would be a blessing to themselves and to one another, and an honor to their Creator Of them it is spoken,
‘This people have I formed for Myself. They shall show forth My praise.” [4] Above all lower orders of
being, God designed that man, the crowning work of His creation, should express His thought and reveal
His glory.” [5]
God conducts the affairs of His realm on a perfect plan of organization. As King of the entire
universe, “the Lord hath prepared His throne in the heavens; and His kingdom rules over all.” [6] “Hear
attentively the sound that goes out of His mouth. He directs it under the whole heaven,” [7] “and from His
great and calm eternity He orders that which His providence sees best.” “Through the agency of His Spirit
and His angels, He ministers to the children of men.” [8]
“Let Them Have Dominion”

Thus God has arranged that under His infinite supervision created beings shall share in the
administration of His universe The regency over this earth was to be vested in man, the highest member of
His creation on this earth. “And God [Hebrew, Elohim, plural] said, “Let Us make man: and let them have
dominion over the earth.” [9] “The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s: but the earth bath He given to
the children of men.” [10]
The physical appointments of the earth had been completed perfectly, a wonderful array of plants
had been placed in beautiful arrangements, and the animals were engaging in their varied activities. All was
now in expectant readiness for the inauguration of a prince over the vast terrestrial creation. “After the
earth was created, and the beasts upon it, the Father and Son carried out Their purpose, which was designed
before the fall of Satan, to make man in Their own image.” [11]
“So God Created Man”

Taking some of the elements which He had brought into existence initially, the Creator “formed
man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” [12] “When God had made
man in His image, the human form was perfect in all its arrangements, but it was without life. Then a
personal, self-existing God breathed into that form the breath of life, and man became a living, intelligent
being. All parts of the human organism were set in action. The heart, the arteries, the veins, the tongue, the
hands, the feet, the senses, the faculties of the mind all began their work, and all were placed under law.
Man became a living soul. Through Christ the Word, a personal God created man, and endowed him with
intelligence and power.” [13] “The genealogy of our race, as given by inspiration, traces back its origin, not
to a line of developing germs, mollusks, and quadrupeds, but to the great Creator. Though formed from the
dust, Adam was the son of God.” [14]
It was no evolution from lower animals, nor the result of an inner and aspiring urge, that produced
man “in the image of God.” Only an infinite Creator could make even the simplest plant or animal; so
much the more could only an omnipotent God produce a being possessed of some of the attributes of his
Maker. “It is He that hath made us, and not we Ourselves.” [15]
“The Image and Glory of God”

The likeness of his Creator which the Scriptures ascribe to man has been a frequent source of
misconception. Atheists have claimed that the God of the Bible is merely a glorified human being, and no
more an object of reverence and worship than any man. Christians frequently have been accused of belief
in an “anthropomorphic God,” that is, one like unto mankind. This is a reversal of the true relationship, for,
instead, man was made after a theomorphic or godlike pattern, in the image of God. The one idea lowers
the Creator to the level of mankind, the other elevates man to son ship with God.
An image is not a replica or duplicate of its pattern. Concerning the intimate identity of the
persons of Christ and His Father, it is recorded that the Son is “the express image” [16] of the Father, “the
image of the invisible God.” Christ, then, is very God. This is more than superficial imagery or likeness or
mere resemblance. Man, however, was made simply “in the image of God.” [17] Christ alone is ‘the
express image’ of the Father; but man was formed in the likeness of God.” [18]
The Creator’s likeness with which man was endowed was pre-eminently spiritual, moral, and
intellectual. It was spiritual, for “sin has marred and well-nigh obliterated the image of God in man. It was
to restore this that the plan of salvation was devised, and a life of probation was granted to man.” [19]
It was a moral likeness, for “polygamy was one of the sins that brought the wrath of God upon the
antediluvian world. It was Satan’s studied effort to pervert the marriage institution, to weaken its
obligations, and lessen its sacredness. For in no surer way could he deface the image of God in man.” [20]
“He [God] designed that the principles revealed through His people should be the means of restoring the
moral image of God in man.” [21]
That likeness was physical and intellectual as well. “Adam and Eve bore in outward resemblance
the likeness of their Maker. Nor was this likeness manifest in the physical nature only. Every faculty of
mind and soul reflected the Creator’s glory. Endowed with high mental and spiritual gifts, Adam and Eve
were made but ‘little lower than the angels,’ that they might not only discern the wonders of the visible
universe, but comprehend moral responsibilities and obligations.” [22]
The Builders of the Home

The formation of Eve was no afterthought on the part of the Creator. Adam was left without a
spouse long enough to sense his own loneliness and need of fellowship. As Adam reviewed the animal
creation and named each member of it, “he saw that to each had been given a companion Among all the
creatures that God had made on the earth, there was not one equal to man. And ‘God said, It is not good
that the man should be alone. I will make him an help meet for him.’ Man was not made to dwell in
solitude; he was to be a social being.” [23]
Bone of his bones, and flesh of his flesh, Eve was Adam’s other self. She was to be a “help meet
for him,” suitable, proper, “a helper corresponding to him, one who was fitted to be his companion, and
who could be one with him in love and sympathy.” [24] Her individuality was not to be submerged into his
nor dominated by him. They were to be one in their ideals and purposes, co-operative in their activities and
united in service and allegiance to their Creator. Nevertheless, while it is the divine plan that the husband
and wife co-operate in spiritual matters, God holds each member of the family personally responsible to
Him, and “each has a personal relation to God.” [25]
“Husbands, love your wives,” and “wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the
Lord.” [26] This love between husband and wife is to be of the kind and degree manifested by the Savior,
“even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it.” [27] Such self-effacing, self sacrificing
love suffers long, and is kind; does not behave itself unseemly, seeks not its own, is not provoked, bears all
things hopes all things, endures all things,” and such gracious “love never fails.” [28] It is indeed no
hardship for a godly wife to reciprocate such supernal love and to submit to the solicitous care and
protection which it motivates.
Though to Adam was assigned the leadership and priesthood of the home, he promptly recognized
that the perpetuation of the family depended equally upon his wife. The exclusive privilege and grand
responsibility of motherhood won for her the name “Eve; because she was the mother of all living.” [29]
“In the children committed to her care, every mother has a sacred charge from God.” “No other work can
equal hers in importance It is hers, with the help of God, to develop in a human soul the likeness of the
divine. The mother who appreciates this will regard her opportunities as priceless.” [30]
“Who Only Hath Immortality”

Among the many attributes of divinity which were withheld from man at his creation, one is
particularly significant. God is “the King eternal, immortal, invisible,” “who only bath immortality.” [31]
The life bestowed upon Adam was provisional, dependent upon implicit obedience and upon the essentially
vital properties of the fruit of the tree of life.
“Like the angels, the dwellers in Eden had been placed upon probation. Their happy estate could
be retained only on condition of fidelity to the Creator’s law. They could obey and live, or disobey and
perish.” [32] The words of the tempter, “In the day you eat thereof, you shall be as gods,” and “You shall
not surely die,” [33] have been abundantly proved to be villainous and nefarious lies. It is important that we
recognize constantly that “We are also His offspring,” and that “in Him we live, and move, and have our
being.” [34] “God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.” [35]
“The Heavens and the Earth Were Finished”

As the sun set over the earth that marvelous sixth creation day, it was indeed a perfect realm over
which the human race was to have dominion. God Himself reviewed “everything that He had made, and,
behold, it was very good Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.” [36] In a
beautiful garden, in the midst of a perfect world, Adam and Eve were ready to celebrate with their Creator a
Sabbath day of rest. They were filled with the joy and happiness of living. Their hearts overflowed in
thanksgiving to Him for so great a manifestation of His infinite love, His omniscient providence, and His
omnipotent power.

2. Revelation 4:11.
3. Isaiah 45:18.
4. “Prophets and Kings,” Page 500; cf. Isaiah 43:21.
5. “The Ministry of Healing,” Page 415; “Testimonies,” Volume 8, Page 264.
6. Psalm 103:19.
7. Job 37:2,3.
9. Genesis 1:26.
10. Psalm 115:16.
11. “Spiritual Gifts,” Volume 3, Page 33. “The Spirit of Prophecy,” Volume 1, Page 24.
“The Story of Redemption,” Page 20.
12. Genesis 2:7.
13. “The Ministry of Healing,” Page 415; “Testimonies,” Volume 8, Page 264.
15. Psalm 100:3, AV, and ARV, margin.
16. Hebrews 1:3, margin and ARV.
17. Colossians 1:15.

21. “Prophets and Kings,” Page 16; cf. “The Desire of Ages,” Page 37, 38.
26. Ephesians 5:22, 25; Colossians 3:19, 18.
27. Ephesians 5:25.
28. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, A.R.V.
29. Genesis 3:20.
30. “The Ministry of Healing,” Page 376, 378.
31. 1 Timothy 1:17; 6:16.
33. Genesis 3:5, 4.
34. Acts 17:28.
36. Genesis 1:31; 2:1.
13. “GOD PLANTED A GARDEN”

http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/bible.asp
THE entire earth was like a beautiful Picture. The hills covered with majestic trees formed a
background of grandeur for the colorful landscape. The whole prospect was interspersed with lovely lakes,
babbling brooks, delightful shrubs, and exquisite flowers. Shimmering fishes of every hue darted through
the waters, and colorful birds caroled songs of praise from the trees. Graceful animals, large and small, fed
leisurely in the luxuriant meadows. Unique creeping creatures busied themselves with their varied
activities, while industrious bees and lacy-winged butterflies visited nectar-laden blossoms. Rich minerals
and dazzling gems added their resplendent charm. It was a scene of beauty and contentment, of tireless
activity and mutual service.
Adam could have selected a home site almost anywhere he might please, on the dominant hills or
in the towering forests, amid verdant meadows or on broad plains, by a placid lake or a murmuring stream;
and there in due time he could have established a dwelling for his family. But the newly-wedded couple
needed a home. The provident Creator did not leave Adam and Eve homeless while they were becoming
acquainted with their environment and setting up housekeeping. He “planted a garden eastward in Eden;
and there He put the man whom He had formed.” [1]
That garden of God’s planting was to be a horticultural and architectural model for the design of
other homes and gardens throughout the earth. The portion of the province of Eden in which this garden
was located was evidently along a river course.
There were hills or highlands in the surrounding area from which “a river went out of Eden to
water the garden.” [2] From such a source an abundant supply of water was assured.
A Home on the Soil

“The Creator chose for our first parents the surroundings best adapted for their health and
happiness. He did not place them in a palace, or surround them with the artificial adornments and luxuries
that so many today are struggling to obtain. He placed them in close touch with nature, and in close
communion with the holy ones of heaven.” [3] “It was the work of Adam and Eve to train the branches of
the vine to form bowers, thus making for themselves a dwelling from living trees covered with foliage and
fruit.” [4] Such were some of their houses-rustic, but splendidly appointed. They could have as many of
them as they chose for variety and recreation. By analogy with the new earth, Adam and Eve doubtless had
other houses constructed of the gem stones of earth. Mention is made of the ready availability of such
structural materials, for down the river, not far distant from Eden, was the “land of Havilah, where there is
gold. There is bdellium and the onyx stone.” [5]
“To Dress It and to Keep It”

Activity is one of the laws which God has implanted in all His works. Too frequently man looks
upon productive labor as a curse or a hardship. But it was not God’s plan that man should spend his days in
a monotonous round of idleness. He was provided with projects in which he could experience the joy and
satisfaction of achievement. “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to till it and
look after it.” [6] “God appointed them their work in the garden, ‘to dress it and to keep it.’ Each day’s
labor brought them health and gladness, and the happy pair greeted with joy the visits of their Creator, as in
the cool of the day He walked and talked with them. Daily God taught them His lessons.” [7]
Of all the forms of employment in which men may engage, probably none is so universal as
agriculture. Certainly none is of greater antiquity. Plants are the ultimate source of food for man and for
beast, hence the cultivation and harvesting of the fruits of the soil is a fundamental enterprise. While many
persons are enabled to produce limited crops from the soil with little training or practice, there are few
other enterprises in which knowledge and understanding and experience are so abundantly rewarded. Other
industries may produce desirable or luxury articles, but the tilling of the soil and related activities yield the
essentials for nourishment, raiment, and shelter. Besides, the production of these gives one a feeling of
accomplishment and of closeness to the works of the Creator. “And the man today who lets God appoint
him his work will make no mistake in his calling, but will have his Lord for a teacher and an Eden in which
to ply his trade.” [8]
A constantly renewed source of energy is required for maintenance of the activities of human
beings as well as for those of plants and animals. That energy could have been supplied continuously in
some manner that would be wholly unobserved. Instead, it was the plan of the Creator to employ
intermediate means to furnish nourishment by way of plants. These in turn obtain the energy for their
operation from sunlight. In this entire scheme man, too, must act a part in sowing, tilling, and reaping. Thus
God has planned to induce man to co-operate with Him and to become aware of daily dependence upon His
provision. He has constituted the human mechanism so that the daily partaking of food is an enjoyable as
well as an essential activity.
“Thou May Freely Eat”

As soon as Adam and Eve had been assigned their responsibility and dominion over the earth, and
a benediction had been pronounced upon them, their bountiful fare was outlined. “And God said, Behold, I
have given you every herb yielding seed, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you
it shall be for food.” [9] Thus “grains, fruits, nuts, and vegetables constitute the diet chosen for us by our
Creator.” “In order to know what are the best foods, we must study God’s original plan for man’s diet. He
who created man and who understands his needs appointed Adam his food.” [10]
God gave definite instruction concerning the Edenic diet. “Of every tree of the garden thou may
freely cat,” except “of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shall not eat of it.” [11] “There was
nothing poisonous in the fruit itself, and the sin was not merely in yielding to appetite.” [12] So it may be
with some articles of food against which divine prohibitions have been directed since the days of Adam.
May God’s people accept His authority by abstaining from that which is forbidden and by exercising
moderation in the use of all else.
Recreation and Worship

“There is a distinction between recreation and amusement. Recreation, when true to its name, re-
creation, tends to strengthen and build up Amusement, on the other hand, is sought for the sake of pleasure,
and is often carried to excess.” [13] Eden offered many types of physical activity in which Adam and Eve
could happily engage. There were vines and trees to be trained, seeds to be planted, grounds to be attended,
flowers to be arranged and admired, foods to be harvested and prepared. All these contributed so much
diversity and so much satisfaction of accomplishment that there was no occasion for weariness of the body.
Our first parents, surrounded by nature, had their hearts and minds constantly uplifted to the God
of nature. They loved to see and to emulate the miraculous work of the Master Husbandman. There was
time and inspiration for a walk with their divine Teacher in the cool of the day. “Though rich in all that the
Owner of the universe could supply, they were not to be idle. Useful occupation was appointed them as a
blessing, to strengthen the body, to expand the mind, and to develop the character.” [14]
Our first parents had not only the pleasure of each other’s association, but also the supreme
privilege of communion with the angels and with their Creator. Thus their souls were kept in tune with
heaven. There was no need of a temple made with human hands in which to worship. “It was under the
trees of Eden that the first dwellers on earth had chosen their sanctuary. There Christ had communed with
the father of mankind.” [15]
The groves were God’s first temples. Ere man learned

To hew the shaft, and lay the architrave,
And spread the roof above them,--ere he framed
The lofty vault, to gather and roll back
The sound of anthems; in the darkling wood,
Amidst the cool and silence, he knelt down,
And offered to the Mightiest solemn thanks
And supplication.
Ah, why Should we, in the world’s riper years, neglect
God’s ancient sanctuaries, and adore
Only among the crowd, and under roofs
That our frail hands have raised? .
Thou has not left
Thyself without a witness, in these shades,
Of Thy perfection. Grandeur, strength, and grace
Are here to speak of Thee.
Be it ours to meditate,
In these calm shades, Thy milder majesty,
And to the beautiful order of Thy works
Learn to conform the order of our lives. [16]
1. Genesis 2:8.
2. Genesis 2:10.
5. Genesis 2:11,12.
6. Genesis 2:15, Smith.
8. C. G. Bellah, “The Story of Creation,” Page 72.
9. Genesis 1:29, ARV.
11. Genesis 2:16,17.
14. “Education,” Page 21. “Testimonies,” Volume 3, Page 153.
16. William Cullen Bryant, “A Forest Hymn.”
14. “THE WORKS WERE FINISHED”

AS THE setting sun presaged the approach of the first Sabbath, there was brought to a close a
magnificent construction project. For six busy days the production lines in the Creator’s workshop had
experienced activity. The structural materials of the earth had been created, processed, organized, and
fabricated into the components of the complex visible world of nature.
The “thick darkness,” mentioned in Job, which had first enveloped the earth, diminished
sufficiently to permit the passage of diffuse light for the designation of days and nights, and later it had
been dispersed so completely that the great luminaries could appear visibly “in the firmament of the
heaven” “to rule over the day and over the night.” [1] The atmospheric air of that firmament was so
disposed as to control water and vapor relationships above the earth. “The mountains rose, the valleys sank
down” [2] at the decree of the Master Artisan, forming seas and soil, meadows and mountains. Plants had
been fabricated and vitalized, and had become the synthetic food factories of earth. Beasts, birds, and fishes
had been molded and animated. Man, the crowning work of the terrestrial creation, had been formed,
inspired, and vivified by the Creator, and as an intelligent, responsible being he had been appointed regent
over the realm of earth. As the last detail of the terrestrial creation passed from the divine assembly line, as
“the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them,” [3] God Himself inspected “everything
that He had made, and, behold, it was very good.” [4] It was the ultimate of perfection.
“The creation was now complete The great Jehovah had laid the foundations of the earth; He had
dressed the whole world in the garb of beauty, and had filled it with things useful to man; He had created
all the wonders of the land and of the sea. In six days the great work of creation had been accomplished.
And God ‘rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made.’ God looked with satisfaction
upon the work of His hands. All was perfect, worthy of its divine Author, and He rested, not as one weary,
but as well pleased with the fruits of His wisdom and goodness and the manifestations of His glory.” [5]
“God Ended His Work”

So far as this world is concerned, creation is no longer in progress. It will not be resumed nor
repeated until the time for the execution of the plan to “create new heavens and a new earth” “wherein
dwells righteousness.” [6] Part of Satan’s studied plan has been to inculcate in man a disregard of the
completed character of creation. Supposedly profound theories of stellar as well as of biological evolution
through long ages have dominated the minds of the educated, while ideas of spontaneous generation of
living forms either in the remote past or at present have become part of the current thinking both of the
learned and the unlearned. Unfortunately, even some professed Christians assume that entirely new kinds
of creatures have had their origin since the close of creation week. In an attempt to support such views,
many glibly cite the appearance of new types of pests and diseases, apparently unaware that “there is no
new thing under the sun.” [7]
However, these unwelcome and apparently new organisms are of the same stock which was
created during earth’s first week. Plants and animals that have not been particularly troublesome in their
native habitat have been introduced by modern means of transportation to localities in which they thrive
and become a hazard because of the absence of enemies or other inhibiting factors. Others have found more
attractive hosts in their new locations, and have become destructively parasitic in habit. The mosquito lives
well in moist woods, but in the presence of available blood its appetite becomes perverted and the insect
craves more and more blood. Even larger carnivorous creatures such as the lion and the wolf originally fed
on a non flesh diet and were harmless to other animals. [8] The author of evil is responsible for all the
degradation and perversion which has occurred in nature Vicious beasts, undesirable pests, and disease-
producing organisms are not new and more recent creations, but instead are the result of deviation from
God’s original plan and of the depravity which has taken place since the fall of man.
One of the most fundamental teachings of the Scriptures is that “the works were finished from the
foundation of the world.” [9] This is the basis for Sabbath keeping. Were creation in any sense a present-
day activity, there would be little reason for this divine institution. “For in six days the Lord made heaven
and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the
Sabbath day, and hallowed it.” [10]
When the organization of the earth and all things therein had been accomplished, “God did rest the
seventh day from all His works.”[11] “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their host. On
the seventh day God brought His work to an end on which He had been engaged, desisting on the seventh
day from all His work in which He had been engaged. So God blessed the seventh day, and consecrated it,
because on it He had desisted from all His work.” [12]
“God Rested on the Seventh Day”

Thus the Omnipotent Creator rested from His work. Such rest is not merely to obtain refreshment
by inactivity or repose, relaxation, or sleep. It has been defined in these pertinent words: “To cease from
action or motion; to desist from labor or exertion; to cease; to desist. “God rested on the seventh day from
all His work which He had made.” [13] In a corresponding sense, an attorney rests his case when he has
completed the presentation of evidence and argument.
It was specifically His creative work from which He desisted and rested when “the heavens and
the earth were finished.” [14]
But the Creator did not forthwith indulge in idleness. Though “He rested on the seventh day from
all His work which He had made,” [15] at all times He continues to carry on the never-ending routine of the
maintenance of the universe. “Should God forbid the sun to perform its office upon the Sabbath, cut off its
genial rays from warming the earth and nourishing vegetation? In such a case, men would miss the fruits of
the earth, and the blessings that make life desirable. Nature must continue her unvarying course. God could
not for a moment stay His hand, or man would faint and die The demands upon God are even greater upon
the Sabbath than upon other days. His people ask more favors of Him on the Sabbath than upon other days
Heaven’s work never ceases, and men should never rest from doing good.” [16] Indeed, as Christ said, “My
Father works hitherto, and I work.” [17]
The Sabbath a Memorial

The first Sabbath was observed in celebration of the event that “in six days the Lord made heaven
and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day. Wherefore the Lord blessed the
Sabbath day, and hallowed it,” [18] “because on it He had desisted from all His work, in doing which God
had brought about creation.” [19] All of the Sabbaths since have been weekly memorials of that
magnificent work which the Creator accomplished in six days.
“The Sabbath was ordained to commemorate the creation of the heavens and the earth. The
importance of the Sabbath as a memorial of creation is that it keeps ever present the true reason why
worship is due to God. For the worship of God is based upon the fact that He is the Creator, and that all
other beings were created by Him. The Sabbath, therefore, lies at the very foundation of divine worship, for
it teaches this great truth in the most impressive manner, and no other institution does this. The true ground
of divine worship, not of that on the seventh day merely, but of all worship, is found in the distinction
between the Creator and His creatures. This great fact can never become obsolete, and must never be
forgotten. To keep it in man’s mind, God gave to him the Sabbath.” [20]
“The Sabbath is a sign of creative and redeeming power; it points to God as the source of life and
knowledge; it recalls man’s primeval glory, and thus witnesses to God’s purpose to re-create us in His own
image.” [21]
“The Sabbath is to be remembered and observed as the memorial of the Creator’s work. Pointing
to God as the Maker of the heavens and the earth, it distinguishes the true God from all false gods. All who
keep the seventh day, signify by this act that they are worshipers of Jehovah. Thus the Sabbath is the sign
of man’s allegiance to God as long as there are any upon the earth to serve Him.” [22]
The observance of the Sabbath therefore is a mutual plan arranged between God and His people,
“for a perpetual covenant.” [23] It is “a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord
your God,” [24] the true God, the Creator of all else. It commemorates the fact that “on the seventh day
God ended His work,” and “blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it.” [25] It is a mutual sign that the
same Creator who formed mankind can and will re-create, redeem, and “sanctify them.” [26] The
recognition of its holy character betokens obedience to God, and is one of the conditions for reception of
His promised inheritance with the redeemed. [27]
“From Even Unto Even”

Beginning with the first day of creation week, “the evening and the morning” [28] constituted a
day. The day interval began with the evening, and thus evening marked the end of each day as well as the
beginning of the next. Under the ceremonial law given through Moses, various conditions were described
whereby a man became “unclean until even,” [29] when the day was considered to have ended. This
termination of the day is defined more specifically in the words, “The soul shall be unclean until even And
when the sun is down, he shall be clean.” [30]
Days of fasting and prayer also lasted “until even.” [31] Days of special services, such as the
Passover, likewise began and ended “at even, at the going down of the sun.” [32] The instructions for one
of the most important holy convocations or Sabbaths designated that “on the tenth day of this seventh
month there shall be a day of atonement.” “It shall be unto you a Sabbath of rest: in the ninth day of the
month at even, from even unto even, shall you celebrate your Sabbath.” [33]
The timekeeping practices of some of the ancient peoples were in accord with those of their
contemporary Hebrews. When Samson limited to seven days the time in which his Philistine guests were to
discover his riddle, they recognized that their response must be given not later than “the seventh day before
the sun went down.” [34] Darius and his Medo-Persian chieftains considered their civil day to have the
same limitations. In his earnest endeavor to set aside a rash verdict before the day closed, the king “labored
till the going down of the sun to deliver Daniel.” [35]
The well-established plan of reckoning days from sunset to sunset was current in the days of
Christ. Three of the gospel writers chronicle in detail the events of one particularly eventful day. On that
“Sabbath day He entered into the synagogue, and taught.” A demon-possessed man interrupted the service,
and was healed. “Forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of
Simon” Peter, whose sick mother-in-law Jesus presently healed. Many others who were ill desired to
approach the Great Healer at once, but were restrained by the traditional restrictions of the Jewish leaders
concerning Sabbath observance. But “when the sun was setting,” [36] that restraint was removed, and “at
even, when the sun did set, they brought unto Him all that were diseased,” and “He healed many” of them.
[37]
To some extent the initial plan of daily reckoning from sunset to sunset still prevails in certain
festivals of more or less religious origin. Among these are Christmas Eve and Halloween, each of which
begins before the commencement of the civil day.
Since “the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath,” [38] the Sabbath begins and ends in
accordance with the schedule of the divinely appointed timekeeper, the sun. Sabbath observers therefore
are not Saturday keepers, for the Sabbath of the Lord includes that portion of Friday from sunset until
midnight, and the part of Saturday terminated by the following sunset.
God’s Seal
In the midst of God’s law is the fourth commandment, “the only one of all the ten in which are
found both the name and the title of the Lawgiver. It is the only one that shows by whose authority the law
is given. Thus it contains the seal of God, affixed to His law as evidence of its authenticity and binding
force.” [39]
Those who obey this precept and all the others of His Decalogue thereby take His name, and are
eligible to share the blessings pronounced upon those “that keep the commandments of God, and the faith
of Jesus.” [40] It is no hardship to follow the example of Christ and “remember the Sabbath day, to keep it
holy.” [41]
1. Genesis 1:17,18.
2. Psalm 104:8, ARV.
3. Genesis 2:1.
4. Genesis 1:31.
6. Isaiah 65:17; 2 Peter 3:13.
9. Hebrews 4:3
10. Exodus 20:1
11. Hebrews 4:4.
12. Genesis 2:1-3, Smith.
13. Webster’s “New International Dictionary,” 2d ed., unabridged.
14. Genesis 2:1.
15. Genesis 2:2.

16. “The Desire of Ages,” Page 206, 207.
17. John 5: 17.
18. Exodus 20:11.
20. J. N. Andrews, “History of the Sabbath,” 3d edition, 1887, Page 514, 515;
“The Great Controversy,” Page 437,438.
23. Exodus 31:16.
24. Ezekiel 20:20.
25. Genesis 2:2;
26. Ezekiel 20:12; Exodus 31:13.
27. Isaiah 58:13,14.
28. Genesis 1:5.
29. See instances in Leviticus 11; 14; 15; 17; Numbers 19.
30. Leviticus 22:6,
31. Judges 20:26; 21:2; 2 Samuel 1:12.
32. Deuteronomy 16:6; cf. Exodus 12:18,19; Numbers 9:3, 5, 11; Joshua 5:10.
33. Leviticus 23:27, 32.
34. Judges 14:12,18.
35. Daniel 6:14.
36. Mark 1:21, 29; Luke 4:40.
37. Mark 1:21-34; cf. Matthew 8:5,14-16; Luke 4:31-40.
38. Mark 2:27, 28.
39. “Patriarchs and Prophets,” Page 307; cf. “The Great Controversy,” Page 452.
“Testimonies,” Volume 6, Page 350.
40. Revelation 14:12; cf. Ecclesiastes 12:13,14.
41. Exodus 20:8.
15. “REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY”

THE Sabbath commandment is a precept for the entire week, and for each week of the year.
“Remember the Sabbath day.” [1] It must not be forgotten under any circumstances. All of the activities of
the week are to be in harmony with its origin and purpose. For the first six days of the week there is set
before man the ideal of completion of his tasks before entering upon the Sabbath rest. This injunction is
couched in the words, “Six days shall thou labor, and do all thy work.” [2] There is great satisfaction in the
completion of the work budgeted for the week, and in getting it done on time. Only when one’s tasks are
completed and well done can he really rest from his labor and cares. “For he that is entered into his rest, he
also bath ceased from his own works, as God did from His. Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest.”
[3]
On the Sabbath the attention should be directed away from the secular affairs of everyday life, to
those which are dedicated to the service of God and humanity. On that holy day “we should not do any
manner of our own work for a livelihood.” [5] The Sabbath is for the entire family, husband and wife, son
and daughter, and also for “the alien in your employ residing in your community.” [6] No one is to be
deprived of its blessings.
“To Keep It Holy”

“If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath,
Not doing your own business on My holy day;
If you call the Sabbath a delight,
And the holy day of the Lord honorable;

If you honor it by not following your accustomed ways,
Nor doing your own business, nor indulging in idle talk
Then shall you find your delight in the Lord,
And I will make you ride in triumph over the heights of the earth,
And will give you the heritage of Jacob your father to enjoy.” [4]
Some of the appropriate activities concerned with anticipation and observance of the Sabbath, and
which may be both shared and enjoyed by the entire family, have been outlined aptly in the following
words:
“Throughout the week let parents remember that their home is to be a school in which their
children shall be prepared for the courts above. Train for Him the little church in your home, that on the
Sabbath all may be prepared to worship in the Lord’s sanctuary. No duty pertaining to the six working days
will be left for the Sabbath. While preparation for the Sabbath is to be made all through the week, Friday is
to be the special preparation day. See that all the clothing is in readiness and that all the cooking is done.
Let the boots be blacked and the baths be taken Before the setting of the sun let all secular work be laid
aside and all secular papers be put out of sight. Parents, explain your work and its purpose to your children,
and let them share in your preparation to keep the Sabbath On this day all differences between brethren,
whether in the family or in the church, should be put away. Before the setting of the sun let the members of
the family assemble to read God’s word, to sing and pray. On Sabbath morning the family should be astir
early. If they rise late, there is confusion and bustle in preparing for breakfast and Sabbath school. While
cooking upon the Sabbath should be avoided, it is not necessary to eat cold food And let the meals, though
simple, be palatable and attractive. At family worship let the children take a part. The Sabbath school and
the meeting for worship occupy only a part of the Sabbath. The portion remaining to the family may be
made the most sacred and precious season of all the Sabbath hours. Much of this time parents should spend
with their children In pleasant weather let parents walk with their children in the fields and groves. Amid
the beautiful things of nature tell them the reason for the institution of the Sabbath. Describe to them God’s
great work of creation Tell them of the way of salvation From time to time read with them the interesting
stories in Bible history. Question as to what they have learned in the Sabbath school, and study with them
the next Sabbath’s lesson. As the sun goes down, let the voice of prayer and the hymn of praise mark the
close of the sacred hours and invite God’s presence through the cares of the week of labor. Thus parents
can make the Sabbath, as it should be, the most joyful day of the week.” [7]
God’s Character Workshop, the Church

Whether there be many or few in a community, God will abundantly bless their assembly in divine
worship. Christ has promised that “where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the
midst of them,” “and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” [9] The place of worship
may be very humble, but it is no less acknowledged by God. The company of believers may be few in
number, but in God’s sight they are very precious. By the cleaver of truth they have been taken as rough
stones from the quarry of the world and have been brought into the workshop of God to be hewed and
shaped As precious stones, polished after the similitude of a palace, God designs us to find a place in the
heavenly temple.” [9] In the church as a whole, and in the individual members of it in particular, “it is God
which works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” [10]
At Antioch in Pisidia, Paul and Barnabas joined the worshipers in the synagogue on the Sabbath.
Upon invitation from the leaders, Paul preached to the assembled audience that day. His sermon was so
impressive and convincing that “the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next
Sabbath,” and a capacity audience turned out at that time to hear the message. [11] Specific mention is
made of the secluded meeting place at Philippi, where on the Sabbath Paul “went out of the city by a
riverside, where prayer was wont to be made.” [12] There, too, he joined in the devotional service and
preached to the people assembled. It is recorded that for three Sabbaths he preached in the synagogue at
Thessalonica. [13] At Corinth likewise Paul followed the same custom of preaching “in the synagogue
every Sabbath.”
The Lord of the Sabbath

Jesus, our example in all things, was a regular attendant at the Sabbath services, and He took an
active part in them. “As His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day.” [15] While He
frequently read and preached to the people in the synagogues, He taught even larger audiences in the open
fields and on the beach by the seaside.” [16]
At times His congregation consisted of but few others than His disciples. Whatever the
environment or circumstances, Jesus frequently directed His discourse to a spiritual lesson illustrated by the
situation which surrounded or concerned His hearers. Most of these lessons were in the form of parables
selected from the natural world nearby-seed sowing, germination of seed, tares, mustard seed, lilies, grass,
the True Vine. And others were from almost equally intimate social relationships-hidden treasure, the
husbandman, the prodigal son, the wedding garment, talents, to mention but a few that are well known.
Jesus even turned the objections and questions of His enemies to account as the basis for practical
lessons. When critical, spying Pharisees objected to the gathering of grain by the disciples to satisfy their
hunger as they passed through the fields, He taught them “that the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath.”
[17] In answer to the objection voiced by a synagogue ruler on account of the healing of an infirm woman
on a Sabbath, Christ portrayed the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders. They were ashamed when He showed
the inconsistency of their willingness to water their livestock on the Sabbath, while on the other hand they
were reluctant to offer or permit needed aid to be supplied to their fellow men. [18] Again, on the occasion
of healing the man with a withered hand, Jesus taught a similar lesson. His critics would lift one of their
own helpless sheep from the pit into which it had fallen on the Sabbath, but they questioned, “Is it lawful to
heal on the Sabbath days?” His piercing reply was, “How much then is a man better than a sheep?” [19]
On the Sabbath, Jesus did not hesitate to accept a dinner invitation, even to the home of a Jewish
leader. But under such circumstances, He forcefully directed the attention of His host and of the other
guests to the great marriage supper of eternal moment. He stressed the importance of humility and other
essential elements of soul preparation for the Master’s feast. [20] Such was Christ’s Sabbath table talk.
Thus the Savior observed the holy rest day by prayer and meditation, by preaching to the people,
by living with them and helping them when in need. Throughout His exemplary ministry He “went about
doing good, and healing all that were oppressed.” [21]
The Sabbath Was Made for Man, Because

“God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: in it He had rested from all His work.” [22]
“Its observance was to be an act of grateful acknowledgment that God was their Creator and their
rightful Sovereign He needed to more fully contemplate the works of God, and meditate upon His power
and goodness. He needed a Sabbath to awaken gratitude because all that he enjoyed and possessed came
from the beneficent hand of the Creator. The Sabbath, ever pointing to Him who made them all, bids men
open the great book of nature, and trace therein the wisdom, the power, and the love of the Creator.” [23]
“On the holy rest day, above all other days, we should study the messages that God has written for
us in nature.” [24]
“The Sabbath calls our thoughts to nature, and brings us into communion with the Creator.” [25]
“It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day.” [26]
“To those who keep holy the Sabbath day it is the sign of sanctification The Sabbath is the sign of
obedience. To those who reverence His holy day the Sabbath is a sign that God recognizes them as His
chosen people. It is a pledge that He will fulfill to them His covenant.” [27]
“My Sabbaths shall be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your
God,” “that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.” [28]
“It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever” “for a perpetual covenant.” [29]
“When there shall be a restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His
holy prophets since the world began,” [30] the creation Sabbath, the day on which Jesus lay at rest in
Joseph’s tomb, will still be a day of rest and rejoicing.” [31]
“And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another,
shall all flesh come to worship before Me, said the Lord.” [32]
“Blessed is the man that keeps the Sabbath from polluting it.” [33]
1. Exodus 20:8.
2. Exodus 20:9; Deuteronomy 5:13.

3. Hebrews 4: 10, 11.
4. Isaiah 58:13, 14, Smith.
6. Exodus 20:10, Smith.
7. “Testimonies,” Volume 6, Page 354-359.
8. Matthew 18:20; 28:20.
10. Philippians 2:13
11. Acts 13:14-16, 42, 44.
12. Acts 16:13.
13. Act: 17:2.
14. Act 18:4
15. Luke 4:16; 13:10. Mark 1:21; 6:2.
16. Luke 8:4; Mark 4:1; Matthew 13:1, 2.
17. Luke 6:1-6; Matthew 12:1-8.
18. Luke 13:10-17.
19. Matthew 12:10-13.
20. Luke 14:1-24.
21. Acts 10:38.
22. Genesis 2:1
26. Matthew 12:12, A.R.V.
28. Ezekiel 20:12, 20,
29. Exodus 31:17,16.
30. Acts 3:21, 21
32. Isaiah 66:23.
33. Isaiah 56:2.
16. “THE FIRST DOMINION”

SOME of the stars and other heavenly bodies obviously were intended primarily as light bearers
for the illumination of inhabited planets. They serve as unique machines, transformers of energy “to give
light upon the earth” [1] and to other worlds. They serve also as a giant clock of the universe by which one
may discern the times and the seasons. Other functions may be served by them, but certainly it is not
necessary to imagine the plan of the Creator to be so circumscribed that a celestial body would be
purposeless unless it were inhabited. However, the record is clear and unmistakable concerning the plan for
our own world. “God Himself that formed the earth and made it; He created it not in vain, he formed it to
be inhabited.” [2]
A Purposeful Creation
The earth was “the first dominion” [3] of man, a part of the great purposeful plan of the Creator.
He willed and chose to make this world, He designed it, and He formed it for His own pleasure. Every
living being can well exclaim, “Worthy art Thou, our Lord and God, to receive all praise, and honor, and
power, for Thou did create all things, and at Thy bidding they came into being and were created.” [4] “All
created things, in their original perfection, were an expression of the thought of God.” [5]
By virtue of His creation of all things, He is “the most high God, the possessor of heaven and
earth.” [6] To Him it must be acknowledged: “The heavens are Your, the earth also is Your: as for the
world and the fullness thereof, Thou has founded them.” [7] “The sea is His, and He made it;” “the strength
of the hills is His also.” [8]

All the animals of earth, whether on land, in the sea, or in the air, are His property. He justifiably
claims, “Every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the
mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are Mine.” [9] He it is “in whose hand is the soul of every living
thing.” [10] Even all of the available food belongs to the Creator, and from His abundant store it is He
“who gives food to all flesh.” [11] He says, “If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is Mine,
and the fullness thereof!” [12]
Likewise, all the people of earth are His cherished possession, for “the earth is the Lord’s and the
fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” [13] “It is He that hath made us, and not we
ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture!” [14]
Although the master plan for the earth included peopling it with rational, responsible human
beings, the creation of man did not constitute an end in itself. God’s ultimate purpose is a grander one. “For
we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained.” [15]
Through His prophet, God Himself says, “I have created him for My glory.” [16]
A Title Deed to the Earth

To Adam and Eve, and in fact to each family of their posterity, was to be granted a homestead in
their own right. Under the generous terms of the agreement which was made by the Creator, “the earth hath
He given to the children of men,” [17] and with this gift was bestowed complete “dominion over every
living thing that moves upon the earth.” [18] This grant was for a perpetual lifetime leasehold. That lifetime
was to be an everlasting one, conditioned only upon perfect obedience to God and His law.
“The home of our first parents was to be a pattern for other homes as their children should go forth
to occupy the earth.” What are the possessions of even the most wealthy, in comparison with the heritage
given to the lordly Adam?” [19] Theirs was to be a royal domain indeed.
In the administration of the regency which they were to have over the earth, Adam and Eve, along
with “every human being, created in the image of God,” were “endowed with a power akin to that of the
Creator, individuality, power to think and to do. The men in whom this power is developed are the men
who bear responsibilities, who are leaders in enterprise, and who influence character.” [20] “They were full
of the vigor imparted by the tree of life, and their intellectual power was but little less than that of the
angels.” [21]
“Let Them Have Dominion”

Though man was made “a little lower than the angels,” nevertheless the Creator “crowned him
with glory and honor,” and placed upon him the responsibility of supervision of the earth. “Thou made him
to have dominion over the works of Thy hands; Thou has put all things under his feet: all sheep and oxen
the beasts of the field; the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea.” [22]
One of Adam’s first acts in his new estate was to become acquainted with the animals and to
designate an appropriate name for each kind. Progressively our first parents widened their horizon of
observation and experience to include the plant realm and the whole physical world about them. “With both
the animate and the inanimate creation, with leaf and flower and tree, and with every living creature, from
the leviathan of the waters to the mote in the sunbeam, the dwellers in Eden held converse, gathering from
each the secrets of its life.” [23]
Supervisory responsibility demands adequate knowledge and understanding of the realm over
which it is to be exercised. Competent mechanics possess a thorough acquaintance with their machines as
well as diligence in the performance of their tasks. Intimate and practical knowledge of nutritional values
and of physiological processes is essential for the successful dietitian. Mere rules and recipes are
inadequate in these and in all other lines of human endeavor.
As the area of one’s jurisdiction becomes more extensive, the preparation required becomes more
important and the prospective regent must be more broadly acquainted with his domain. In all the
relationships of life every individual must either adapt himself to his environment or else acquire sufficient
knowledge of it and experience with its behavior so as either to modify it or to maintain some measure of
control over it. In dealing with one’s fellow men, there must be both self-adaptation and proffered direction
or counsel. But in matters involving inanimate things and the rest of the biological world, every intelligent
being can be a master in his own right. God made His creation to be subservient to man so long as man
remained loyal to Him. “He was placed, as God’s representative, over the lower orders of being. They
cannot understand or acknowledge the sovereignty of God, yet they were made capable of loving and
serving man.” [24]
In the re-created estate in the new earth, praise will be sung to the Lamb of God because “Thou
has redeemed us and has made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.” [25]
The original plan ultimately will be consummated, for the promise was made: “Unto thee shall it come,
even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.” [26] Surely one who
anticipates such royal responsibility will here and now diligently seek to acquire all possible competence
for the acceptance of that glorious station and assignment.
“Teach Us to Number Our Days”

Successful living for Adam and Eve and for all their sons and daughters involved more than
domination over the external physical environment. They must live with themselves and with their God. In
order that human beings be not mere automatons under a dictator, and that they rather might have freedom
of thought and action to develop control over themselves, God placed them on this earth as free moral
agents. It was for them to choose the right course of action and to rule their own selves under the laws and
sovereignty of heaven. “The greatest triumph given us by the religion of Christ is control over ourselves.”
[27]
Our first parents succeeded well in developing their garden, in training the animals, and in
mastering the wonders of the physical universe. To rule their own inclinations proved to be a more difficult
assignment. It has ever been true that “he that rules his spirit” is better “than he that takes a city.” [28]
“Every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents bath been tamed of mankind,” [29] but the tongue and
the thoughts of the heart, whose abundance prompts the speech, are not so easily controlled. However, that
very self-control is absolutely essential to salvation and to everlasting life.
God has provided special aids for the development of spiritual dominion over one’s self. “Christ
also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps.” [30] There are inspiring
admonitions, such as: “Be thou an example of the believers, in word [speech], in conversation [conduct], in
charity [love], in spirit, in faith, in purity.” [31] There are the parting words of Jesus with the assurance,
“Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” [32] When one has the purpose and
determination not to be merely conformable to God’s will, but with God’s grace to be fully exemplary of it,
he is on the second mile of Christian experience.
The Joy of Service

The daily life of the dwellers in Eden was not a monotonous work of taxing duties or of continual
inhibitions against temptations. There were manifold pleasurable and commendable activities in which they
could engage. It was a joy and a delight to behold the sights and scenes all about them. Likewise it was an
inspiration to the mind to contemplate “the laws and operations of nature, and the great principles of truth
that govern the spiritual universe. In ‘the light of the knowledge of the glory of God,’ their mental and
spiritual powers developed, and they realized the highest pleasures of their holy existence.” [33]
“Very happy were the holy pair in Eden. Unlimited control was given them over every living
thing. The lion and the lamb sported peacefully and harmlessly around them, or slumbered at their feet
Adam and Eve were charmed with the beauties of their Eden home They recognized the order and harmony
of creation, which spoke of wisdom and knowledge that were infinite. Some new beauty and additional
glory of their Eden home they were continually discovering, which filled their hearts with deeper love and
brought from their lips expressions of gratitude and reverence to their Creator.” [34]
The many interests open before Adam and Eve were so varied that each activity was a recreational
diversion from the others. To the sinless pair in Eden, study was no hardship. Their mental powers were to
them talents to be employed for the purpose of yielding abundant returns in the form of increased
knowledge, of greater satisfactions, of enhanced appreciation of the natural world, of deeper love for God,
and of multiplied ability to be co-workers with the Creator. “So long as they remained loyal to the divine
law, their capacity to know, to enjoy, and to love, would continually increase. They would be constantly
discovering fresh springs of happiness.” [35]
1. Genesis 1:15.
2. Isaiah 45:18.
3. Micah 4:8.
4. Revelation 4: 11, Twentieth Century New Testament (1904).
5. “Education,” Page 16,17.
6. Genesis 14:22, 19.
7. Psalm 89:11
8. Psalm 95:4, 5.
9. Psalm 50:10, 11.
10. Job 12:10.
11. Psalm 136:25.
12. Psalm 50:12.
13. Psalm 24:1; 1 Corinthians 10:26.
14. Psalm 100:3; cf. 95:6, 7.
15. Ephesians 2:10.
16. Isaiah 43:7
17. Psalm 115:16.
18. Genesis 1:28,26; cf. Psalm 8:6-8.
22. Psalm 8:5-8.
23. “Education,” Page 21; cf. “Patriarchs and Prophets,” Page 50, 51.
25. Revelation 5:9, 10; cf. 1:5, 6.
26. Micah 4:8.
28. Proverbs 16:32.
29. James 3:7, 8; cf. Matthew 12:34; Luke 6:45.
30. 1 Peter 2:21.
31. 1 Timothy 4:12.
32. Matthew 28:20.
33. “Education,” Page 22; see 2 Corinthians 4:6.
34. “The Story of Redemption,” Page 22, 23; “The Spirit of Prophecy,” Volume 1, Page 26, 27;
“Spiritual Gifts,” Volume 3, Page 35.
35 “Patriarchs and Prophets,” Page 51.
17. “THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM”

www.christiananswers.net
“STUDY to show thyself approved unto God,” [1] is the supreme goal of true education. The
approval of God is upon every effort for the improvement of all the functions of the beings which He
created in His own image. Often “our ideas of education take too narrow and too low a range. There is need
of a broader scope, a higher aim. True education is the harmonious development of the physical, the
mental, and the spiritual powers.” “To restore in man the image of his Maker, to promote the development
of body, mind, and soul, that the divine purpose in his creation might be realized is the object of education,
the great object of life. Love, the basis of creation and of redemption, is the basis of true education.” [2]
First there must be love in the heart. “Perfect love casts out fear”’ of all kinds, except that godly
fear, that profound reverence, that “fear of the Lord” which “is the beginning of wisdom.” [4] Love is the
basis of that education which acquaints man with his Creator, for “he that loves not knows not God.” [5]
In lesser matters as well, one who loves the object of his study and investigation devotes himself
diligently to it, acquires proficiency in it, and becomes educated therein. In a reciprocal manner, the more
one becomes familiar with a certain theme or field of endeavor, the more he develops a love for it. On the
other hand, there is no greater obstacle to successful learning than a dislike for the object of one’s
attempted study. Hence the partners, love and learning, are mutual aids to each other.
It was the purpose of the Creator that man’s education should include many things. “Whatsoever
things are true, honest, just, pure, lovely of good report,” excellent, or praiseworthy, “think on these
things.” [6] High priority is due to the admonition “Acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace,” [7]
and thereby become devout, pious, quiet, and serene.
The education of Jesus at the fireside of His earthly parents in Nazareth was exemplary, and
illustrates well the broad but intensive kind of training that is important. He “advanced in wisdom and
stature, and in favor with God and men.” [8] “His early years were given to the study of God’s word. And
spread out before Him was the great library of God’s created works. He who had made all things studied
the lessons which His own hand had written in earth and sea and sky. Apart from the unholy ways of the
world, He gathered stores of scientific knowledge from nature.” [9] “His education was gained from
Heaven appointed sources, from useful work, from the study of the Scriptures, from nature, and from the
experiences of life, God’s lesson books, full of instruction to all who bring to them the willing hand, the
seeing eye, and the understanding heart.” [10]
A School in a Garden
Provision had been made for a lovely home, an ideal place of worship, and a luxuriant garden for
the holy pair in Eden. In addition to these, the Creator had arranged a perfect educational program with
unexcelled physical equipment. In this model school, intended as a pattern for others throughout the world,
“the Garden of Eden was the schoolroom, nature was the lesson book, the Creator Himself was the
instructor, and the parents of the human family were the students.” [11]
Every plant and tree, every living creature, the rocks and soil underfoot, and the distant stars
overhead, each was a visual aid to instruction. No classroom shortage existed, for the location of each
object or phenomenon became a study hall. Leaves from the book of nature, “the great library of God’s
created works,” were the text and reference works employed. The seating was rustic and informal, the
illumination was ample and perfect, the carpet and the drapery were exquisitely beautiful.
Under such a favorable environment the Master Teacher conducted a school of which He was the
Principal and in which angels served as His assistant instructors. Every human being was to be enrolled as a
student and could have the privilege of both group and private instruction. The organization was that of a
college of fine and industrial arts and sciences. The school homes were owned and operated by the students
themselves. Tuition and board were free, but the food must be harvested and prepared. Each student co-
operated with the Management and Administration by supervising and performing all the routine domestic,
agricultural, construction, and other economic services of the home and the school. “Though rich in all that
the Owner of the universe could supply, they were not to be idle. Useful occupation was appointed them as
a blessing, to strengthen the body, to expand the mind, and to develop the character.” [12]
No provision was made for graduation exercises, though frequent promotions were indicated. The
plan was that of a perpetual spiral system, in which the student developed a deeper and more enjoyable
understanding of each subject as it was reviewed again and again. Even a thousand-year course would be
but an introduction to the alluring observation and investigation of a group of plants or animals, of a galaxy
of stars, or of the intricacy of human relationships. “So long as they remained loyal to the divine law, their
capacity to know, to enjoy, and to love, would continually increase. They would be constantly gaining new
treasures of knowledge, discovering fresh springs of happiness, and obtaining clearer and yet clearer
conceptions of the immeasurable, unfailing love of God.” [13]
The Plan of Instruction

“I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shall go.” [14] “The Lord is a God of
knowledge,” [15] He it is “that is perfect in knowledge He is mighty in strength and wisdom.” [16] Not
only is He versed in subject matter; He is also a Master of the art of instruction. “Who teaches like Him?”
[17] for He “searches all hearts, and understands all the imaginations of the thoughts” [18] of the children
of men. “In His interest for His children, our heavenly Father personally directed their education Often they
were visited by His messengers, the holy angels, and from them received counsel and instruction. Often
face to face [they] held communion with the Eternal!” “The system of education established in Eden
centered in the family. Adam was ‘the son of God,’ [19] and it was from their Father that the children of the
Highest received instruction. Theirs, in the truest sense, was a family school.” [20]
What a privilege it was to have as their Instructor One who was not only a loving Father, but who
was the all-wise Creator of all things. The scope of the training which He offered was indeed universal.
“The mysteries of the visible universe afforded them an exhaustless source of instruction and delight. The
laws and operations of nature were opened to their minds by the infinite Framer and Upholder of all. They
held converse with leaf and flower and tree God’s glory in the heavens, the innumerable worlds in their
orderly revolutions, ‘the balancing of the clouds,” [21] the mysteries of light and sound, of day and night,
all were open to the study of our first parents.” [22]
The Hebrew Schools

Down through the days of the patriarchs, education still centered in the family. Though many
worldly people built cities and lived in them, God’s people were rural dwellers. “In this free, independent
life, with its opportunities for labor and study and meditation, they learned of God, and taught their children
of His works and ways.” [23] The parents were the teachers in each family school. Concerning the
procedure to be followed in communicating His truths, the Master Teacher directed: “Thou shall teach
them diligently unto thy children, and shall talk of them when thou sits in your house, and when thou walks
by the way, and when thou lies down, and when thou rises up.” [24] But as God’s people mingled more and
more with the world, they failed to follow out the plan outlined for them, and forgot His instruction. In the
days of the prophets, of Elisha particularly, there were set up “schools of the prophets,” or theological
seminaries, at various locations in Israel. These functioned also as teachers’ colleges, where men were
trained to serve as educators and leaders of the people.
“The pupils of these schools sustained themselves by their own labor in tilling the soil, or in some
mechanical employment The chief subjects of study in these schools were the law of God, with the
instruction given to Moses, sacred history, sacred music, and poetry.” [25] God wonderfully and often
miraculously blessed in the operation of these institutions. In the school at Gilgal, when there was a
shortage of food and the students had diligently gathered wild herbs for a vegetable stew, a poisonous plant
was inadvertently included. The food could hardly be discarded, so in faith the prophet specified that meal
be added. He then directed, “Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot.”
During this food shortage, when a man brought to them a gift of “twenty loaves of barley, and fresh ears of
grain in his sack,” the food was miraculously extended to provide for all of the assembled company. [26]
God is concerned with the material as well as with the mental and spiritual interests of His work and His
people.
Christian Educational Ideals for the Present Time

With the more highly organized school systems of modern days, and with increased opportunities
for mothers to obtain gainful employment or to engage in social or in welfare activities, there has arisen an
increasing tendency to place children in school or kindergarten at an early age. Such plans may have certain
advantages, but most of them do not accrue to the welfare of the child. “Children should not be long
confined within doors, nor should they be required to apply themselves closely to study until a good
foundation has been laid for physical development. For the first eight or ten years of a child’s life the field
or garden is the best school roorn, the mother the best teacher, nature the best lesson book!” [27]
But though the young child may not be in formal school, he should begin the process of learning
desirable material at an early age. If he is left to his own devices, he will choose his own education and
become enamored with it. “It is a sin for parents to allow their children to grow up in ignorance. They
should supply them with useful and interesting books, and should teach them to work, to have hours for
physical labor, and hours to devote to study and reading.” [28]
For advanced work in these days, much more formality is apparently needed than in earlier times.
This concerns buildings, equipment, and techniques, as well as teaching personnel. For the guidance of a
sound Christian educational program, abundant counsel has been made available concerning lines of study
to which the attention and efforts of students may profitably be directed. Some of the pertinent admonition
is epitomized in the following, which by no means covers all the subjects of an approved curriculum:
“The Bible should be made the foundation of study and of teaching. The essential knowledge is a
knowledge of God and of Him whom He has sent. Every child and every youth should have a knowledge of
himself. He should understand the physical habitation that God has given him, and the laws by which it is
kept in health. All should be thoroughly grounded in the common branches of education. And they should
have industrial training that will make them men and women of practical ability, fitted for the duties of
everyday life. To this should be added training and practical experience in various lines of missionary
effort.” [29] Such are some of the features of the well-rounded program of education in which the Master
Teacher would have His people engage to prepare an army of rightly trained youth for the promulgation of
the message. [30]
“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that gives to all men liberally, and upbraids not;
and it shall be given him.” [31] “The life on earth is the beginning of the life in heaven; education on earth
is an initiation into the principles of heaven; the lifework here is a training for the lifework there. What we
now are, in character and holy service, is the sure foreshadowing of what we shall be.” [32]
1. Timothy 2:15.
2. “Education,” Page 13,15,16
3. 1 John 4:18.
4. Proverbs 9: 10.
5. 1 John 4:8.
6. Philippians 4:8.
7. Job 22:2l.
8. Luke 2:52, A.R.V.
9. “The Desire of Ages,” Page 70; see Page 70-72 and “Fundamentals of Christian Education,” Page 442.
14. Psalm 32:8.
15. 1 Samuel 2:3.
16. Job 36:4, 5.
17. Job 36:22.
18. 1 Chronicles 28:9.
19. Luke 3:38. 20
20. “Education,” Page 21, 33.
21. Job 37:16.
22. “Patriarchs and Prophets,” Page 50, 51 cf. “Education,” Page 21.
24. Deuteronomy 6:7; 11:19.
26. 2 Kings 4:38-44, ARV, and margin.
27. “Education,” Page 208; “Testimonies,” Volume 3, Page 137; “Counsels to Teachers,” Page 80.
28. “Testimonies,” Volume 1, Page 398, 399.
31. James 1:5.
18. “THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL”

FOR all intelligent created beings throughout God’s universe the principle of freedom in thought
and action prevails. But many persons have a mistaken idea of liberty. Anarchy and lawlessness are not
manifestations of liberty, but rather of license.
In any social group, rules of behavior and deportment are necessary in order to avoid interference
with the rights and privileges both of peers and of superiors. Leadership and guidance must be vested in
some body or individual for the promulgation and administration of the regulations under which the affairs
of the group are managed. Freedom is exercised when one conducts himself in harmony with such accepted
rules or laws. Though mandatory, laws are widely permissive as well as restrictive. In a righteous
dominion, such as is the government of God, “the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and
good.” [1]
To some responsible authority in the realm must be delegated the functions of organization, of co-
ordination, and of direction. Otherwise there will be such confusion of effort and conduct as existed at the
time when “there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” [2] None
other than the triune God, the Creator of the universe, is qualified for the responsibility of ordaining the
laws of creation and of administering them in accordance with the collective divine will. Christ, the
personal agent of creation, said of Himself, “My judgment is just; because I seek not Mine own will, but
the will of the Father which bath sent Me.” [3] Under such magnanimous and coordinated divine
jurisdiction, every intelligent creature may rest assured of equitable justice, for, “Shall not the Judge of all
the earth do right?” [4]
The Plot of Satan

In heaven a rebellion among the angels was instigated by Lucifer under the guise of a demand for
freedom. Had he not already had freedom of choice, it would have been impossible for him even to choose
to rebel. He became envious of the station of Christ, and aspired to “be like the Most High.” [5] He
represented to the angels that God was unjust and unfair in not elevating him to a higher position of
leadership and responsibility. “The result of this misrepresentation was that through their sympathy with
him one third of the angels lost their innocence, their high estate, and their happy home.” [6]
“No longer free to stir up rebellion in heaven, Satan’s enmity against God found a new field in
plotting the ruin of the human race.” [7] “When Adam and Eve were placed in the beautiful garden, Satan
was laying plans to destroy them.” [8] “It was Satan’s purpose to bring about an eternal separation between
God and man.” [9] Such were the clandestine and diabolical designs of the author of evil. He had lost his
own exalted position among the angels, he had caused the downfall of his heavenly companions, and he
with them had been expelled from their glorious abode. Now he was looking for others to share his misery
and woe. “In the happiness and peace of the holy pair in Eden, he beheld a vision of the bliss that to him
was forever lost. Moved by envy, he determined to incite them to disobedience, and bring upon them the
guilt and penalty of sin.” [10] “Satan went alone to mature plans that would most surely secure the fall of
Adam and Eve He decided that cunning and deceit would do what might, or force could not.” [11]
Adam and Eve were created upright, physically, morally, and spiritually. They had no initial bent
toward evil. They were happy in the contemplation of nature, in association with each other, and in
communion with their Creator. “But while everything in nature is governed by natural laws, man alone, of
all that inhabits the earth, is amenable to moral law. To man God has given power to understand His
requirements, to comprehend the justice and beneficence of His law, and its sacred claims upon him Like
the angels, the dwellers in Eden had been placed upon probation. Their happy estate could be retained only
on condition of fidelity to the Creator’s law. They could obey and live, or disobey and perish Should they
disregard His will, He who spared not the angels that sinned, could not spare them.” [12]
A Test of obedience
“It is not God’s purpose to coerce the will. Man was created a free moral agent. Like the
inhabitants of all other worlds, he must be subjected to the test of obedience. But he is never brought into
such a position that yielding to evil becomes a matter of necessity.” [13] “God is faithful, who will not
suffer you to be tempted above that you are able. But will with the temptation also make a way to escape,
that you may be able to bear it.” [14] “God might have created them without the power to transgress His
requirements; but in that case there could have been no development of character; their service would not
have been voluntary, but forced. Therefore He gave them the power of choice-the power to yield or to
withhold obedience.” [15]
There was withheld from them only one small thing. They did not need more fruit, for they could
partake “freely” of the fruit of all the other trees in the garden. While it is true that Eve wandered from the
side of Adam, she needed not to go far, for the forbidden tree stood temptingly near the other trees. So it
often is; the paths of truth and error are at first a mere parting of the ways, but they are both clearly posted.
One is “a way that seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death,” [16] the broad, easy
road “that leads to destruction;” while the other to the right is a restricted, narrow way “which leads unto
life.” [17]
Some inquire, “Since the laws of God in nature permit no deviation, how then could man ‘have
sinned, and come short of the glory of God?” [18] True it is that in the realm of nature, effect follows cause
with inevitable certainty. In the inanimate world there is no consciousness, hence the results of an impulse
or a change of conditions or of chemical admixture are entirely predictable. Such results always will be
identical with those of previously observed similar situations. The laws of physics and chemistry are rather
rigorously “the mathematical thoughts of God.” But when the broader field of the entire natural world is
considered, biological as well as physical, the laws of nature are better described as “the delegated will of
the Almighty.” [19] As higher and higher living forms are examined, more and more of the Creator’s will is
seen.
The Power of Choice

In the realm of all living things, the attributes of selection and choice, among others, are
superimposed on the physical and chemical behavior of the creature. The cells of a plant will permit the
entry only of specific dissolved substances, and will persistently retain those that are essential to its
structure. The simplest animal will elect to accept certain foods and to reject others. In a number of animals
the corpuscles of the blood contain a larger proportion of the element potassium than is present in the
serum in which they are suspended; while the serum contains a higher proportion of sodium than do the
corpuscles. No inanimate membrane can be made so selective as are the corpuscular cell walls. The
instances of this principle in living structures could be extended almost without end.
Most of the selectivity possessed by animals is an instinctive response to environmental
conditions. It is an unlearned behavior pattern, acquired from their ancestors by heredity, and bestowed on
the original parents at creation. Man’s ordinary physiological functions operate on the level of those of the
animals, so that in this respect, “man hath no pre-eminence above a beast.” [20] But upon man the Creator
also conferred the ability to select and choose on a higher plane of mental and moral values. To a degree, it
is in this respect that man was made in the divine likeness, “endowed with a power akin to that of the
Creator power to think and to do,” to bear responsibilities and to influence character. “Endowed with high
mental and spiritual gifts, Adam and Eve were made but ‘little lower than the angels,’ that they might
comprehend moral responsibilities and obligations.” [21]
Laws do not prescribe the impetus or the incentive, but they do delimit the course and the result of
an action. A biological law of satiation normally causes an animal to cease feeding when it has filled itself;
otherwise the results would be tragic. But since man has a higher, freer choice, and since his physiological
inhibitions are subdued and subservient to the higher powers of his mental selection, he must exercise a
conscious, voluntary control over many of his physical activities. Further, he must exercise a still higher
control, a moral and spiritual one, over the subordinate mental functions in order that they all conform to
the still more exalted divine controls of Him in whom “we live, and move, and have our being.” [22]
The answer, then, is that man is a free moral agent, privileged to choose as he will; but he is also a
part of the great family of God. He must conform his life to the conventions and rules of that divine society
of which he is a part, or be excluded from it.
“You Shall Be as Gods”

The craftiness of Satan was embodied in a sly but beautiful serpent. “The serpent had not the
power of speech, but Satan used him as a medium. It was Satan that spoke, not the serpent.” [23] As Eve
gazed wonderingly at the forbidden tree, she was entranced, for its gorgeous fruit looked inviting. Forth
from the tempter came the taunting words: “And so God has said that you are not to cat from any tree of the
garden ?” [24] Then as Eve rehearsed to him the Creator’s prohibition concerning the tree in the midst of
the garden, Satan uttered two most significant lies.
The first of these untruths, “You shall not surely die,” [25] has become the cornerstone of many
false religious beliefs. Most of the nominal Christian congregations cling to some form of the idea of a
continuance of consciousness and activity of an intangible residuum of spirit life after the death of the
physical body. Others, following the lead of spiritualism under any of its various guises, base their entire
religious philosophy on such an idea, and on the further ability of disembodied spirits to communicate with
incarnate men. Likewise, the religious practices of nearly all heathen peoples consist of incantations,
appeasements, and devotions directed to supposed spirits of departed ones.
But the Scriptural teaching clearly negates this satanic delusion. “The dead know not anything; for
the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished.” [26]
“His breath goes forth, he returns to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” [27] “If a man dies,
does he live?” [28] is a pertinent question asked by Job.
The other great lie was, “You shall be as gods [or God], knowing good and evil.” [29] This was
the expression to Eve of an aspiration which Satan had attempted to realize in his own existence. “I will be
like the Most High,” [30] was his inordinate and studied ambition. He hoped to inspire in the mind of Eve
the same discontent, and prompt her to resent either supervision or restraint. [31] Did not she have
dominion over the earth? Then who should forbid her any of the products of its soil? “Eve was deceived by
the serpent to think that there was something withheld which would make them wise, even as God.” [32]
Prior to this, “Eve had been perfectly happy by her husband’s side in her Eden home; but, like
restless modern Eves, she was flattered with the hope of entering a higher sphere than that which God had
assigned her. In attempting to rise above her original position, she fell far below it In their desire for a
higher sphere, many have sacrificed true womanly dignity, and nobility of character, and have left undone
the very work that Heaven appointed them.” Eve really believed the words of Satan, but her belief did not
save her from the penalty of sin.” [33] It is not enough to be sincere; God’s chosen people must also he
right. Zeal is no substitute for orthodoxy, though a Christian should have both.
In a tragic manner some of the words of the enemy were fulfilled. “Their eyes were indeed
opened; but how sad the opening!” They already had a thorough knowledge of good, but now “the
knowledge of evil, the curse of sin, was all that the transgressors gained. There was nothing poisonous in
the fruit itself, and the sin was not merely in yielding to appetite. It was distrust of God’s goodness,
disbelief of His word, and rejection of His authority, that made our first parents transgressors, and that
brought into the world a knowledge of evil. It was this that opened the door to every species of falsehood
and error.” [34]
Modern Trees in the Midst of the Garden

In these days, the tempter is exerting more strenuous efforts through apparently pious men in an
attempt to “deceive the very elect,” [35] for “he knows that he hath but a short time.” [36] “Your opponent
the devil is prowling about like a roaring lion, wanting to devour you. Resist him and be strong in the faith,
for you know that your brotherhood all over the world is having the same experience of suffering.” [37]
The prophecy indeed is being fulfilled that “of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things,
to draw away disciples after them,” rather than after Christ.” [38]
The principle of admixture of “good and evil” is prominent in the efforts of those apparently
sincere persons who arise “of your own selves.” The greater part of the messages presented by such
dissemblers is truth. But the admixed error, though often shrewdly concealed, leavens the whole lump.
God’s people need carefully to guard the avenues to the mind and to select the messages they read or hear
on the basis of their absence of error as well as of the truth contained therein. Eve was sincere in believing
what she heard, but she was sadly mistaken.
Rejection of the authority of God and mingling evil with good has produced untold confusion.
Adam had held sway over every living thing, “but when he rebelled against the divine law, the inferior
creatures” in turn “were in rebellion against his rule.” [39] The dominion over this world had been leased
out to “the god of this world,” [40] “the prince of the power of the air.” [41] The results of his
administration became evident promptly. Degeneration and death appeared on every hand. “Satan has the
power of disease and death, and with every age the effects of the curse have been more visible, and the
power of Satan more plainly seen Satan has been learning how to annoy and enfeeble the race.” [42]
“Cursed Is the Ground”

For Adam, the labor in Eden had been exhilarating. Now the soil itself became less friable, and the
tilling of it required more exhausting effort. It was less productive, and the puny crops were overrun with
weeds. God “never made a thorn, a thistle, or a tare. These are Satan’s work, the result of degeneration,
introduced by him among the precious things.” [43] “Satan has studied the secrets of the laboratories of
nature, and he uses all his power to control the elements as far as God allows He imparts to the air a deadly
taint, and thousands perish by the pestilence.” [44] Satan has developed great skill and ingenious methods
in genetics and horticulture. By these, from plants that formerly were desirable, he has selected and
developed hybrid varieties that now are thorny, poisonous, and noxious. “Whence then hath it tares? An
enemy hath done this.” [45]
Animals likewise became fierce and carnivorous as their dispositions changed and their former
plant diet became less desirable and adequate. The creatures that formerly had fed together in peace now
were filled with fear and dread. Man himself was enfeebled and subject to maladies of all kinds. Especially
did Eve and her daughters become victims of increased suffering and pain, and of domination by their
husbands. Once so loving and considerate of each other, the guilty pair now indulged in mutual jealousy
and blame.
Leaving Home
With sorrow and dejection Adam and Eve prepared to vacate their home in the garden. No more
poignant words appear in the Scriptures than these: “So He drove out the man to till the ground from
whence he was taken . And He placed at the east of the Garden of Eden cherubims to keep the way of the
tree of life.” [46] “In humility and unutterable sadness they bade farewell to their beautiful home, and went
forth to dwell where rested the curse of sin.” The one bright spot in their experience was the continuance of
the presence of the garden on the earth for some time, and the privilege which was theirs to worship God
before its angel-guarded gate. [47]
1. Romans 7:12.
2. Judges 21:25; 17:6.
3. John 5:30
4. Genesis 18:2.
5. Isaiah 14:14.
6. “Testimonies,” Volume 5, Page 291; cf. Volume 3, Page 115; Revelation 12:4,7-10.
8. “Early Writings,” Page 146; “Spiritual Gifts,” Volume 1, Page 19.
11. “The Story of Redemption,” Page 28, 29; “The Spirit of Prophecy,” Volume 1, Pages 31,32.
12. “Patriarchs and Prophets,” Page 52, 53 cf. 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6.
16. Proverbs 16:25; 14:12.
17. Matthew 7:13, 14.
18. Romans 3:23.
19. Macmillan.
21. “Education,” Page 17, 20; cf. Psalm 8:5.
22. Acts 17:28.
23. “Spiritual Gifts,” Volume 3, Page 39; “The Story of Redemption” Page 33.
“The Spirit of Prophecy,” Volume 1, Page 36.
25. Genesis 3:4.
26. Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6.
27. Psalm 146:4.
28. Job 14:14, Smith. “Again” is a supplied word in the common versions.
29. Genesis 3:5.
30. Isaiah 14:14.

33. Patriarchs and Prophets,” Page 59, 55 cf. “Testimonies,” Volume 3, Page 483.
34. “Education,” Page 25, emphasis supplied.
35. Matthew 24:24.
37. 1 Peter 5:8, 9, Goodspeed.
38. Acts 20:30.
41. Ephesians 2:2.
42. “Early Writings,” Page 184; “Spiritual Gifts,” Volume 1, Page 70.
44. “The Great Controversy,” Page 589, 590.
45. Matthew 13:27, 28.
46. Genesis 3:23, 24.
19. HE SHALL SAVE HIS PEOPLE

THE dwellers in Eden had forfeited their home, their happiness, their very lives, by one rash act of
disobedience. Foreboding and despair filled the trembling hearts of Adam and Eve. The angels in heaven
mourned at the prospect of the woe that would befall the human race and of the ruin that would come to the
fair earth. “But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” [1] The love and compassion of God
the Father and God the Son reached down to deliver the human race from its misery, and to provide for its
redemption.
Divine Preparedness
The plan for man’s salvation “was not an afterthought, a plan formulated after the fall of Adam. It
was a revelation of ‘the mystery which bath been kept in silence through times eternal.’ God did not ordain
that sin should exist, but He foresaw its existence, and made provision to meet the terrible emergency.” [2]
“The plan of salvation had been laid before the creation of the earth; for Christ is ‘the Lamb slain from the
foundation of the world.” [3]
God anticipates and provides in advance for every possible exigency. There are no actual
emergencies with Him. For example, the physical body of man at his creation was so constituted that in
case of injury certain substances in the blood would cause a clot to form, and thereby check the flow of
blood from a wound. However, these same substances were so skillfully constituted that they would not
cause stoppage of the blood flow in the veins or arteries where there was no lesion. The digestive organs
were supplied with juices so uniquely designed that they would act selectively upon the food substances
that might supply nourishment, and would convert them into exactly the forms which could be used for that
purpose. Unborn babes are provided in advance with the apparatus requisite for breathing and for other
functions of independent living.
Thus God’s foreknowledge and preparedness and “healing power runs all through nature. If a tree
is cut, if a human being is wounded or breaks a bone, nature begins at once to repair the injury. Even before
the need exists, the healing agencies are in readiness. So it is in the spiritual realm. Before sin created the
need, God had provided the remedy. Wherever there is sin, there is the Savior.” [4]
“God So Loved”
None can fully appreciate or can “know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge,” [5] nor of
the Father who loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, so that no one who believes in Him
should be lost, but that they should all have eternal life.” [6] Salvation is available to all who accept the
terms, who accept Christ as their Savior, and who are “willing and obedience to all His commandments.”
[7] “The provisions of redemption are free to all; the results of redemption will be enjoyed by those who
have complied with the conditions.” [8] God purposed and provided that all might be saved, but in His
omniscience He knew that not all would accept His proffered salvation.
“All men are not saved; yet the plan of redemption is not a waste because it does not accomplish
all that its liberality has provided for. There must be enough and to spare.” [9] Salvation truly was poured
out in abundance. All heaven was bestowed in the gift of the Son of God for fallen man. “It was a costly
sacrifice that the Lord of heaven made. Divine benevolence was stirred to its unfathomable depths; it was
impossible for God to give more. Why is our gratitude so limited? It is only as a ripple on the surface,
compared with the great tide of love that flows to us from the Father.” [10]
Announcement of the Plan

That momentous day in Eden was fast drawing to a close. With anxiety Adam and Eve awaited the
verdict of their Creator. A “counsel of peace” [11] had been held between the members of the Godhead,
and the result of it was to be announced to the guilty pair who had violated the law of their existence. “God
was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself.” [12] “All the communion between heaven and the
fallen race has been through Christ. It was the Son of God that gave to our first parents the promise of
redemption.” [13]
“In the sentence pronounced upon Satan was given an intimation of redemption Before they heard
of the thorn and the thistle, of the toil and sorrow that must be their portion, or of the dust to which they
must return, they listened to words that could not fail of giving them hope. All that had been lost by
yielding to Satan could be regained through Christ. This intimation also nature repeats to us. Though
marred by sin, it speaks not only of creation but of redemption.” [14] The prospect of the severity of toil
and struggle and pain which they should endure, and of the loss of their beautiful Eden home, was
overwhelming; but the promise of a Savior who should bruise the serpent’s head brought comfort and
hopeful anticipation.
Looking for the Messiah

“When Adam and Eve first heard the promise, they looked for its speedy fulfillment. They
joyfully welcomed their first-born son, hoping that he might be the Deliverer. But the fulfillment of the
promise tarried.” [15] On down through the centuries that followed, “Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
and Moses understood the gospel Some of them talked with Christ and heavenly angels face to face.” [16]
Finally, “when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son.” [17] At that time an
angel brought to Mary the wonderful announcement that at last the Savior would soon be born to her, and
that His name should be called “Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins.” [18]
“Teach All Nations”

After His grand and kindly ministry to mankind, His supreme sacrifice, and His resurrection and
glorious ascension on high, the gospel was first preached everywhere by the apostles. In these last days the
consummation of the redemption plan seems to have been long overdue. But “knowing the time it is high
time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.” [19] The great
responsibility of acquainting the world with the message of redemption through the sacrifice of Christ rests
heavily upon His church on earth. He could send angels to accomplish the work, but He has chosen to have
men co-operate with Him in the service of salvation. Only when “this gospel of the kingdom shall be
preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come.” [20] Therefore, “go
you into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” [21]
“And how shall they preach, except they be sent?” [22] This emphasizes one of the duties of the
Christian. Not everyone can go, “but while some go forth to preach, He calls upon others to answer to His
claims upon them for tithes and offerings with which to support the ministry and to spread the printed truth
all over the land. This is God’s means of exalting man.” [23]
Service Unto Salvation

God’s redeemed ones will recognize many responsibilities toward their fellow men. “There is no
evidence of genuine repentance, unless it works reformation. If he restore the pledge, give again that he had
robbed, confess his sins, and love God and his fellow men, the sinner may be sure that he has passed from
death unto life.” [24]
But salvation does not consist entirely of outward acts. “The plan of redemption is so far-reaching
that philosophy cannot explain it. The science of salvation cannot be explained; but it can be known by
experience. Only he who sees his own sinfulness can discern the preciousness of the Savior.” [25]
Creation and redemption, love and education, are linked closely in the plan of the Creator, our
Redeemer, and Master Teacher. “Love, the basis of creation and of redemption, is the basis of true
education.” [26] Conversely, ‘Learn of Me,’ says Jesus; ‘for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall
find rest.’ We are to enter the school of Christ, to learn from Him meekness and lowliness. Redemption is
that process by which the soul is trained for heaven. This training means obtaining a knowledge of Christ.
It means emancipation from ideas, habits, and practices that have been gained in the school of the prince of
darkness. The soul must be delivered from all that is opposed to loyalty to God.” [27] This is at once a
definition of redemption and a challenge to obedience, and to training and service for God. Christ gave
Himself for us; can we do less than give ourselves to Him?
Some Learning Avenues

To aid in the proclamation of the message, and to amplify and fortify some aspects of it, nature
itself reveals a Creator and Restorer. “Though marred by sin, it speaks not only of creation but of
redemption. Thus the very objects and operations of nature that bring so vividly to mind our great loss
become to us the messengers of hope.” “In ten thousand objects in nature, from the oak of the forest to the
violet that blossoms at its root, is seen the love that restores. And nature still speaks to us Of God’s
goodness.” [28] “The invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being
understood by the things that are made.” [29]
Even to understand the things of nature requires faith. “Through faith we understand” “the
evidence of things not seen.” [30] One may say, “See the wind blow,” but actually only the evidence of the
wind is visible. Molecules and atoms reveal their reality and identity by the effects which they produce.
The observations must be interpreted by the mind as “evidence of things not seen,” but the evidence assures
their reality. Likewise, photographs bearing millions of minute points of light portray to one’s
consciousness and understanding the existence of untold numbers of otherwise invisible stars. Without a
rational faith and trained discernment, all these evidences and many more would be meaningless.
So also in the spiritual world, “the things of the Spirit of God are spiritually discerned.” [31] As in
the material world, so here the discernment must be exercised and trained in the things of the Spirit. That
requires patience and perseverance of the type exemplified by Moses who “endured, as seeing Him who is
invisible.” [32]
One may learn of the plan of redemption through the avenue of the spoken word and from the
pages of nature, but above all it is essential to study thoroughly the written word of God. “Higher education
is an experimental knowledge of the plan of salvation, and this knowledge is secured by earnest and
diligent study of the Scriptures,” [33] and “by taking heed thereto according to Thy word.” [34] To
conform to God’s ideal, it is necessary to apply that knowledge of salvation to the everyday life and to
“bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance.” [35]
Fruition of Redemption
“He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” [36] “Then shall the King say Come,
you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” [37]
“The great plan of redemption results in fully bringing back the world into God’s favor. All that was lost by
sin is restored. Not only man but the earth is redeemed, to be the eternal abode of the obedient.” “And the
education begun in this life will be continued in the life to come. Day by day the wonderful works of God,
the infinite mystery of love and wisdom in the plan of redemption, will open to the mind in new beauty
Eternity alone can reveal the glorious destiny to which man, restored to God’s image, may attain!” [38]
1. Romans 5:20
2. “The Desire of Ages,” Page 22; see Romans 16:25, RV and ARV.
5. Ephesians 3:19
6. John 3:16, Goodspeed.
7. Isaiah 1:19.
8. Patriarchs and Prophets,” Page 208.
10. “Testimonies,” Volume 9, Page 59, 60.
11. Zechariah 6:13.
14. “Education,” Page 27
15. “The Desire Ages,” Page 31.
17. Galatians 4:4.
18. Matthew 1:21; Luke 1:28-32.
19. Romans 13:11
20. Matthew 24:14.
21. Mark 16:15.
22. Romans 10:15
23. Testimonies,” Volume 4, Page 472.
24. “Steps to Christ,” Page 63.
27. “The Desire of Ages,” Page 330, emphasis supplied.
28 “Education,” Page 27, 101.
29. Romans 1:20
30. Hebrews 11:3,
32. Hebrews 11:27.
34. Psalm 119:9.
35. Matthew 3:8.
36. Matthew 24:13; Mark 13:13.
37. Matthew 25:34.
38. “Patriarchs and Prophets,” Page 342, 602; cf. Page 67.
20. “MY SPIRIT SHALL NOT ALWAYS STRIVE”

http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/Jesuschrist.asp
FROM the land of their exile outside the gates of Eden, Adam and Eve gazed sadly and longingly
back toward the scene of their former happy home. Though “the Garden of Eden remained upon the earth
long after man had become an outcast from its pleasant paths,” [1] an angel guard was on duty constantly at
its entrance to prevent the return of the disobedient pair. As near as possible to that forbidden Paradise, in a
sanctuary of nature, Adam continued regularly to gather his family to celebrate the Sabbath and to worship
their Creator and Redeemer.
Adam and Eve “joyfully welcomed their first-born son, hoping that he might be the Deliverer” [2]
that was promised. They endeavored to instruct their children in the ways of righteousness, and to “bring
them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” [3] Both Cain and Abel accompanied their parents in
worship, and followed the habit of systematically bringing their offerings to God. They were reared in an
environment of piety.
“In the Way of Cain”

As the boys grew older, they continued their own personal devotions individually. Gradually the
attitudes of the two sons began to differ markedly. Cain brooded over imaginary grievances and over the
restrictions which had been placed upon the human race. “He thought that his father Adam had been treated
harshly in being expelled from Eden.” [4] Doubtless Cain possessed animals on his farm which would have
been acceptable for the prescribed offerings, but he chose to worship in his own willful way. “He presented
his offering as a favor done to God. The essential part, the recognition of the need of a Redeemer, was left
out.” [5] “Cain thought himself righteous. He made no confession of sin, and acknowledged no need of
mercy.” On the other hand, “Abel came with the blood that pointed to the Lamb of God. He came as a
sinner, confessing himself lost. His only hope was the unmerited love of God.” [6] “And the Lord had
respect unto Abel and to his offering.” [7] “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than
Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous.” [8]
The rebellious attitude manifested by Cain made it impossible for God to accept his offering.
Nevertheless, in spite of his failure to obey, God dealt with him in love and long-suffering, and endeavored
to show him the error of his way. “Why are you angry?” said the Lord; 9f you have been doing right,
should you not be happy? But if you have not, sin will be lurking at the door.” [9] Finally, in his anger at
God and in jealousy of Abel, Cain rose up “and slew his brother because his own works were evil, and his
brother’s righteous.” [10]
“Notwithstanding that Cain had by his crimes merited the sentence of death, a merciful Creator
still spared his life, and granted him opportunity for repentance. But Cain lived only to harden his heart and
to become the head of a line of bold, abandoned sinners.” [11] “Through the influence of Cain’s teaching
and example, multitudes of his descendants were led into sin.” [12]
Through Cain’s murderous act, a second curse was brought upon the ground which so recently had
received the blood of his brother. To him as a farmer, this was a serious matter. In pronouncing the penalty
upon him, God said, “Though you were to till the soil, never again would it yield you its full produce.”
Cain’s reply to the verdict was, “My punishment is too great to bear. Seeing that Thou has today driven me
off the soil, must be a vagrant in the earth.” [13]
As the ground under the double curse became less fruitful, Cain ceased to till the soil. After
roaming about for a time, he began to think of urban living. East of the province of Eden he built the first
city, which he named Enoch, after his eldest son. [14]
Into the City

Following his example many of “those who departed from God built for themselves cities, and,
congregating in them, gloried in the splendor, the luxury, and the vice that make the cities of today the
world’s pride and its curse. But the men who held fast God’s principles of life dwelt among the fields and
hills.” [15]
Among the posterity of Cain were many accomplished and prosperous men. Some of the earliest
of the world’s farmers, skilled mechanics, vocational instructors, and musicians came of his lineage. [16]
But though they displayed intelligence and proficiency, the religious attitudes and practices of “the ungodly
race of Cain” set them apart as “the sons of men,” in sharp contrast to “the sons of God” who descended
from Seth. [17]
The habits and customs of these two great races at first were markedly different. The well-watered
plains along the rivers of the east country came to be inhabited by the race of Cain, and there they built
cities in which they lived and reveled. About the cities were their fields and herds. From these and by their
merchandising activities they acquired wealth which enabled them to live in luxury and sensuality.
“The Wickedness of Man”

“They sought only to gratify the desires of their own proud hearts, and reveled in scenes of
pleasure and wickedness. Not desiring to retain God in their knowledge, they soon came to deny His
existence. They adored nature, in place of the God of nature. They glorified human genius and taught their
children to bow down to graven images Men put God out of their knowledge, and worshiped the creatures
of their own imagination; and as the result, they became more and more debased!’ “Polygamy was
practiced at an early date. It was one of the sins that brought the wrath of God upon the antediluvian world.
It was Satan’s studied effort to pervert the marriage institution, to weaken its obligations, and lessen its
sacredness. For in no surer way could he deface the image of God in man, and open the door to misery and
vice.” [18]
Thus Satan induced men to ignore and violate one commandment after another of God’s eternal
Decalogue. [19] Satan had been so successful in his program of leading men into rebellion that God
Himself was prompted to declare “that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every
imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” [20]
A Great Apostasy
At first, “the sons of God” maintained their integrity. They dwelt apart from the workers of
iniquity, and lived holy, exemplary lives. Their rural dwellings and occupations did not distract them from
the knowledge of the Creator, but rather drew them into closer acquaintance with Him. But as the years and
centuries passed, gradually a change came. “In the lapse of time they ventured, little by little, to mingle
with the inhabitants of the valleys. This association was productive of the worst results.” [21] The
amusements and other enticing activities of the cities led them further and further from God’s ideal for
them. And as they associated with “the daughters of men” who to them appeared so attractive, they yielded
to the temptation to take of them “wives of all which they chose.” [22] “It was thus that the children of Seth
were seduced from their integrity, and the holy seed became corrupt.” [23] They “lost, through the
influence of their wives, their peculiar, holy character, and united with the sons of Cain in their idolatry.”
[24]
Amid the darkness of rebellion, debauchery, and violence in the antediluvian world, many bright
lights stood out as stars of hope. Adam himself taught the lessons of creation and redemption to his children
for eight generations. The last of these included Lamech, Noah’s father, who was fifty-six years old when
Adam. died. At that time, Enoch was three hundred eight years of age, and soon thereafter he was
translated. Adam’s grandson, Enos, was eighty-four years old when Noah was born. Hence there was a
continuity of long-lived men on the earth simultaneously which enabled them to share their knowledge of
Eden and of God’s plan and promises with the younger generations who witnessed the Flood.
“Holy Men of Old”

Though only a few of these godly men are mentioned by name, there were a large number of the
“sons of God.” By his acceptable sacrifice and by his very lifeblood, Abel spoke not only to that
generation, but to all others as well that have since lived upon the earth.” [25] Enoch “pleased God” by his
life, and preached concerning the final advent of Christ when He would come “to execute judgment upon
all, and to convince all that are ungodly of all their ungodly deeds.” [26] “Enoch’s walk with God was not
in a trance or a vision, but in all the duties of his daily life.
In the family and in his intercourse with men, as a husband and father, a friend, a citizen, he was
the steadfast, unwavering servant of God. For three centuries he had walked with God. Now the portals
opened and he passed through the gates of the Holy City, the first from among men to enter there.” [27]
“The message preached by Enoch and his translation to heaven were an argument that Methuselah and
Noah could use with power to show that the righteous could be translated.” [28]
Of all the antediluvian patriarchs of the line of Noah, only two saw the ark in process of building,
and they lived to witness its practical completion. These were Noah’s father and grandfather, Lamech and
Methuselah. These grand old men were companion shipwrights to Noah, and they preached as they drove
home the nails in the construction of the ark. [29] Noah himself came of a good family, and much credit is
due his parents for his godly life and character. God could say of him, “Thee have I seen righteous before
Me in this generation,” for he “was a just man and walked with God.” Furthermore, it is recorded that he
obediently did “according to all that God commanded him.” [30] Such was the “preacher of righteousness”
[31] whom God selected to perpetuate the human race and to transmit the knowledge of salvation past the
greatest catastrophe the world has yet experienced. As the hundred and twenty years allotted to the
unregenerate world drew to a close, God permitted the few remaining faithful elderly men to be laid to rest
from their labors. They were spared the sight of ruin and destruction to be visited upon the earth.
“The End of All Flesh”

Except for a remnant of faithful ones, men had completely given themselves over to greed and
lust, and were guilty of the most atrocious crimes. God was completely ignored, and His warnings were
met with scoffing and insult. Idolatry of the basest sort was on every hand. In the sight of a holy God, the
world “was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.” The divine verdict went forth: “The
end of all flesh is come before Me; I will destroy them with the earth,” [32] and doom was sealed for a
rebellious and unrepentant world.
“Make Thee an Ark”

However, to Noah and his immediate family the announcement of the execution of the sentence of
destruction was accompanied with a reassuring promise. I do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to
destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven. But with thee will I establish My
covenant. And thou shall come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee.
And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shall thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive
with thee. They shall be male and female And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shall
gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.” [33] With this instruction and assuring
promise, Noah gave the message of warning. He proved his faith by energetic, persevering work.
“By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark
to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness
which is by faith.” [34] He believed God, whereby he gained a place among that great cloud of witnesses
who are worthy of emulation in these times which are “as were the days of Noah.” [35]
Soon again the whole earth will be deluged, not with water, but with fire, to bring a final end to all
who are in rebellion against God. Once more there must be diligent advance preparation for entrance into
the ark of safety.

3. Ephesians 6:4.
4. Testimonies to Ministers,” Page 77.
5 “Patriarchs and Prophets,” Page 72.
7. Genesis 4:4.
8. Hebrews 11:4.
10. John 3:12
13. Genesis 4:12-14, Smith.
14. See Genesis 4:14, 16, 17.
16. See Genesis 4:20-22.
17. “Spiritual Gifts,” Volume 3, Page 60; Genesis 6:2.
18. “Patriarchs and Prophets,” Page 90, 91, 338; Romans 1:28.
19. See “Patriarchs and Prophets,” Page 335-338, 92.
20. Genesis 6:5. 21
22. Genesis 6:2.

24. “The Story of Redemption,” Page 62; “The Spirit of Prophecy,” Volume 1, Page 66.
25. See Hebrews 11:4.
26. Hebrews 11:5; Jude 1:14, 15.
27. “Testimonies,” Volume 8, Page 329-331.
29. See “Patriarchs and Prophets,” Page 92, 95.
30. Genesis 7:1; 6:9, 22.
31. 2 Peter 2:5.
32. Genesis 6:12,13.
33. Genesis 6:17-21.
34. Hebrews 11:7.
35. Matthew 24:37, ARV.
21. “OVERFLOWED WITH WATER”

http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/flood.asp
IT WAS a godless generation to whom Noah proclaimed the message of impending doom and
destruction by a flood. But the warning fell on deaf cars. As now, men then believed in a uniformitarian
doctrine, that “all things continue as they were from the beginning.” [1] When great and wise men had
proved to their satisfaction that it was impossible for the world to be destroyed by water, when the fears of
the people were quieted, when all regarded Noah’s prophecy as a delusion, and looked upon him as a
fanatic, then it was that God’s time had come.” [2] “BY faith Noah, being warned of God concerning things
not seen as yet, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; through which he
condemned the world.” [3]
“God was the designer, and Noah the master builder” of the ark. “All that he possessed, he
invested in the ark. Every blow struck upon the ark was a witness to the people.” “All that man could do
was done to render the work perfect, yet the ark could not of itself have withstood the storm which was to
come upon the earth. God alone could preserve His servants upon the tempestuous waters.” [4]
In accordance with the divinely given design, Noah and his carpenters constructed the massive
ship. It had about thirty thousand square feet of floor space on each of its three decks. This area provided
adequate housing for all the pairs and sevens of the creatures selected for preservation through the Deluge.
Though there are thousands of “kinds” of animals that must have been accommodated on board, the
number of really large types is limited. The average size of all the land animals is about that of a house cat.
Many types could be housed in cages together, and several series of cages could easily have been placed
one above another within the fifteen-foot ceiling of each deck. Thus there was plenty of room for the
animals, and also abundant cargo space for all their necessary food.
When everything was in readiness, suddenly and without warning, “beasts of every description
were seen coming from mountain and forest, and quietly making their way toward the ark Birds were
flocking from all directions and in perfect order they passed to the ark. Animals obeyed the command of
God, while men were disobedient.” [5]
A Year at Sea
Amid the jeers and scoffing of his unregenerate neighbors, Noah and his family moved into the
ark in obedience to the divine instruction. God’s seal was placed upon the door, forever separating the
righteous from the wicked of the antediluvian world. For an entire week all things seemed to continue as
usual. “During this period their faith was tested. It was a time of triumph to the world without. The
apparent delay confirmed them in the belief that Noah’s message was a delusion, and that the Flood would
never come.” [6] Then suddenly the elements of the earth were set in violent commotion. Threatening
clouds appeared, and torrential rain began to fall. At the same time the ground heaved and swelled.
Reversing the action of the third day of creation week, God caused the mountains and hills to
descend again below the level of the sea. The waters amid which the dry land had stood for more than
sixteen centuries, overflowed and engulfed the earth and its inhabitants. “The fountains of the great deep,”
the antediluvian seas, supplied most of the water “whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with
water, perished,” [7] and by which all of the land was deluged to the very tops of the submerging
mountains. Truly the earth was subjected to a “change,” and the mountains were “shaken into the heart of
the seas,”’ when “the waters of Noah” went “over the earth.” [9]
Most of the rainfall of the Deluge occurred during the first forty days, but the depression of the
mountains into the sea continued for a longer period. The waters kept rising and “prevailed upon the earth
an hundred and fifty days.” [10] After that the merciful Creator began the act of restoration of the earth, and
His terrestrial workshop then became a mighty repair shop. “The rain from heaven was restrained; and the
waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of a hundred and fifty days the waters
decreased. And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month. On the first day of the month, were
the tops of the mountains seen.” [11] Thus once more as during creation week, “the mountains rose, the
valleys sank down unto the place which Thou had founded for them.” [12]
A Triply Cursed Earth

But the new hills and mountains were not the same ones, nor were they in the same locations, as
those before the Flood. “Where had been hills and mountains, no traces of them were visible. Where had
been beautiful plains, hills and mountains were formed.” [13] Responding to the command of the Creator,
portions of the land continued for a time to rise higher and higher, while others were depressed. The
mountains that were formed exceeded in height and ruggedness any of those of the original creation. Larger
and deeper basins for the seas also appeared, providing abundant room to accommodate the waters, which
so lately had covered the hills, as they now “returned from off the earth” to their newly assigned locations.
Once more “the face of the ground was dry.” [14]
The calendar of dates recorded for the events of the Flood year was based on the Hebrew lunar
year of three hundred fifty four days. From the beginning of the Flood exactly one full solar year, or three
hundred sixty-five days, elapsed until the hand of an angel again released the massive door of the ark. In
the meantime tremendous changes had taken place. All of the works of men, every vestige of animal life on
land and in the air, and most of the plant life of the earth had been completely destroyed. “The earth
presented an appearance of confusion and desolation impossible to describe. The mountains, once so
beautiful in their perfect symmetry, had become broken and irregular. Stones, ledges, and ragged rocks
were now scattered upon the surface of the earth.” [15]
The Bow of Promise

As Noah and his family disembarked upon this new but devastated world, the scene was
disheartening to them. The frequent reappearance of ominous dark skies could well add to their
apprehension. But a divine, loving Savior had provided protection to those eight voyagers throughout an
entire year of the utmost tumult and destruction. Now they were given renewed assurances of protection
and a special token of a promise that would be a source of encouragement on days that were overcast with
clouds.
The rainbow is a marvel of beauty and design. Each falling droplet of rain momentarily
contributes its mite of color, and moves on downward to add another mite of a different color throughout
the entire spectral range from the deepest red to the most brilliant purple. As other drops follow in its wake,
they, too, maintain the continuity of a vertical element of the bow. Still other trains of drops across the sky
falling parallel to the first contribute to the complete arc of splendor. The rainbow cannot be static; it must
he renewed constantly or vanish. No one ever sees the identical bow twice, nor can he view even the bow
which is seen by the person at his side. The rainbow, like all other of God’s gifts, is highly personalized. It
represents a promise to be claimed by each individual as his very own.
What Caused the Flood?

Many questions have arisen concerning the causes, the nature, and the effects of the Deluge of
Noah’s time. The popular teaching of most schools and textbooks has come to deny the Biblical record
altogether, and to ascribe all of the present observable phenomena of the earth’s surface to secular, age-
long influences comparable to those which are in operation at present. On the other hand, even some
exponents of the Scriptures who profess belief in the punitive character of the Flood have attempted to
ascribe its occurrence to a number of more or less remote secondary natural causes.
Some of the ideas suggested have been such as: tilting of the axis of the earth away from a
presumed initial direction perpendicular to the plane of its orbit. Collapse of the surface soil and rocks into
an originally cavernous, water-filled interior of the earth; and release of a hypothetical overhead ocean by
the dimming of the sun and moon. Recently, some have believed even the fantastic theory which depicts
the changes in the earth’s surface as the result of tidal inundation due to a near encounter with a comet that
ultimately became a sister planet to our earth.” [16]
It appears that distorted and erroneous ideas concerning the Deluge are not the unique possession
of evolutionists. A correct view of that great catastrophe must be consistent with the testimony of the rocks
and with the Scriptural record.
God’s “Strange Act”

During creation week the Godhead had been present in person to prepare a habitation for man and
to create all living things upon the earth. Likewise, during the entire year of the Deluge, the Creator
personally supervised and accomplished the punishment of the disobedient and the destruction and
reconstruction of the physical features of the earth. The Deluge was as remarkably and distinctly a miracle
as was creation. Its fundamental cause must be assigned to the direct and immediate intervention, the
“strange act” of the Creator and “Judge of all the earth.” [17] It is as vain to ascribe intermediate secondary,
causes for the Deluge as it would be to do so for the events of creation week.
The sinful inhabitants of this one world alone were under the verdict of guilt and punishment. God
directed the retribution to this earth only. Since no other planet was to be subject to such penalties, it is
inconsistent, for example, to presume that the sun was dimmed as a means of producing the Flood.
Though the changes of level of the land and the sea during the Deluge took a considerable time, in
fact, several months, for their accomplishment, they were as significant voluntary acts of the Creator as
were those of the brief third day of creation. Many secular changes have taken place since the Flood, but
that major event was itself of a magnitude to be achieved only by the direct and immediate interposition of
the Creator Himself. “Our God is in the heavens: He has done whatsoever He hath pleased.” “Whatsoever
the Lord pleased, that did He in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.” [18]
The divinely induced changes in land and water levels at the time of the Deluge were intimately
associated with, and also caused ‘ many profound physical modifications in the surface of the earth. These
phenomena correlate closely with one another and with the records of inspiration. Many of them are readily
observable on almost every hand, and deserve judicious consideration. Attention will be directed to some of
the facts and evidences of the world of nature, to pertinent Scriptural statements bearing on the Deluge and
related activities, and to a few representative selections from the spirit of prophecy.
The Testimony of the Earth

Widespread deposits of shells and other remains of marine animals in locations which now are
high above sea level show that these regions once were beneath the ocean, and that they were so located for
sufficient time to acquire such deposits. Mere rainfall, even of flood proportions, would not have carried
these materials upward to such high elevations.
Sedimentary strata, obviously deposited from suspension in water, are seen to be folded, upturned
on edge, and, in some localities, even thrust over each other for great distances. In many of these instances
the layers are conformable and continuous and are largely free from indications of fracture at the points of
folding. The distortion of these strata must have occurred while they were still wet and plastic.
Some regions display the effects of tremendous heat subsequent to the deposition of water-borne
sediments, for vast amounts of volcanic and other igneous rocks are found above and upon fossil bearing
strata. Thus considerable areas have been heated after a cooler period of water deposition, and later they
have cooled again to habitable temperatures.
Large areas have long been beneath masses of ice and snow which by their glacial movement have
transported tremendous quantities of rocks and soil. Subsequently the ice has melted, and the resulting
moraine deposits are seen in many of the now warmer valleys and plains.
There is every evidence in nature that most of the fossils were buried by sudden, catastrophic
action. Most of the fossil clams, for example, are found tightly closed, whereas when such creatures die
under ordinary conditions, the shells are wide open, and largely are disarticulated. No slow deposition of
annual accumulations of vegetation and of the carcasses of animals as they died occasionally could have
produced such dense collections of fossils as are found in many places. Moreover, the day-by-day addition
of soil from ordinary erosion and gradation would not have sufficed to bury these materials deeply enough
to prevent their dismemberment by predatory animals or their disintegration by decay and weathering.
The simultaneous and world-wide character of the catastrophe is indicated by the universality and
profusion of fossil deposits, and of very deep sediments. There is considerable sorting of fossil material in
their natural locations, but the fact that so called “higher” forms may be found associated with almost any
of the “lower” forms clearly portrays the prior contemporaneous existence of all types of plants and
animals.
Old beach lines are readily observable on the sides of mountains surrounding some areas in which
inland seas or lakes formerly existed, but which now are nearly, or quite, dry. Most of these old lake beds
are covered with alkali or salts left from evaporation of mineral-laden water. Some of these beds still have
residual salt pools or lakes at their lower levels. The mountainous or hilly land surrounding such former
inland seas is extensively eroded. The gullies and other little-used waterways are far deeper and wider than
the present rainfall of these areas requires or could possibly produce.
The broader river basins have great level plains covered with sediment which the water must have
carried when the entire valleys were occupied by these streams. At present, most of such rivers carry only
such amounts of water as can be accommodated in comparatively narrow channels cut in the wider alluvial
plains of the river basins.
Bounding both the ancient lake basins and the alluvial plains of many of the larger rivers are broad
aeolian, or wind-blown, prairies and rounded dune like hills. At present much of the surface material of
these areas is compacted chemically and physically, in some instances even into rock. Much of it, too, is
protected by vegetation against further displacement. At the time of their deposition these materials were
finely divided and more mobile than they now are.
There is insufficient water now existing either in or above or below the atmosphere to cover the
mountains at their present elevations and at the same time to fill the seas at their current levels. There must
therefore have been profound changes in the relative heights of mountains and depths of the sea. Had there
been enough water above that of the present sea level to cover Mount Everest as it stands, and had the
water disappeared from the surface of the earth at the close of the Flood merely by evaporation, there
would have been produced an atmospheric pressure nearly one thousand times its present value. It is hardly
feasible to presume that most of the water of the Deluge retreated into space, leaving here only a fraction of
the former amount.
These are but a few of the almost unlimited number of facts in the natural world which point
clearly to a universal Deluge of the character and magnitude portrayed in the Inspired Record.
The Bible Says

“And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is
the breath of life, from under heaven.” “And Noah went into the ark, because of the waters of the Flood.”
“And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the Flood were upon the earth. The same day were
all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was
upon the earth forty days and forty nights.” “And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the
earth; and the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills were covered. Fifteen
cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.” “And the waters prevailed upon the
earth an hundred and fifty days.” [19]
“BY the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the
water: whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished.” “And spared not the old
world, but saved Noah bringing in the Flood upon the world of the ungodly.” [20]
“He stood, and measured [“shook,” margin, ARV] the earth: He beheld, and drove asunder the
nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow.” “The mountains saw
Thee, and they trembled: the overflowing of the water passed by: the deep uttered his voice, and lifted up
his hands on high.” [21]
“Which removes the mountains, and they know not: which overturns them in His anger. Which
shakes the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble. He puts forth His hand upon the rock; He
overturns the mountains by the roots. He cuts out rivers [“channels,” ARV] among the rocks.” [22]
“And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged; the fountains also of the
deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained. And the waters
returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were
abated And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month. In the tenth month, on the first day of
the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.” In the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the
first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth. And in the second month, on the seven
and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried.” [23]
“Therefore will we not fear, though the earth do change,

And though the mountains be shaken into the heart of the seas;
Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains tremble with the swelling thereof.”
“Come, behold the works of Jehovah,
What desolation He bath made in the earth.” [24]
“While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and
day and night shall not cease.” “And I will establish My covenant with you; neither shall there any more be
a flood to destroy the earth.” “And the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.” [25]
“For this is as the waters of Noah unto Me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah shall no
more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I will not be wroth with thee nor rebuke thee. For the
mountains may depart, and the hills be removed; but My loving-kindness shall not depart from thee.” [26]
Other Testimony
“But upon the eighth day, dark clouds overspread the heavens. There followed the muttering of
thunder and the flash of lightning. Soon large drops of rain began to fall. Then ‘the fountains of the great
deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.’ Water appeared to come from the clouds
in mighty cataracts. Rivers broke away from their boundaries, and over flowed the valleys. Jets of water
burst from the earth with indescribable force, throwing massive rocks hundreds of feet into the air, and
these, in falling, buried themselves deep in the ground.” [27]
The question is raised frequently, “Why are not more human fossil remains found in the earth?”
The answer is apparent when account is taken of the superior intelligence of mankind over that of the
beasts. “Some of the people bound their children and themselves upon powerful animals, knowing that
these were tenacious of life, and would climb to the highest points to escape the rising waters. Some
fastened themselves to lofty trees on the summit of hills or mountains One spot after another that promised
safety was abandoned. As the waters rose higher and higher, the people fled for refuge to the loftiest
mountains. From the highest peaks, men looked abroad upon a shoreless ocean But the sweet voice of
mercy was no more to be heard by them. Love, no less than justice, demanded that God’s judgments should
put a check on sin. The avenging waters swept over the last retreat, and the despisers of God perished in the
black depths.” [28]
For similar reasons, the fossil remains of the more agile and intelligent animals are far less
abundant than those of the more helpless sorts. The bodies of human beings were buried later and less
deeply than those of the less able creatures, and consequently were exposed to more complete
disintegration and decay. It is doubtful whether any of the human remains discovered are of antediluvian
origin.
“He caused a powerful wind to pass over the earth for the purpose of drying up the waters, which
moved them with great force-in some instances carrying away the tops of mountains like mighty
avalanches. Forming huge hills and high mountains where there were none to be seen before, and burying
the dead bodies with trees, stones, and earth. The waters which had broken forth with such great power, had
moved earth and rocks, and heaped them upon earth’s treasures, and in many instances formed mountains
above them to hide them from the sight and search of men
“The beautiful regular-shaped mountains had disappeared. Stones, ledges, and ragged rocks
appeared upon some parts of the Earth which were before out of sight. Where had been hills and
mountains, no traces of them were visible. Where had been beautiful plains covered with verdure and
lovely plants, hills and mountains were formed of stones, trees, and earth, above the bodies of men and
beasts.”
“Before the Flood there were immense forests. At the time of the Flood these forests were torn up
or broken down and buried in the earth. In some places large quantities of these immense trees were thrown
together and covered with stones and earth by the commotion of the Flood. They have since petrified and
become coal, which accounts for the large coal beds which are now found.” [29]
“The World That Now Is”

The disappearing antediluvian mountains had permitted the rising waters of the sea to sweep
inland in enormous tidal waves. By this tumultuous action, trees, animal bodies, rocks, and soil had been
carried to new locations. Great quantities of vegetation and animal life thus were buried in more or less
dense deposits to become eventually coal, oil, and other fossil formations. The smaller and more dense
particles and organisms had settled to the bottom, and were buried first and most deeply, while the larger
and more mobile creatures found their places above them. The process may be likened to that of shaking
marbles and sand together in a pan of water. Such sorting action by the swiftly moving water in the
successive and overwhelming waves of the Flood doubtless produced much of the presently observed
stratification or differential layering of various types of fossils.
Terrific winds had swept over the earth as the re-creative adjustment of its surface took place. The
combined effect of wind and wave eroded the land deeply, and produced extensive sedimentary and aeolian
or wind-borne deposits. As some of the hill-rimmed areas of the land had arisen during the latter part of the
Deluge year, immense bodies of sea water were impounded in them. In the course of its subsequent escape
from confinement in these elevated basins, much of that water flowed out through the lowest portions of
the encircling rims. Within a comparatively few years, enormous canyons and gorges were thereby cut in
the freshly arisen and as yet unconsolidated rock and soil.
The deeper portions of these impounded bodies of water had no outlet, so there remained briny
inland lakes and dead seas. Even at present the former elevated beach levels of such ancient lakes are still
discernible. Less rainfall than evaporation has diminished these seas until there now remain only meager
remnants of them in such bodies of concentrated salt water as the Dead Sea, the Caspian Sea, and Great
Salt Lake. From some of them the water has wholly disappeared, leaving only residual salt beds in mute
testimony of their former existence.
During the centuries when the inland seas covered greater areas than at present, there was more
opportunity for evaporation, and consequently there was more water available for precipitation as rain and
snow over large surrounding inland regions. Abundant snowfall in the mountains exceeded the rate of
melting, which resulted in huge accumulations of snow and ice. On the slopes and in the valleys, glacial
rivers composed of these snow packs carved great gorges, and left extensive moraine deposits at their
terminal melting places. More recently, the inland water sources have largely disappeared, and rainfall and
snowfall likewise have decreased, so that at present the glaciers in most of the mountainous regions are still
diminishing at a considerable rate. The rivers also no longer fill the valleys they once occupied.
The creative upsurge of the mountain areas during the Deluge year was associated with much of
the bending, tilting, and over thrusting of the strata or layers of rock observable in many places. The soft,
fresh layers of soil deposited by water during the early phases of the Flood were readily deformed during
the later mountain-building activity. They were so plastic that their integrity and conformability remained
intact.
That mighty creative upheaval also involved much friction between portions of the earth as they
were forcibly thrust past each other. This necessarily resulted in the production of great amounts of heat,
which, together with that generated by the decomposition and chemical transformation of buried plant and
animal matter, caused the rocks in many places to be melted. Underground water, too, was converted into
steam at high pressures. As a result, for centuries after the Deluge, large areas were the scenes of volcanic
action. Many thousands of square miles of the surface of the earth were flooded with molten lava or sown
deeply with volcanic dust and cinders. Only a relatively few regions still display such activity, but these
remaining samples reveal significantly what has occurred on a larger scale in the past
“As the Days of Noah”

“But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto
fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” [30]
May God’s people in these last days, when destruction of the world again is imminent, not be
found among those who shall cast their idols of worldliness “to the moles and to the bats, for fear of the
Lord when He arises to shake terribly the earth.” [31]
1. 2 Peter 3:4.
3. Hebrews 11:7, ARV.
7. Genesis 7:11; 2 Peter 3:6.
8. Psalm 46:2, 3, ARV.
9. Isaiah 54:9.
10. Genesis 7:24.
11. Genesis 8:2, 3, 5, A.R.V.
12. Psalm 104:8, ARV.
13. “Spiritual Gifts,” Volume 3, Page 78, 79; cf. “Patriarchs and Prophets,” Page 108.
14. Genesis 8:3,13.
16. Inunanuel Velikovsky, “Worlds in Collision” (1950).
17. Isaiah 28:21; Genesis 18:25.
18. Psalm 115:3; 135:6.
19. Genesis 6:17; 7:7, 10-12, 18-20, 24.
20. 2 Peter 3:5, 6; 2:5.
21. Habakkuk 3:6, 10.
22. Job 9:5, 6; 28:9, 10.
23. Genesis 8:1-5, 13, 14.
24. Psalm 46:2, 8, ARV.
25. Genesis 8:22; 9:11,15.
26. Isaiah 54:9, 10, ARV.
27. “Patriarchs and Prophets,” Page 99; cf. “The Story of Redemption,” Page 66, 67.
29. “Spiritual Gifts,” Volume 3, Page 78, 79; “The Spirit of Prophecy,” Volume 1, Page 80, 81;
“Patriarchs and Prophets,” Page 108.
30. 2 Peter 3:7.
31. Isaiah 2:20, 21.
22. MESSAGES THROUGH NATURE

WHEN the flaming sword at the gate of Eden was placed as a barrier against re-entry therein, the
glorious privilege of direct, daily communion with God was no longer granted to mankind. “By sin man
was shut out from God.” [1] Yet on special and limited occasions the presence of God in the person of
Christ was revealed to men occasionally under the veil of human or angelic garb. By this means Abraham,
Moses, and others of the patriarchs and prophets of old communed with heaven.
“All through the pages of sacred history, where the dealings of God with His chosen people are
recorded, there are burning traces of the great I AM. In all these revelations of the divine presence, the
glory of God was manifested through Christ All the communion between heaven and the fallen race has
been through Christ.” [2]
In order to make the messages from heaven available to all men in all ages, “under the influence of
the Holy Spirit men spoke for God,” [3] and the messages they recorded were “written for our admonition.”
[4] Thus the Holy Scriptures have become the spiritual reference Book for all mankind.
Both before and after Christ’s first advent, the mission of the Holy Spirit has been to “teach you
all things, and bring all things to your remembrance.” [5] “Through the agency of His Spirit and His angels,
He ministers to the children of men.” [6] “The Holy Spirit has been given us as an aid in the study of the
Bible.” [7]
Now, as well as in the days of the apostles, the question often has arisen, “To what extent may all
the people of earth know of God? And what of the many millions who have never read the Bible nor heard
the voice of the human preacher or teacher?” Paul’s answer is pertinent, though it does not relieve the
human messengers of their responsibility. “But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have; for
“Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.” [8]
These words were quoted by the apostle from the well-known psalm concerning the messages
which the Creator has expressed and portrayed in the works of His hands:
“The heavens declare the glory of God;

And the firmament shows His handiwork.
Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night shows knowledge.” [9]
“There is no speech, nor are there words;

Their voice is not heard;
Yet their voice [sound, line, message] goes forth through all the earth,
And their words to the ends of the world.” [10]
From the heavens above and from the earth about and beneath him, every observant person has
opportunity to see something of Divinity. In a limited measure at least, these reveal the touch of a Master
Artist, the perfectly designed handiwork of a Creator, and the healing balm of a Redeemer.
Nature Reveals God

The importance of the natural world as an instructor in the things of God was expressed by Paul
on another occasion in these words: “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has
shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature, namely, His eternal power and
deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse; for
although they knew God they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him, but they became futile in
their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools because
they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the
Creator.” [11]
While men are attempting to fulfill the divine commission, “Go you into all the world, and preach
the gospel to every creature,” [12] God is making some provision for those who “hunger and thirst after
righteousness,” [13] who are not reached by such efforts. “Among the heathen are those who worship God
ignorantly, those to whom the light is never brought by human instrumentality, yet they will not perish.
Though ignorant of the written law of God, they have heard His voice speaking to them in nature, and have
done the things that the law required. Their works are evidence that the Holy Spirit has touched their hearts,
and they are recognized as the children of God.” [14]
Even when the human teacher presents the gospel to those whose minds are darkened either by
paganism or by worldly philosophy, the lessons from God’s book of nature are most enlightening. “The
most effective way to reach the heathen who know not God is through His works. In this way, far more
readily than by any other method, they can be made to realize the difference between their idols, the works
of their own hands, and the true God, the Maker of heaven and earth. There is a simplicity and purity in
these lessons direct from nature that makes them of the highest value to others besides the heathen.”
“Nature is full of lessons of the love of God. Rightly understood, these lessons lead to the Creator. They
point from nature to nature’s God, teaching those simple, holy truths that cleanse the mind, and bring it into
close touch with God.” [15] “In the natural world, God has placed in the hands of the children of men the
key to unlock the treasure house of His word. The unseen is illustrated by the seen; divine wisdom, eternal
truth, infinite grace, are understood by the things that God has made. Then let the children and youth
become acquainted with nature’s laws.” [16]
“But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee. And the birds of the heavens, and they shall tell thee. Or
speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee. And the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. Who knows not
in all these, That the hand of Jehovah hath wrought this?” [17]
The voice of the natural world is ever speaking to the listening ear concerning the creative and
redemptive power of God. In the covering cloud, in the shining sun, in the falling rain and opening bud in
the lowly earth beneath and the starry vault above, God’s name appears in a bold, clear autograph. The
world is His workshop, and on its varied walls are to be seen inscribed His handwriting, as the Owner,
Designer, Engineer, and Master Mechanic of the entire establishment.
God’s Works and Word

While the book of nature is a commentary on the Scriptures, it is important to consider that one
cannot read aright the record in nature without the guidance and viewpoint of inspiration and revelation.
“Only in the light that shines from Calvary can nature’s teaching be read aright.” [18] “The light of Christ,
illuminating our understanding, and shining upon the face of nature, enables us still to read the lesson of
God’s love in His created works!” [19]
Often there is a suggestion that a conflict exists between science and religion. If a religionist is
unacquainted with the facts and principles of the natural world, or if a scientist is unacquainted with the
laws and love of God, there may easily be confusion of ideas and of pronouncements. “Rightly understood,
science and the written word agree, and each sheds light on the other. Together they lead us to God, by
teaching us something of the wise and beneficent laws through which He works.” [20] Science and the
written word must both be rightly understood, if there is to be agreement and if conflict is to be avoided.
“The Author of nature is the Author of the Bible. Creation and Christianity have one God. God is
revealed in nature, and God is revealed in His word.” [21] “Since the book of nature and the book of
revelation bear the impress of the same Mastermind, they cannot but speak in harmony. By different
methods, and in different languages, they witness to the same great truths.” [22]
The Language of Nature

Nature’s vocabulary does not consist of printed words, nor is it made up of an alphabet of letters.
Its dictionary has never been reduced to writing, nor is its grammar a formal one. Nevertheless, it is not
lacking in adequacy of utterance, in shades of meaning, or in breadth of expression. Objects and symbols,
incidents and phenomena, manifestations of matter and energy, color and tone, all contribute to a language
more universal than any human form of speech; but to understand the language of nature requires diligent
study, a spirit of inquiry, and a love of truth.
To him who, in the love of Nature, holds

Communion with her visible forms, she speaks
A various language. [23]
As certain obscure and drab-looking rocks are caused to shine forth in brilliant visible colors when
under the influence of invisible ultraviolet light, and, similarly, invisible ink reveals the text of a hidden
communication, many of the concealed messages of nature must first be illuminated with the supernal
spiritual light of heaven in order to reveal the colorful fluorescent meaning to be conveyed.
God honors the spirit of inquiry so long as it is directed to appropriate ends and is kept within the
bounds of finite comprehension. Moses sought the reason why the bush of the presence in the wilderness
was not burnt. [24] It is commendable to investigate how the lilies grow [25] and to admire how high the
stars are. The beauty of nature may well direct the beholder to the beauty of holiness.
Inscribed on a few of the pages of the book of nature in the library of the Creator are memories of
the past, beauties of the present, and anticipations of the future.
Leaves From Nature’s Notebook

Under our feet the rocks portray much of the history of the Deluge and of the course of events
initiated by it. Fossil snails are filled with clear crystalline rock, rather than with mud or sand. It is thus
seen that the animals still inhabited the shells when their sudden burial occurred. Had they died under
ordinary conditions, the shells would have been unoccupied by the animals and would gradually have filled
up with soil instead. Also, the profusion of fossil remains in many places indicates the turmoil and
magnitude of the Flood.
Again, the minerals in the earth are segregated, and occur in distinct deposits.
“Surely there is a mine for silver,

And a place for gold which they refine.
Iron is taken out of the earth,
And copper is molten out of the stone.” [26]
Were the earth formerly a homogeneous mass, these minerals would not have become separated
by any spontaneous activity of their own. Only a Creator could make a heterogeneous world, with its
materials separated after their sorts and kinds. The mines of earth portray an omnipotent God.
The oldest known trees are but approximately four thousand years old, as indicated by the count of
the rings of corresponding trees which have been cut down. No reason may be assigned why they could not
as well have been two or five or twenty times as old, except that there has not been so much time since the
Deluge. The oldest living things of earth axe younger than the record of the Deluge.
Upon examining the plants, we find that the Creator has made unique provisions for the
perpetuation and distribution of each. Nut trees have edible seeds, but with hard coats which make them
suitable for storage. Squirrels lay away stocks of the nuts for winter’s use, and sometimes forget the storage
places. Thus new plantings of trees are often made at some distance from the parent plant. This hardness of
the shells may prevent one from eating the nuts too rapidly.
Co-operation in the Natural World

For the members of the thistle and dandelion family a unique parachute arrangement is provided
for seed dispersal. On the wings of the wind the seeds travel to distant places and find every suitable new
location for their growth. Most flowers are designed to provide landing platforms for the bees which come
to pollinate the flowers. The flowers also provide nectar to repay the bees for their service. Without such
remuneration the bees would have no incentive to visit the flowers, and without the bees many of the
flowers would not survive.
The beauty of the flowers prompts man to cultivate and care for them in exchange for their
fragrance and loveliness. Other plants persuade their caretakers with the inducement of food, of shelter, or
of clothing materials.
Several beasts of burden are constituted anatomically so as to be conveniently attached to vehicles
and implements. Had man been a creator, he could scarcely have designed a horse so well for draft and
transportation purposes.
“Has thou entered into the treasures of the snow?” [27] Snow is a real treasure, a jewel for beauty,
and a marvel for service. Collected on a high mountainside, it serves as a storage reservoir of water against
the drought of summer. Blanketed by the feathery lightness of a snowfall, plants are protected against the
chill of freezing weather. Subjected to pressure, snow becomes a glacial river of ice to carve a winding
valley or transport massive boulders. Pressed under a sled runner, it melts and refreezes to an almost
frictionless highway.
The seed of the plant contains the promise of restoration of life and beauty and service. The
restoration of favorable conditions causes the seed, tucked away in its inactive state, to enter upon a
newness of life in accordance with the plan of the Creator and Restorer of all things earthly. Its renewed
activity betokens a resurrection.
A Planned World-A World Planner

“Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?” [28] If you were the Creator,
would you have thought of the fine intricacies and adjustments observable and essential in the natural
world? “This is my Father’s world,” made in His own workshop. He made it for His pleasure and for the
habitation and enjoyment of mankind. He has filled it with the lessons of His love and care on every hand.
The Creator has not left His world without provision for its maintenance. As the animals “seek
their food from God,” “He gives to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry.” [29] Much more
than for them, “Thou prepares a table before me,” and “my cup runs over.” [30] The Lord garbs the grass in
velvet green, therefore “shall He not much more clothe you?” [31] He provides perennial life to the trees;
more abundantly, “as the days of a tree,” “Mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.” [32]
The distance from north to south on the earth is a scant thirteen thousand miles, but east and west
are unendingly and infinitely remote from each other; “so far hath He removed our transgressions from us.”
[33] Physically and physiologically, life comes only from antecedent life. Spiritually likewise, “except a
man be born of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” [34] Spiritual life is inherited only by
“the sons of God’ who truly become “like Him,” and “see Him as He is” in His perfection. [35]
“Lo, these are but the outskirts of His ways:

And how small a whisper do we hear of Him!
But the thunder of His power who can understand?” [36]
“The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein He hath made
His wonderful works to be remembered.” [37] “Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and
for His wonderful works to the children of men!” [38]

2. Patriarchs and Prophets,” Page 366
3. 2 Peter 1:21, Goodspeed.
5. John 14:26.
8. Romans 10:18, Revised Standard Version (1946).
9. Psalm 19:1, 2, A.R.V.
10. Psalm 19:3, 4, Smith; cf. ARV and AV.
11. Romans 1:19-25, RS.V.
12. Mark 16:1
13. Matthew 5:6.
15. “Counsels to Teachers,” Page 186, 188, 189.
16. “Counsels to Teachers,” Page 187, 188.
17. Job 12:7-9, A.R.V.
20. “Counsels to Teachers,” Page 426; cf.
21. The Ministry of Healing,” Page 462. Counsels to Teachers Page 395.
23. William Cullen Bryant, “Thanatopis.”
24. Exodus 3:2-5.
25. Matthew 6:28.
26. Job 28:1, 2, ARV.
27. Job 38:22.
28. Matthew 6:27.
29. Psalm 104:21, ARV; 147:9, A.R.V.
30. Psalm 23:5.

31. Matthew 6:30.
32. Isaiah 65:22.
33. Psalm 103:12.
34. John 3:5.
35. 1 John 3:1, 2.
36. Job 26:14, A.R.V.
37. Psalm 111:2-4.
38. Psalm 107:8.
23. “THEY ARE WILLINGLY IGNORANT”

ONE of the greatest bulwarks of the Christian faith is the knowledge of God as the Creator of the
universe, as the Originator, Upholder, and Restorer of all things. “All things were made by Him; and
without Him was not anything made that was made.” [1] “Through faith we understand that the worlds
were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.”
[2] It was through the creative effort of the Omnipotent God that a portion of the invisible energy from His
boundless store was transformed into the visible, tangible things of earth and sea and sky.
Creative Activity Has Ceased

The popular idea of continuous development of the physical features of the earth and of current
progressive improvement of the living forms dwelling upon it finds no support in the Bible. “The works
were finished from the foundation of the world.” [3] “As regards this earth, Scripture declares the work of
creation to have been completed.” [4] He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” [5] As
the first Sabbath for this world drew on, the Creator reviewed the work of His hands, and reported that
everything was very good. In that consummate fashion, “the heavens and the earth were finished,” [6] a
perfect, complete, and enduring work.
There is permanence in the work of the Creator, for “whatsoever God does, it shall be forever.” [7]
Once His word had been “settled in heaven,” and He had “established the earth,” and made all things
thereon, creation was a finished and lasting accomplishment. From that time on, “they continue according
to Your ordinances: for all are Thy servants.” [8]
The earth and other heavenly bodies were not eternally existent, nor did they come into being
spontaneously. Instead they were formed by the word of the Creator. Likewise, the energy possessed by all
these bodies and by their component parts was not originally inherent nor self-acquired. Along with the
other properties conferred upon the material of His creation, God bestowed upon it liberal amounts of
available energy to be employed for many useful purposes. “It is not by an original power inherent in
nature that year by year the earth yields its bounties and continues its march around the sun. It is God’s
power momentarily exercised that keeps it in position in its rotation. It is by His power that vegetation is
caused to flourish, that every leaf appears and every flower blooms. The Lord is constantly employed in
upholding and using as His servants the things that He has made.” [9]
Nature Is Not God

At this point, great care needs to be exercised lest it be concluded that the Creator is immediately
and ever present personally to energize and guide the affairs, not only of the children of men, but as well of
every creature and of every molecule and atom of His creation. He could do that, should He so choose, but
it appears that He has planned and organized the administration of His realm otherwise. “The theory that
God is an essence pervading all nature is one of Satan’s most subtle devices. It misrepresents God and is a
dishonor to His greatness and majesty.” “Had God desired to be represented as dwelling personally in the
things of nature, in the flower, the tree, the spire of grass-would not Christ have spoken of this to His
disciples when He was on the earth? But never in the teaching of Christ is God thus spoken of. Christ and
the apostles taught clearly the truth of the existence of a personal God.” [10]
Very truly, “it is Gods power momentarily exercised” that maintains all things. So also is He the
possessor of the material things of His handiwork. “The sea is His, and He made it,” [11] but neither it nor
any other part of the earth ceased to exist when the dominion over it was transferred to Adam. Similarly,
the energy or power with which God equipped His creation cannot be either augmented or diminished
through efforts of its own or of other created beings. That energy is His own, and can be withdrawn only by
the One by whom it was initially bestowed. It cannot do otherwise than continue to function in the manner
which He directed until the creative order for it is countermanded.
The power is His property. Within the divine limitations of the laws of nature, He has placed it at
the disposal of the creatures of earth, to he directed and employed as they may elect. In the case of
inanimate things on the earth and in the heavens, the laws of nature (of gravitation, momentum, heat, light,
chemical reactivity, electricity, etc.) normally constitute the criterion for the prediction of resultant effects.
The Creator is not capricious. “The beneficent operations of nature are not accomplished by abrupt
and startling interpositions.” Likewise, “men are not permitted to take her work into their own hands. God
works through the calm, regular operation of His appointed laws.” [12] “By the laws of God in nature,
effect follows cause with unvarying certainty.” [13] In the ordinary course of events “the curse causeless
shall not come.” [14]
Nature a Servant
On occasion, and for the accomplishment of specific desirable results, God may elect to cause a
deviation from the ordinary course of nature. It is His privilege and within His power to do so. In the case
of such miracles, God’s extraordinary method of procedure prevails, and replaces temporarily His ordinary
way of doing things, commonly designated as the law of nature.
Even for the administration of the spiritual affairs of the universe, “by His Spirit He is everywhere
present. Through the agency of His Spirit and His angels He ministers to the children of men.” For the
more lowly physical and biological routine of the world, He employs well-organized agencies in the form
of natural laws for the conduct of His realm. “Above the distractions of the earth He sits enthroned; all
things are open to His divine survey; and from His great and calm eternity He orders that which His
providence sees best.” [15]
“Our God is in the heavens:

He bath done whatsoever He hath pleased.” [16]
“He commanded, and they were created.

He bath also established them forever and ever:
He hath made a decree which shall not pass away.” [17]
“They continue this day according to Your ordinances:

For all are Thy servants.” [18]
Energy of all kinds, whether of motion or rest, whether kinetic or potential, physical or chemical,
was no more inherent in matter than was the substance of the matter itself. But the energy and the other
principles and properties with which the Creator endowed matter are used by Him as His agents in the
natural world to accomplish, under His laws, that which He has willed. It has been well said that the laws of
nature constitute the delegated will of the Almighty. “God is constantly employed in upholding and using
as His servants the things that He has made. He works through the laws of nature, using them as His
instruments.” [19] “The Lord does not work through His laws to supersede the laws of nature. He does His
work through the laws and properties of His instruments, and nature obeys a ‘Thus said the Lord.’ [20]
Obedience in Nature
In the instincts and habits of animal life are manifested the laws which were implanted in the
ancestors of these creatures when they were first placed on the earth. The birds in their migratory flights
obey the laws of their being. The web of a spider is exquisite evidence of the artistic pattern impressed
upon its law of life. Though devoid of the powers of reason, every lowly creature is obedient to the rules of
its existence. Even the plants obey the laws of growth and of response to sunlight, water, and temperature.
The seedling never makes the mistake of sending its roots upward and its leaves downward.
While everything else in nature responds to the will of the Creator, “can it be that man, made in
the image of God, endowed with reason and speech, shall alone be unappreciative of His gifts and
disobedient to His laws?” “God desires us to learn from nature the lesson of obedience.” [21] Only those
who have learned and practiced submission to their Creator and Redeemer will he ready for His approval
when He makes up the roster of those who “keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” [22]
Modern Apostasies
With all of the accumulated evidence of the centuries before them, it appears strange that a
disregard for God and His timely warnings should so completely overwhelm the world. But this condition
is a literal and tragic fulfillment of Christ’s prophecy that the attitudes of Noah’s day would be repeated. At
that time, men were absorbed in other interests, “and knew not until the Flood came, and took them all
away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” “ These last-day scoffers not only ignore the fact that
a deluge destroyed their earlier prototypes, but also “they willfully forget, that there were heavens from of
old, and an earth by the word of God.”
In an endeavor to banish from their minds all thought of God and of His creative work, many in
these days direct their entire effort to attempts to explain the origin of the earth and of the universe by a
naturalistic philosophy. The teachers of practically all secular schools, and of many others as well, consider
it their responsibility and duty to propagate such philosophy and to indoctrinate their students with it.
Clear evidence of the truthfulness of the Scriptures is found in the present fulfillment of the
prophecies concerning false teachers who should arise in the last days. Besides scoffing at the creation
record, the pattern of apostasy which was predicted included denial of a Savior, “the Lord that bought
them.” [25] Ignoring the Deluge and its causes and its effects.” [26] Disregard of the imminence of the final
judgment and of the destruction of the earth by fire.” [27] Oppositions of science falsely so-called” [28] in
the form of various theories and fanciful ideas; and inadequate interpretation of “the word of truth,” [29]
the Bible itself.
One item of the prophecy which indeed is distressing and which demands vigilance on the part of
each individual, is that there should be some of these “false teachers among you,” [30] from among the
brethren in the church. It is equally tragic that the time is here when some, even of God’s professed people,
“will not endure the sound doctrine; but, having itching ears, will heap to themselves teachers after their
own lusts; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn aside unto fables.” [31]
Doubtless evolutionism is the most clearly defined antithesis of the Biblical doctrine of creation
and redemption. But there are many other more or less related types of philosophy which are equally
opposed to the teachings of the Scriptures.
Various degrees of spiritualism, under any of its titles, have induced many to seek for vital
information from the dead and from the evil spirits that are abroad. Christian Science disallows the reality
either of a Creator or of sin which requires a Savior. “He spoke, and it was” has no place in such a creed.
The philosophies of behaviorism and determinism have been taught widely in the schools of the
land. These fatalistic doctrines disavow the teaching that man is a free moral agent, which is essential to
conversion and to the acceptance of salvation.
Belief in salvation by one’s own works and in his own way has caused some to neglect obedience
to God’s Decalogue and to His laws of health and physical welfare. On the other hand, some display an
undue zeal for arbitrary and self-interpreted health rules and, like the Pharisees of old, have neglected some
of the weightier matters of the law of God. “The narrow ideas of some would-be health reformers have
been a great injury to the cause of hygiene.” [32]
Theistic evolution admits of a God, but recognizes no need of Him beyond the creation of the
material of the universe with its attendant potentialities for development. To those who possess such a
belief, the plans and purposes and redeeming love of God are meaningless. Many members of Christian
churches concede or accept some form of evolution. They profess belief in God and, to a limited degree, in
the Bible; but to them certain portions of Holy Writ are merely bits of pleasing literature with no
significance for salvation, and the records of creation and of the Deluge are myths. They grant that God
made the materials of the earth, and perhaps a few simple creatures, but that He has permitted the methods
of currently observed variations to develop the present complex physical and biological world.
Evolutionism Versus Creationism

The more decided evolutionists deny all superhuman existence or influence. In their scoffing
attitude they claim that “all things continue” the processes of development in the same fashion as “from the
beginning of the creation.” [33] To them, matter is eternal, and is possessed of intrinsic abilities for
unlimited transformation and organization. The formation of celestial bodies, including the earth, is
presumed to have occurred spontaneously. Likewise, it is assumed by such persons that initial organic
substances and simple forms of life are the result of accident or chance. Adaptation to environment and
survival of the strongest by individual struggle are given as the rules of life and progress. With no concept
of moral law or of sin, such a doctrine leaves no room for redemption and disallows a need of a Savior.
Because they disdain divine aid, the only prospect of betterment is through individual or collective human
effort. These persons are in the dismal condition of “having no hope,” and are “without God.” [34]
In sharp contrast to each and all of these un-Scriptural doctrines, the Bible teaches a religion based
on a personal, omniscient, omnipotent, and long-suffering God. In one short creative week He completed
the physical and biological appointments of the earth, and memorialized that achievement with the
celebration of the Sabbath. During that week He organized the materials of this earth into varied inorganic
structures and complex organic compounds, and from some of these He constructed every sort of plant and
animal that has been upon the earth. Since that time no new types of organisms have been created or
evolved. The crowning act of that week was the formation of man to have dominion over the earth.
Provision was made for his every physical, mental, social, and spiritual need. Under the benevolent laws of
the Almighty he was constituted a free moral agent. Since he elected to violate those laws, he became
degenerate, degraded, and subject to the penalty of death. A loving God made provision for his redemption
through Christ, for his re-creation in the image of God, and for his restoration to a new earth “wherein
dwells righteousness!” [35]
May we look for and hasten that glorious day when the plan of redemption is completed and when
apostasy and “affliction shall not rise up the second time.” [36]
1. John 1:3.
2. Hebrews 11:3.
3. Hebrews 4:3.
5. Psalm 33:9.
6. Genesis 2:1.
8. Psalm 119:89-91.
9. “Testimonies,” Volume 8, Page 260; cf. “The Ministry of Healing,” Page 416;
“Patriarchs and Prophets,” Page 115; “Education,” Page 99.
10. “Testimonies,” Volume 8, Page 291, 265, 266; cf. “The Ministry of Healing,” Page 413
11. Psalm 95:5:
12. “Testimonies to Ministers,” Page 190.
14. Proverbs 26:2.
15. “The Ministry of Healing,” Page 417; “Testimonies,” Volume 8, Page 273; see also Page 23.
16. Psalm 115:1
17. Psalm 148:5, 6, A. RV.
18. Psalm 119:91.
20. “Testimonies,” Volume 6, Page 186; “Patriarchs and Prophets,” Page 114;
“Testimonies,” Volume 8, Page 259, 260.
21. “Testimonies,” Volume 8, Page 327; cf. “Christ’s Object Lessons,” Page 81.
23. Matthew 24:37-39.
24. 2 Peter 3:5, ARV.
25. 2 Peter 2:1
26. 2 Peter 3:5, 6.

27. 2 Peter 3:7, 10-12.
28. 1 Timothy 6:20
29. 2 Timothy 2:15, 16.
30. 2 Peter 2:1.
31. 2 Timothy 4:3, 4, ARV.
33. 2 Peter 3:13.
34. Ephesians 2:12.
35. 2 Peter 3:13.
36. Nahum 1:9.
24. “RESERVED UNTO FIRE”

http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/apologetics.asp
WHILE building the ark, Noah held revival meetings for more than one hundred years. Many at
first appeared to receive the warning. “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily,
therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” [1] As time passed without visual
indication of the impending Flood, men became enamored of their prowess and of their crimes and
debauchery. Apostasy was popular. The church of the old world diminished as the elderly men passed to
their rest and the young people turned to pleasure seeking and drunkenness. As the ark neared completion
only a few of Noah’s aged carpenters were still loyal to the truth, and they lived almost until the Flood
came.
“As the time of their probation was closing, the antediluvians gave themselves up to exciting
amusements and festivities. Do we not see the same repeated in our day? There is a constant round of
excitement that causes indifference to God, and prevents the people from being impressed by the truths
which alone can save them from the coming destruction. [2] Some of the activities in which God’s people
in these last days are tempted to engage are definitely harmful, while many of them are simply means in the
hands of the enemy to distract time and effort from things that are of eternal worth.
In Noah’s day, philosophers declared that it was impossible for the world to be destroyed by
water; so now there are men of science who endeavor to show that the world cannot be destroyed by fire-
that this would be inconsistent with the laws of nature.
“But the God of nature, the Maker and Controller of her laws, can use the works of His hands to
serve His own purpose.” [3] There have been well-intentioned attempts to show that the Deluge was due to
mere deviations from the normal course of nature. This type of philosophy detracts from the significance of
that event as a punishment meted out by the Judge of all the earth, and as a catastrophe of such magnitude
that it required the immediate intervention of the Creator.
As Were the Days of Noah

In these last days again, a philosophy which attempts to show how and where adequate fuels are at
hand for the final destruction of the earth is diverting attention from the God who will, in His own way and
time, devour the whole earth “by the fire of His jealousy. For He shall make even a speedy riddance of all
them that dwell in the land.” [4] The time and the method of the final destruction by fire are on the calendar
of God’s arsenal and are not dependent on man’s atomic or other weapons. God does not delight in the
destruction of the wicked; but when their cup of iniquity is completely filled, “the Lord shall rise up that He
may do His work; and bring to pass His act, His strange act” [5] by which His authority and justice will be
vindicated.
“As in those days which were before the Flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and
giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and they knew not until the Flood came,
and took them all away. So shall be the coming of the Son of man.” [6] Repeating now the experience of
those iniquitous antediluvian days, “the earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they
have transgressed the laws” [7] of their Creator. The sins of these last days are becoming more numerous
and more vicious than were those of that godless generation.

Paul predicted “that in the last days there will come times of stress. For men will be lovers of self,
lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman,
implacable, slanderers, profligates and fierce. Haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit,
lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding the form of religion but denying the power of it. Avoid
such people. For among them are those who will listen to anybody and can never arrive at a knowledge of
truth.” [8]
In anticipation of the final destruction of the earth, God again has planned to have preachers of
righteousness to warn the world of its impending doom. To them is entrusted “the everlasting gospel to
preach unto them that dwell on the earth,” to every nation and tongue and people. Their urgent message is
to “fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come,” and to worship only the
Creator of the heavens and the earth. [9] God sends His warnings in advance so that “you, brethren are not
in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.” [10]
An Ark of Safety Provided

Many earthly objects may endure water, but every organized thing is destroyed by intense heat. In
accordance with God’s blueprint and instructions, Noah “prepared an ark to the saving of his house,” [11]
but no structure of man’s building could protect against the intense heat of that conflagration which will
melt the very elements of earth. For protection against those final fires, it will not be possible to make any
other preparation than the development of a character in harmony with Christ’s ideal for His children.
All of the physical protection is being constructed in the heavenly workshop of the Creator. “I go
to prepare a place for you!” “In My Father’s house are many mansions,” and I will come again, and receive
you unto Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” [12] The divine Builder is preparing an ark of
safety, the New Jerusalem, to outride the violence of the fiery cataclysm and thereby to preserve His saints.
“While the earth was wrapped in the fire of destruction, the righteous abode safely in the Holy City.” [13]
“Thus God will destroy the wicked from off the earth. But the righteous will be preserved in the midst of
these commotion, as Noah was preserved in the ark.” [14]
A Desolate Wilderness
The desolation of the earth will occur in two stages, one prior to the millennium, the other in
connection with its close. The first of these has been described briefly in the following words:
“The whole earth heaves and swells like the waves of the sea. Its surface is breaking up. Its very
foundations seem to be giving way. Mountain chains are sinking. Inhabited islands disappear. The seaports
that have become like Sodom for wickedness, are swallowed up by the angry waters.” “The King of kings
descends upon the cloud, wrapped in flaming fire. The heavens are rolled together as a scroll, the earth
trembles before Him, and every mountain and island is moved out of its place.” [15] “And the kings of the
earth, and the great men, and every bondman, and every freeman, hid themselves; and said to the mountains
and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the wrath of the Lamb.” [16] “Amid the reeling of the earth the
voice of the Son of God calls forth the sleeping saints.” “At the coming of Christ the wicked are blotted
from the face of the whole earth consumed with the spirit of His mouth, and destroyed by the brightness of
His glory. Christ takes His people to the city of God, and the earth is emptied of its inhabitants.”
“The whole earth appears like a desolate wilderness. The ruins of cities and villages destroyed by
the earthquake, uprooted trees, ragged rocks thrown out by the sea or torn out of the earth itself, are
scattered over its surface, while vast caverns mark the spot where the mountains have been rent from their
foundations.” “Here is to be the home of Satan with his evil angels for a thousand years. For a thousand
years, Satan will wander to and fro in the desolate earth, to behold the results of his rebellion against the
law of God.” [17]
During this period of desolation, the earth will be unorganized and dark, much as it was before the
entrance of light on the first day of creation. “I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and
the heavens, and they had no light. There was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld,
and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of
the Lord, and by His fierce anger!” [18]
“Behold, the day of the Lord comes to lay the land desolate: and He shall destroy the sinners
thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light. The sun
shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.” [19] I will cover the
heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her
light.” [20]
The greatest difference between the initial condition of the earth, “without form, and void” in the
beginning, and that prevailing during this period of desolation is in the character of the surface of the earth.
Originally water covered all the land. After the destruction at Christ’s advent the land will be a mass of
chaotic debris and the equivalent of rock and ashes. The entire earth will he a barren desert.
The Final Destruction With Fire

During the thousand years between the first and the second resurrection, the judgment of the
wicked takes place.” “At the close of the thousand years, Christ again returns to the earth. He is
accompanied by the host of the redeemed, and attended by a retinue of angels He bids the wicked dead
arise to receive their doom.” [21] After the resurrection of the wicked, Satan brings them and his angel
hosts up before the Holy City to attack it. But at that time, Christ is crowned in their presence, and their
sentences are declared. In their wrath those who have been deceived by Satan turn upon him and his
leaders.
The day then has arrived “that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do
wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that comes shall burn them up that it shall leave them neither root
nor branch.” [22] That fateful “day of the Lord will come; in the which the elements shall melt with fervent
heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” [23]
This time, God will make a final end of sin. “For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be:
yea, thou shall diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.” [24] The wicked “shall be ashes in the day
that I shall do this, said the Lord of hosts.” [25] Every particle of organized material will be converted back
to the lifeless condition of the initial earth. The very soil and rocks of earth will then be in readiness to be
used again as they were during the days of creation. The great Creator will take this unorganized and
purified building material, and from it make a new world of life and beauty. Then will be fulfilled the
promise for which the redeemed of all ages have looked, “new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells
righteousness.” [26]
3. Ibid., Page 103.
4. Zephaniah 1:18; cf. 3:8.
5. Isaiah 28:21 ; cf. “The Great Controversy,” Page 627.
6. Matthew 24:38, 39, A.R.V.
7. Isaiah 24:5.
8. 2 Timothy 3:14, Revised Standard Version (1946).
9. Revelation 14:6, 7.
10. 1 Thessalonians 5:4.
11. Hebrews 11:7.
12. John 14:2, 3.
15. “The Great Controversy,” Page 637, 641,642.
16. Revelation 6:15, 16.
17. “The Great Controversy,” Page 644, 657, 659, 660.
18. Jeremiah 4:23-26.
19. Isaiah 13:9, 10.
20. Ezekiel 32:7.
21. “The Great Controversy,” Page 660, 662.
22. Malachi 4:1.
23. 2 Peter 3:10.
24. Psalm 37:10.
25. Malachi 4:1

26. 2 Peter 3:13.
25. THE RESTORATION OF THE DOMINION

IN THE midst of a desolated earth, dark and as unorganized and empty as at the beginning, the
Redeemer will again establish His creative workshop. He will set His hand to restore the world to the
pattern of its pristine perfection and loveliness. Once more He will establish mountains and hills, valleys
and plains, seas and streams. Once again will He vivify portions of the material of earth to form plants of
every sort for beauty and pleasure, for shelter and food. And once more He will create animals “after their
kind” for service to man and to the rest of creation.
As a result of the original creative activities, “there were heavens from of old, and an earth
compacted out of water and amidst water, by the word of God.’ [1] Re-creation will be realized from the
materials purified in the lake of fire. But these materials are the same constituent substances of the very
same earth as before. The destruction of the organization and contents of the world consisted in a process of
demolition of its form rather than in annihilation of its substance. Thus the new heavens and the new earth
will be a restoration of God’s original creation.
One re-creative act will be notably different from that of the original work. Instead of forming
entirely new men and women from “the dust of the ground,” the Savior-Creator will redeem and restore
those who already have lived upon the earth and who have shown themselves worthy of His salvation. He
“will change our lowly body to be like His glorious body, by the power which enables Him even to subject
all things to Himself.” [2] We shall all be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this
mortal must put on immortality.” [3] “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are
passed away; behold, all things are become new.” [4]
The dominion over the earth which was given to Adam was forfeited through disobedience. But
all that was lost by sin will be restored. Through the plan of redemption and re-creation, Christ has regained
the kingdom and will share it with His children. He “hath made us kings and priests unto God.” [5] “And
the kingdom and dominion shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High.” [6] No longer will
the earth be held in alien enemy hands, for “unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom
shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.” [7]
An Ideal World
The new earth will be as perfect as was the original one. To ensure the maintenance of that
perfection, “there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defiles.” [8] The people who inhabit it “shall be
all righteous.” [9] They are to be the chosen ones who manifest humility, fortitude, forbearance, and
meekness. [10]
God holds high ideals for the regents of His earthly realm. It does not yet appear what we shall be:
but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.” [11] “Be
you therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” [12] Only “the righteous shall
inherit the land, and dwell therein forever.” [13]
In anticipation of a holy existence and of sovereignty in that eternal possession, preparation must
be made in this present world. Habits that would be unseemly on the streets of the New Jerusalem should
be curbed and eliminated now. “Higher than the highest human thought can reach is God’s ideal for His
children. Godliness-godlikeness-is the goal to be reached.” This involves “an education that is as high as
heaven and as broad as the universe; an education that secures to the successful student his passport from
the preparatory school of earth to the higher grade, the school above.” “Heaven is a school; its field of
study, the universe; its teacher, the Infinite One. A branch of this school was established in Eden; and, the
plan of redemption accomplished, education will again be taken up in the Eden school.” [14]
That the needed mental and spiritual preparation be acquired, the admonition is given, “Be
renewed in the spirit of your mind; and put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness
and true holiness.” [15] God “designs that His servants shall possess more intelligence and clearer
discernment than the worldling, and He is displeased with those who are too careless or too indolent to
become efficient, well-informed workers.” “All His biddings are enablings.” [16] “Thou shall love the Lord
thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.” [17]
Thus the physical being must also be cared for in harmony with the purposes of the Creator.
“Beloved, I wish above all things that thou may prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospers.” [18]
“Know you not that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have from God?
and you are not your own; for you were bought with a price: glorify God therefore in your body.” “If any
man destroys the temple of God, him shall God destroy.” [19] “The physical life is to be carefully
preserved and developed, that through humanity the divine nature may be revealed in its fullness.” “Our
habits should be brought under the control of a mind that is itself under the control of God.” [20]
Above all else, obedience to God’s will, as revealed in the Scriptures and in the laws of nature, is a
requisite to kingship with Christ. “Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to
the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” [21] “And the very God of peace sanctify
you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He that calls you.” [22]
Restored to Kingship
When Adam disobeyed the commands of God, the animals no longer were obedient to him or
subservient to his will. After the Deluge the animal creation manifested still more fear of their cruel
overseers. [23] But in the new earth the tranquillity of Eden will again prevail. “There man will be restored
to his lost kingship, and the lower order of beings will again recognize his sway; the fierce will become
gentle, and the timid trustful.” [24] “The beasts of the field shall he at peace with thee.” [25]
The wild beasts will no longer be ravenous, for “the wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the
lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent’s food.” “And the leopard shall lie down with
the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the
cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the sucking child shall play on
the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt nor
destroy in all My holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters
cover the sea.” [26]
The divine knowledge is “the wisdom that is from above,” and is pure, gentle, and peaceable. [27]
It is in marked contrast to “the knowledge of good and evil” which has resulted in so much strife among
men and such ferocity in the animal creation. It will indeed be glorious for God’s people ever to “dwell in a
peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting Places.” [28] Under such perfectly ideal
conditions the administration of the restored dominion will be a delight forever.
Though charged with the responsibility of supervision over the works of creation on the earth, the
redeemed will still be underlords of the King of the universe. They will serve Him diligently and faithfully.
On the other hand, as “heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ,” [29] they will as overcomers inherit all
things.” [30] What a grand heritage that will be when “there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God
and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him and they shall reign for ever and ever.” [31]
The wonderful plan of redemption is accomplished, and salvation is assured. “And every creature
which is in heaven, and on the earth and all that are in them’ heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory,
and power be unto Him that sits upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.” [32]
“Thus said the Lord that formed the earth and made it; He hath established it, He created it not in
vain, He formed it to be inhabited.” [33] “God’s original purpose in the creation of the earth is fulfilled as it
is made the eternal abode of the redeemed.” [34] “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” [35]
1. 2 Peter 3:5, ARV.

2. Philippians 3:2, Revised Standard Version (1946).
3. 1 Corinthians 15:51-53.
5. Revelation 1:6
6. Daniel 7:27
7. Micah 4:8.
9. Isaiah 60:21.
10. Matthew 5:3, 10, 11, 5; cf. Psalm 37:11.

11. 1 John 3:2.
12. Matthew 5:48; cf. Deuteronomy 18:13.
13. Psalm 37:29.
14. “Education,” Page 18, 19, 301.
15. Ephesians 4:23, 24; cf. Romans 12:2.
17. Mark 12:30; cf. Deuteronomy 6:5.
18. 3 John 1:2.
19. 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20; 3:16,17, ARV.
20. “Christ’s Object Lessons,” Page 348; cf. “The Ministry of Healing,” Page 130.
22. 1 Thessalonians 5:23, 24.
23. Genesis 9:2.
25. Job 5:23.
26. Isaiah 35:9; 65:25; 11:6-9 ARV.
27. James 3:17.
28. Isaiah 32:18.
29. Romans 8:17.
30. Revelation 21:7
33. Isaiah 45:18.
35. Matthew 25:34.
26. “EYE HATH NOT SEEN”

THE home of the redeemed is often designated as heaven, though the city which may be called
their urban home will only occupy that location until the end of the millennium. For long the New
Jerusalem has been ready, awaiting the entry of God’s people when Christ comes to take them thither.
There they will dwell for the thousand-year duration of the court session in which the cases of the wicked
will be considered. At the close of that period the city will be transferred to the earth, of which it will
constitute the capital and metropolis. When the whole earth about it has been rejuvenated and re-created,
the appointments of city and country alike will vie in beauty with the most gorgeously decorated palace
grounds. The dwellers in that fair land then will have the privilege of both urban and rural homes. They will
have correspondingly diversified activities and pleasures available. Though the descriptions of the New
Jerusalem are often ascribed to the entire new earth, the Biblical statements are seldom uncertain. Certain
features of the city are not indicated for the remainder of the earth.
A Real Home
Many think of the home of the saved as a spiritual abode of an ethereal character, one that is
merely a pleasing product of the imagination. It is a truly spiritual place, but in the sense of sacred,
substantial reality. Abraham “looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”
[1] Had the city not been a real one, no foundations would be required for it. It is spiritual and holy because
it was designed and constructed by God Himself in His heavenly workshop. The very materials of which its
walls, gates, and streets are constituted are sturdy and tangible. They are, in fact, some of the most durable
substances available in the earth for structural purposes.
“A fear of making the future inheritance seem too material has led many to spiritualize away the
very truths which lead us to look upon it as our home. Christ assured His disciples that He went to prepare
mansions for them in the Father’s house In the Bible the inheritance of the saved is called a country. [2]
There the heavenly Shepherd leads His flock to fountains of living waters. The tree of life yields its fruit
every month, and the leaves of the tree are for the service of the nations. There are ever-flowing streams,
clear as crystal, and beside them waving trees cast their shadows upon the paths prepared for the ransomed
of the Lord. There the wide-spreading plains swell into hills of beauty, and the mountains of God rear their
lofty summits. On those peaceful plains, beside those living streams, God’s people, so long pilgrims and
wanderers, shall find a home.” [3]
In the Scriptures are found many statements descriptive of the ideal habitation which was destined
to be the possession of God’s faithful people. Extensive portions of the prophecies given through Isaiah,
Ezekiel, and other Old Testament writers were directed primarily to the restoration of “the Holy Land” [4]
and to the preparation of the literal Israelites for their enduring occupation and possession of that “Land of
Promise.” [5] Some of the predictions have a dual application, while a few of them concern only the final
state and environment of the redeemed. Since ancient Israel did not fulfill their God-given responsibilities
nor avail themselves of the unique privileges which were offered to them, a number of the prophetic
promises still await future fulfillment.
In recording the divine revelations which they received, the prophets were limited necessarily to
human forms of expression. The language and vocabulary of man are inadequate. The experiences with
which he is familiar and his acquaintance with them are restricted by his locality and environment. Hence
the prophetic descriptions of the future home of the saved can only faintly portray the complete detail of the
appointments of the new earth. No mere words can depict the perfection, the elegance, and the grandeur of
that holy estate. “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things
which God hath prepared for them that love Him.” [6]
Some Features of the New Earth

Though the descriptions in the Bible of the re-created earth are fragmentary and incomplete, they
contain enough to be enlightening and encouraging. They enable us in a small measure to anticipate with
hope and pleasure the glories and activities of that better land.
Possibly the geography of the renewed earth may not be identical with the original as it was in the
days of Adam and Eve, but it will have some of the same types of land and water forms. “I will open rivers
in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the
dry land springs of water.” [7] No torrential rainfall is predicted; but, as in Eden, mild precipitation suitable
for the growth of vegetation is promised. “I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall
he showers of blessing.” [8] “And He will give the rain for thy seed, wherewith thou shall sow the ground
And there shall be brooks and streams of waters.” [9]
Means of travel will be important in order for the people to gather frequently at the capital of the
new earth. One of the main highways is named. “And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be
called The way of holiness. The redeemed shall walk there.” [10] Apparently a number of means of
transportation will be available, including animals and some mechanical devices. “They shall bring all your
brethren for an offering unto the Lord out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, to My holy mountain
Jerusalem, said the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the
Lord.” [11] These vehicles are in part for the transportation of the offerings to be brought to the religious
gatherings each month and each week. “And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and
from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me, said the Lord.” [12]
Vegetation will again flourish as it did at the beginning before the curse. 1nstead of the thorn shall
come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree.” [13] “I will put in the
wilderness the cedar, the acacia, and the myrtle, and the oil tree. I will set in the desert the fir tree, the pine,
and the box tree together. That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the
hand of Jehovah bath done this, and the Holy One of Israel bath created it.” [14]
The wild beasts will cease to be ravenous and vicious, for I will cause the evil beasts to cease out
of the land.” [15] Once more, man will have dominion over a number of domestic animals. These may aid
him, if necessary, in his daily activities and lighten his work, some of which, though not wearisome, might
require more power than he could supply unaided. “In that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures; the
oxen likewise and the young asses that till the ground shall eat savory provender.” [16]
Physical Activities
The new earth is to be a place of rest and refreshment, but not of idleness and inactivity. To rest,
or cease from activity, implies some employment from which to rest. In Eden “God appointed labor as a
blessing to man, to occupy his mind, to strengthen his body, and to develop his faculties. In mental and
physical activity, Adam found one of the highest pleasures of his holy existence.” “The Creator has
prepared no place for the stagnating practice of indolence.” [17] “In the earth made new, the redeemed will
engage in the occupations and pleasures that brought happiness to Adam and Eve in the beginning. The
Eden life will be lived, the life in garden and field.” [18]
One of the important industries of the redeemed will be agriculture. “They shall plant vineyards,
and cat the fruit of them They shall not plant, and another eat They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth
for trouble.” [19] “They shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.” [20] “I saw many of the saints
go out into the field by the houses to do something with the earth; not as we have to do with the earth here;
no, no.” [21]
Some of the inhabitants of the new earth will be carpenters and masons. In addition to the city
home which God has provided, other houses for service and recreation will be built. Many will live far
from their urban residence, and they may choose rather to stay out in the country much of the time. “My
people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.” [22] The
Creator will enable His children to share in the preparation of some of those “sure dwellings.” He has
arranged that “they shall build houses, and inhabit them. They shall not build, and another inhabit for as the
days of a tree are the days of My people, and Mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.” [23]
Music and Song

Music has ever been one of the means employed for enjoyment and for the worship of the Creator.
Among the angels there have been choirs ever since their existence began. When the creation of this earth
Was completed, “the morning stars sang together.” [24] When the earth has been re-created, the prophet
John beheld “the redeemed dwelling in the City of God,” and he “caught the sound of music there, and
song, such music and song as, save in the visions of God, no mortal ear has heard or mind conceived.” [25]
“As well the singers as the players on instruments shall be there.” [26] “And I heard the voice of harpers
harping with their harps: and they sung as it were a new song before the throne.” [27] “The ransomed of the
Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads.” [28]
“As Jesus opens before them the riches of redemption, and the amazing achievements in the great
controversy with Satan, the hearts of the ransomed thrill with more fervent devotion, and with more
rapturous joy they sweep the harps of gold. And thousands of voices unite to swell the mighty chorus of
praise.” [29]
“He Hath Prepared for Them a City”

The capital and metropolis of the new earth, the city which Paul said “He hath prepared for them,”
[30] is to be incomparably larger than any city ever built or proposed by man. A reasonable estimate of its
size, based on the Roman furlong in use at the time the Revelation was written, would make this square city
about three hundred thirty miles on each side. The area of the city, about 110,000 square miles, would
nearly equal that of Norway or of Great Britain and Ireland together, and would approximate that of such a
state as Colorado or Arizona. If equally spaced, three gates on each side of it would still be more than one
hundred miles apart.
A magnificent avenue or boulevard will traverse that royal city, and will lead directly to the
entrance to the throne of the great King. “And he showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal,
proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the midst of the street thereof.” [31] From the
verdant parkways between the river and the two broad lanes of the street on either side of it, will he seen
rising in majestic splendor the dual trunks of the tree of life. “At first, I thought I saw two trees. I looked
again, and saw that they were united at the top in one tree.” [32] The tree “yielded her fruit every month,”
[33] of twelve glorious sorts for the health of God’s people.
“The Joy of the Whole Earth”

To the more acute restored vision of redeemed mankind, the sun and the moon will appear much
more radiant than at present. But to the dwellers in the City of God, the brilliance of these light bearers will
pale into insignificance in comparison with the light of God’s glory. “The city had no need of the sun,
neither of the moon,” “for the Lord God gives them light.” [34]
“Be you glad and rejoice forever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing
And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people.” [35] The Holy City, adorned as a bride for her
husband, is all over glorious. Jeweled foundations, jasper walls, pearly gates, and golden streets make it the
pride and the joy of the whole earth the city of the great King.” [36] Those to whom the dominion has been
restored, the regent “kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it.” [37]
After such a long separation from Him, now once more “the people of God are privileged to hold
open communion with the Father and the Son.” [38] No longer will there be need of a typical tabernacle as
a token of God’s presence, for “they shall see His face.” [39] “I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God
Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.” “The throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it.” [40]
An Eternal Token of Promise

“And there was a rainbow round about the throne.” [41] When Noah and his family left the ark,
the rainbow was given as surety of the promise that “the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all
flesh.” [42] When all of the redeemed shall have been preserved through the fires that destroy the wicked, it
will be seen that “the rainbow encircling the throne on high is also a token to God’s children of His
covenant of peace. As the bow in the cloud results from the union of sunshine and shower, so the bow
above God’s throne represents the union of His mercy and His justice.” [43]
“The rainbow of promise encircling the throne on high is an everlasting testimony that God so
loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but
have everlasting life.” [44] It will be an assurance to His people that “affliction shall not rise up the second
time,” [45] and that they shall “not see evil any more.” [46] Neither flood nor fire shall destroy the earth
again, for into that blessed new earth and its holy capital city “there shall in no wise enter anything that
defiles: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” [47]
“There, immortal minds will contemplate with never-failing delight the wonders of creative
power, the mysteries of redeeming love.” “And the years of eternity, as they roll, will bring richer and still
more glorious revelations of God and of Christ.” [48] “There every power will be developed, every
capability increased. The grandest enterprises will be carried forward, the loftiest aspirations will be
reached, the highest ambitions realized. And still there will appear new heights to surmount, new wonders
to admire, new truths to comprehend, fresh objects of study to call forth the powers of body and mind and
soul.” [49]
We speak of the realms of the blest,

That country so bright and so fair,
And oft are its glories confessed-
But what must it be to be there!
We speak of its pathway of gold-
Its walls decked with jewels so rare,
Its wonders and pleasures untold-
But what must it be to be there!
Do Thou, midst temptation and woe,

For heaven my spirit prepare;
And shortly I also shall know
And feel what it is to he there.
Then o’er the bright fields we shall roam,
In glory celestial and fair,
With saints and with angels at home,
And Jesus Himself will be there.” [50]
May the God of peace, the “faithful Creator” [51] of all things, establish His divine workshop in
your life, “for it is God which works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” [52] “It is your
Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” [53]
1. Hebrews 11:10.
2. See Hebrews 11:14-16.
3. “The Great Controversy,” Page 674, 675; “The Story of Redemption,” Page 430, 431.
4. Zechariah 2:12.
5. Hebrews 11:9; cf. Acts 7:5.
6. 1 Corinthians 2:9; cf. Isaiah 64:4.
7. Isaiah 41:18.
8. Ezekiel 34:26.
9. Isaiah 30:23-25, A.R.V.
10. Isaiah 35:9, 9.
11. Isaiah 66:20.
12. Isaiah 66:23.
13. Isaiah 55:13.
14. Isaiah 41:19, 20, A.R.V.
15. Ezekiel 34:25; cf. Isaiah 35:9; 65:25; 11:6-9.
16. Isaiah 30:23, 24, ARV; cf. Psalm 8:6, 7.
18. “Prophets and Kings,” Page 730; cf. “Education,” Page 303.
19. Isaiah 65:21-23.
20. Amos 9:14.
21. “Early Writings,” Page 18; “Testimonies,” Volume 1, Page 68.
22. Isaiah 32:18.
23. Isaiah 65:21, 22.
24. Job 39:7.
25. “Prophets and Kings,” Page 729, 730.
26. Psalm 87:7.
27. Revelation 14.2, 3.
28. Isaiah 35:10.
30. Hebrews 11:16.
31. Revelation 22:1, 2, A.R.V.; cf. A.V.
32. “Early Writings,” Page 17. “Testimonies,” Volume 1, Page 61.
34. Revelation 21:23; 22:5.
35. Isaiah 65:18, 19.
36. Psalm 48:2.
40. Revelation 21:22; 22:1
41. Revelation 4:3; cf. Ezekiel 1:28.
42. Genesis 9:15.
44. John 3:16; “The Desire of Ages,” Page 493.
45. Nahum 1:9.
46. Zephaniah 3:15.
48. “The Great Controversy,” Page 676-678.
49. “Prophets and Kings,” Page 731; “Education,” Page 307
50. Hymn by Elizabeth Mills.
51. l Peter 4:19.
52. Philippians 2:13.
53. Luke 12:32.
27. Creationist Internet Resources
Alien And UFOs

http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/alien.asp
Anthropology, Human Ancestry, Alleged ape-men

http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/Anthropology.asp
Apologetics, Defending the Faith

http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/apologetics.asp
Archaeology
http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/archaeology.asp
Arguments creationists should NOT use

http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/dont_use.asp
Astronomy and Astrophysics

Bible
Cloning
http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/cloning.asp
Communism and Nazism

http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/communism.asp
Countering the Critics

http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/critics.asp
Creation Compromises
http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/compromise.asp
Creation Scientists And other Biographies

http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/bios/default.asp
Creation: Why It Matters

http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/creation-matters.asp
Darwin, Charles
http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/darwin.asp
Design Features
http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/design.asp
Dinosaurs
http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/dinosaurs.asp
Education
http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/education.asp
Embryonic Recapitulation and Similarities

http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/embryonic.asp
Environmentalism
http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/environmentalism.asp
Family And Marriage

http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/family.asp
Flood
http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/flood.asp
Fossils
http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/fossils.asp
Galileo, Geocentrism, and Joshua’s Long Day

http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/geocentrism.asp
Genesis
Genetics
http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/genetics.asp
Geology
http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/geology.asp
God
History
http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/history.asp
Human Life: Abortion and Euthanasia

http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/humanlife.asp
Ice Age
http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/iceage.asp
Information Theory
http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/infotheory.asp
Jesus Christ
http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/Jesuschrist.asp
Linguistics
http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/linguistics.asp
Mammoths
http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/mammoth.asp
Morality and Ethics

http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/morality.asp
Mutations
http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/mutations.asp
Natural Selection
http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/selection.asp
Noah’s Ark
http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/noah.asp
Origin of Life
http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/origin.asp
Philosophy
http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/philosophy.asp
Plate Tectonics
http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/tectonics.asp
Probabilities
http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/probabilities.asp
Racism
http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/racism.asp
Radiometric Dating
http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/dating.asp
Religion, Humanism, etc.

http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/religion.asp
Scopes Trial
http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/scopes.asp
Speciation
http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/speciation.asp
Thermodynamics and Order

http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/thermodynamics.asp
‘Vestigial’ Organs
http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/vestigialorgans.asp
Young Age Evidence

http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/young.asp
www.maranathamedia.com.au

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THE CREATOR AND HIS WORKSHOP

THE CREATOR AND HIS WORKSHOP

Pacific Press Publishing Association

This Is My Father’s World

This is my Father’s world,

This is my Father’s world;

His hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father’s world,

This is my Father’s world;

This is my Father’s world,

This is my Father’s world;

Reprinted from “Thoughts for Everyday Living” by Maltbie D. Babcock,

Creationism On The Internet

1. “HE IS BEFORE ALL THINGS”

“These Three Are One”

1. Romans 1:23, 25.

2. “ALL THINGS WERE MADE BY HIM”

“They Willingly Are Ignorant”

“The Lord That Makes All Things”

24. Jeremiah 51:15; cf. 10:12.

3. “THE HOST OF HEAVEN WORSHIP YOU.”

“I Will Be Like the Most High”

the creation of man.” [14]

Excluded From Heaven

God’s Way Triumphs

4. LET THERE BE LIGHT, AND A FIRMAMENT

“The Day Is Your, the Night Also”

“The Firmament Shows His Handiwork”

17. Proverbs 8:28.

5. “THE MOUNTAINS ROSE”

“The Sea Is His, and He Made It”

“His Wonders in the Deep”

marvelous manner “His wonders in the deep.” [16]

“The Strength of the Hills Is Mine Also”

19. Revelation 21:11-21.

6. “LET THE EARTH BRING FORTH GRASS”

7. “CONSIDER THE LILIES”

Beauty Reveals God’s Character

Life Only From God

Faith and Works

Receiving and Giving

“You Are the Branches”

Perfection in Little Things

1. “The Desire of Ages,” Page 70.

8. “LET THERE BE LIGHT”

The Days of Creation Week

“Lights in the Firmament”

“The Greater Light”

“The Lesser Light” – “The Stars Also”

Worship of the Heavenly Bodies

9. “BEHOLD THE HEIGHT OF THE STARS!”

“The Stars of God”

The Glory of the Stars

“How High They Are”

17. Psalm 8:3.

10. “EVERY LIVING CREATURE”

Instincts of the Animals

“After His Kind”

Life Only From Life

“Every Green Herb for Food”

“Behold now, behemoth, which I made as well as thee;

11. “ASK NOW THE BEASTS”

“They Shall Teach Thee”

“But My People Know Not”