The Peace of the Lord, brothers! We will now talk about the first chapter of the Bible: Genesis, chapter 1.

I'm going to read this chapter so that we can make the most of all the comments that we have in mind, okay?!

So the Bible starts like this: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen. 1: 1). Heaven and earth were created by God.

“The earth was formless and empty; (...) ”(Gen. 1: 2a),

perhaps in your translation it is written: “it was formless and empty” or “it became formless and empty”,

here is something important that I need to [emphasize]!

Well, there is a theory that between verses 1 and 2 infinite years have passed, that you can’t count,

God would have created the heavens and the earth and given a certain moment the earth would have become formless and empty,

this theory is based on the fact that Satan's rebellion caused chaos on earth,

and then it [the earth] would have had to be, in a way, remade, reformed or recreated.

This theory has an important basis, because when we read chapter 1, chapter 2 and chapter 3, we see that the serpent appears in the Garden of Eden.

And that serpent was used by Satan, let's say so, right?!

But had Satan, on the sixth day of creation, already rebelled and had done the whole path of rebellion happen? No…

It would be such a short amount of time, so this theory has a certain weight when it comes to answering these questions, but I am not going to stick to it, ok?!

The fact is that the word translated as "was" is the word "hayâh" [in Hebrew] and that word "hayâh" in Hebrew means: "to be", "to become", "to come into existence",

it also means "to happen", and "to appear".

So several translations are possible from this word only: "the earth was formless and empty", "it became formless and empty"...

And the Bible says: “and darkness was over the face of the deep;…” (Gen. 1: 2b), what is this "deep"? It is the abyss of the sea, alright?!

The Bible usually speaks of an abyss in the depth of the sea, because it is deep it is called "abyss".

“(...) and the Spirit of God was hovering [moving] over the face of the waters [over the waters] ”. (Gen. 1: 2c)

It is interesting to note that the Bible does not have a very clear description of the creation of water,

It only says that the water was already there and that the Spirit of God was moving on the face of the water.

It is also interesting to realize that the water is practically indestructible.

The water evaporates, if you heat it, it will evaporate, then there is condensation, and it rains again, right?!

It can fall in the form of rain, you can freeze it, you can do whatever it is, it is always on the move, right?!

"(...) and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters".

I was thinking about it and I found it interesting in how the Bible talks about water and spirit, right?!

The Word of God is compared to water that cleanses and also to the Spirit.

Jesus says: “The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life”. (Jn 6:63b)

and He also says: "You are already clean because of the Word I have spoken to you" (Jn 15:3).

And then He talks about water, for example, we have baptisms in the spirit and in the water, right?!

This is a very interesting subject, but let's continue…

The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters, "and God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light”(Ge 1: 3).

The word "be" here is the same word "haâyâh" [Hebrew], in which we say that the "earth was formless and empty" or that it "became"...

So when God said: "Let there be light", He could be saying simply like this: "Let the light appear" or "Let there be light”

or that the light will simply appear again.

“(...) 'Let there be light'; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness” (Ge 1:3,4).

Notice that darkness already existed, so it goes on like this: “God called the light Day; and the darkness He called Night.

And there was evening and there was morning, [in the translation I am using it is written like this:] first day”(Gen. 1: 5).

But I have to comment about this: the Hebrew text [original manuscripts] doesn’t say “first day”,

it actually says "one day", I will show you that it says "echad yom" [Hebrew].

That word "echad" means "one", it should be translated as "one day". "There was evening and there was morning, one day", that is, there was darkness and there was...

there was night and there was day, one day.

Because the word "first day" is "ri’shôwn yom" [in Hebrew],

that word "ri’shôwn" means "first" and "yom" means "day", the translation of "first day" you will find in Leviticus 23:40.

If you have an app, any way to consult the [original] Hebrew text, you will find that "ri’shôwn yom" is the correct translation for "first day".

So there [in Ge 1:5] is not necessarily written “first day”, alright?!

And then, again, this gives a margin for this "first day" to have happened to give a "start", from the moment when the earth was in chaos.

Verse 6: "And God said, 'Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters'" (Ge 1:6).

When God says: "Let there be an expanse", He divides the waters: the waters which were above and the waters that were below.

The word "expanse" can be written as "firmament". What is “firmament”? Something firm, a solid extended surface.

This is the correct translation for the word “râqîya´”, it means “solid extended surface”,

you can consult a Hebrew dictionary and you will see this, “solid extended surface”, very interesting…

And if the surface is solid, what do we soon think of to be?

Waters above earth and the waters below earth, it should explain it…

But this is not what the text is saying, here it says: “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.

God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so.

God called the expanse [which is solid, firm, the “firmament”] Heavens [it is not the earth yet] (...) ”(Ge 1:6-8)

This is intriguing, because God put water on top of a solid surface, He is not talking about the clouds, nor there was rain at that moment, right?!

It’s not talking about clouds, it’s talking about waters over the expanse and waters under the expanse,

God separated these waters, and named this expansion, please, draw so you understand what I’m saying,

God named this solid expanse of "heavens",

"(...) and there was evening and there was morning, the second day".

Verse 9: “And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.”(Ge 1:9),

the “dry land”, in the singular, reminds us, if you studied geography, of the single continent that was called “Pangea”.

This was before the Flood, of course…

And it says like this: “(...) and let the dry land appear; and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth, [now, yes, the earth appears!];

and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.”(Ge 1: 9,10).

So God takes the “dry land", which He calls it “Earth” and the “gathering of waters” He calls “Seas”, or “oceans”, as we also know it, right?!

Verse 11: “And God said, 'Let the earth [the dry land] sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.' And it was so.”

So the food was made, right?!

“The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit [all kinds of vegetation, right?!],

in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.” (Ge 1:12,13)

Now let's move to the fourth day: "And God said, 'Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. (...)”

Purpose: first, to create separation between day and night, but also so that they are there to present “signs”,

remember the signs in heaven that Jesus said that will happen when He returns. Remember that the Bible says that God speaks of the end from the beginning?

"(...) And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years". (Ge 1:14)

What does it mean by “seasons"? The word for "seasons" or “set times” is “Mow’ed” [Hebrew].

I'm going to write this word here, in a simplified version, it would be “moed”, ok?!

What does "moed" means? It means set times for a formal meeting, for festivities, ok?! Such as New Moon Day...

You will understand this when you begin to study the Law of God. So this is all based on the lunar cycle in Israel.

“and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens [remember the “expanse”, the “firmament”?], T to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. And God made the two great lights—the greater light (…)”. (Ge 1:15,16a)

God, before science witnesses this... Because looking from here on earth, the moon and the sun seem to be the same size, right?!

You look from earth, when an eclipse happens, they seem to be of equal size, but God had already witnessed this many millennia ago.

“(...) the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars.

And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

And the evening and the morning were the fourth day”. (Gen. 1:16-19)

Notice that whatever God is doing, He does and says "this is good, this is good, and this is good”.

Now let's talk about the luminaries.

Let's read Psalm 104, verse 19: “He made the moon for the seasons [for the appointed times]; the sun knows when to set”.

Can you see it? God designed the moon, giving it a purpose for the seasons, it has a purpose of counting time,

we now move on to Psalm 136, verses 5 through 9, which says the following on this subject…

You may ask yourself: "for what reason, why did God create things?”

Because every time we do a reading we must ask ourselves: where, how, why, for what, right?! Why did God do it?

Here the psalmist will tell us…

I will read from verse 4: “To Him who alone does great wonders, For His lovingkindness is everlasting;

to Him who by understanding made the heavens [which is the subject we're studying now], for His lovingkindness is everlasting;

[Why did God make the heavens? Because His kindness endures forever].

To Him who spread out the earth above the waters, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

To Him who made the great lights, For His lovingkindness is everlasting: The sun to rule by day, for His lovingkindness is everlasting;

the moon and stars to rule by night, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.” (Ps 136: 6-9)

Then the psalmist reveals the purpose of creation: because God is kind.

If we believe [as true] that theory that before the beginning of this creation, where its narration begins, there was a rebellion,

then you may think: "Why is God going to do it again? Why is God going to recreate and give a new opportunity? Because His kindness lasts forever!

Fish and birds, right? In the Bible there is something interesting about this topic, let's read verse 20:

“Then God said, 'Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures;

and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens. And God created great whales (...)”(Ge 1: 20,21a)

Only the word does not mean “big whales”, the word here is “tannîyn” [Hebrew], and what does “tannîyn” mean?

In some translations there may be "aquatic animals", "big whales", "sea creatures", but the word [in the original Scripture] is "tannîyn", which means "dragon".

Incredibly, this word is repeated in the Bible several times, but they prefer to translate it as "jackals", "crocodiles", "sea monster",

but when we get to the book of Revelation, John sees a red dragon.

Would God be using a figure of something He did not create?

Would He use it? Since He uses figures, for example, Jesus as a lamb, as a lion, a dove representing the Holy Spirit,

He uses wolves as evil figures, He uses the serpent for Satan, which is the symbol of something He created, and He uses the dragon,

then would God borrow a figure of an animal from mythology to apply to the Scripture

simply because He didn't have another figure that He created to represent this?

This “dragon” appears in the Bible in several verses, one day I want to show this to you, especially in Job, in which the figure of Leviathan appears,

read the description and you will see if what is said there has any resemblance to a hippopotamus, or to some kind of crocodile...

no, not at all, even more because it lets fire out of the mouth, it smokes out of the nostrils, it's an almost indestructible animal, right?!

And if there are so many testimonies in the history of mankind about the existence of dragons and the Bible uses that expression, why not put that there, right?!

But what can we do?! Let's move on, the good thing is that we know that marine animals were made here on the fifth day, as well as fish and birds of the sky.

Let's continue our reading: “God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed (...)” (Ge 1: 21a)

About “tannîyn”, I will give you another reference for you to research: Isaiah 27: 1, ok?!

Let's continue: “God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed...

[the water produced the [marine] animals, and the [terrestrial] animals were produced by the earth,

thus: water, earth and air (the skies, which produced the birds)] after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind;

and God saw that it was good [one more thing that God saw was good].

God blessed them, saying, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth'.

There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day”. (Ge 1: 21-23)

So let's review the fifth day in an easy way to understand it:

fish and birds were created and God gave a command to these animals: multiply, fill the earth, populate.

Now let's read verse 24: “Then God said, 'Let the earth bring forth living creatures [the earth is creating animals] after their kind;

cattle [in general] and creeping things and beasts of the earth [are the ferocious animals] after their kind; and it was so.

God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good”. (Ge 1:25)

Now, after God has finished all His work, He says in verse 26: "And God said, 'Let Us make (...)", said "ʼĕlôhîym", which is a plural word,

and He continues the narrative in the plural: "Let Us make", there is the Father and the Son working in creation.

In Job it says like this: "The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life". [Job 33:4].

Genesis 1:26, 27: “And God said, Let Us make man in Our [plural] image, according to Our likeness [like Us];

and let them rule [here God is giving authority] over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.

God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them”.

God created man upright, God did not create man messy, with flaws, I will show you this.

This is here in Ecclesiastes, in chapter 7, verse 29: "See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes”.

God made man perfect, made him in His image, but they invented many cunning.

The free will that God gave to man allowed, it did not induce him, but allowed him to make a choice between a good and a bad tree,

that is, there were two ways, but man chose the bad way.

“God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”(Ge 1:27).

Science testifies about this, because you see that the woman came from the man, but later on, the man comes from a woman, being born from a woman.

And it’s interesting that in order for this to happen they need to have a little bit of each other,

science shows this with the chromosomes (‘XX’ and ‘XY’) and you can see that the ‘X’ chromosome is present in both.

Genesis 1:28: “God blessed them; and God said to them,

[look at God's commandment for man, the first commandment for them]

Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it;

and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth”.

God is giving authority, and the commandment for them to fill the earth.

Then God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth,

and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you;”(Ge 1:29).

So the food of Adam and Eve was these: herbs that give seeds, and trees that bear fruit that gives seed,

so their food was not meat, they ate only green grass in the beginning.

“and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food"; and it was so.”(Ge 1:30).

Leon ate grass, ox ate grass, as it will be in the Millennium.

“God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”(Ge 1:31).

On the seventh day, what happens? The Bible says that God created all things [in six days] and then He stopped creating.

The word Saturday (“shabbat”) means “rest”, “stop”, “cease”, does not mean, literally, that God was resting,

but that He just stopped, interrupted the moment of creation, in a way, this is what happened, ok?!

May God bless you and we will continue on our next video.