Origins
Earth as viewed by Apollo 8 astronauts from Lunar orbit on Dec. 24, 1968. Taken by astronaut William Anders, this picture chronicles the first time humans ever witnessed an "Earthrise." Click on the image.
(taken from The Book of Origins: Genesis Simply Explained by Philip Eveson, p. 21-23)
On Christmas Eve 1968 the crew of the spaceship Apollo 8 became the first humans to orbit the moon. In their Christmas greetings to earth, the astronauts quoted these words: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
This opening sentence, so simple yet so profound, sets the tone for the whole prologue. It makes us sit up and prepare for what follows. Appropriately, the subject of the first sentence of the Bible and of Genesis is God. He is the subject of nearly every sentence in this first section: ‘God said…’, ‘God saw…’, ‘God divided…’, God called…’, ‘God made…’, ‘God created…’, God set…’, ‘God blessed…’
The Bible is first and foremost revelation concerning God. From the very first verse God discloses truth about himself. The term used for ‘God’ is Elohim, the most common word in the Old Testament when referring to the deity. Like our English word ‘God’, it can be used of pagan gods, but here it is used of the one true and living God, the God who communicates and does things.
The Bible does not set out to prove God. God is bigger than any mathematical calculation or philosophical argument. The very fact of the universe bears testimony to the reality of God: ‘The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows his handiwork’ (Psalm 19:1). When Paul took the gospel to the pagan cities of the Roman empire he taught the people to turn from their worthless idols to serve the living God who made heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them (cf. Acts 14:15; 17:24-31; 1 Thess. 1:8-9).
Austin Brown
Andrew Quigley
Brad Johnston
C.J. Williams
James Faris
Jared Olivetti
Michael LeFebvre
Nathan Eshelman
Barry York
Rich Holdeman
Rut Etheridge III
