IN CHAPTER I we saw the real nature of the composition of the book of Genesis. As stated there, it consists of original documents inspired by the men whose names are attached to them and brought into a single unit by the inspired Lawgiver of Israel, Moses. Thus in the study of the book of Genesis we are not dealing with folklore, traditions or legends but rather with sane, sound, and sober records of historical events written by eyewitnesses, or by those who were in closest touch with the actual events and were in possession of the written documents composed by men as they were inspired by the Spirit of God. Hence we can rely absolutely upon the record as found in בְּרֵאשִׁית Genesis.

Not only do the conciseness and the accuracy of Genesis argue for its inspiration but the unparalleled reserve on the part of the writers attests a supernatural origin for these accounts. Hence we are standing upon the bedrock foundation of historical facts when we accept this marvelous book as an unimpeachable authority. We shall, therefore, assume that God said what He meant and meant exactly what He said. In our interpretation of the record we shall endeavor to avoid forcing upon any statement an interpretation which the facts will not justify but rather shall take the primary, ordinary, usual, literal meaning of every word and statement unless the facts of the context indicate that a secondary or figurative meaning is to be understood.

As has already been stated, we shall accept the reasonable and logical position, without any hesitation or question, that there is a supreme, intelligent Being who was and is the original Cause--the uncaused Cause of everything--on account of and through whose will the material universe exists. As to how such an omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent Being, who is a Spiritual Personality, could bring into existence the material world as we know it today, we shall not attempt to philosophize, but shall in a true scientific spirit accept the phenomena as we observe them today. We shall believe that this is an honest world in which we are living, and that the testimony of our faculties, when neither warped nor distorted by any means, give us a reasonably accurate conception and idea of the world external to ourselves. Moreover, we shall avoid philosophical and theological hairsplittings in regard to the ultimate nature of the material universe as long as we can make distinctions between the self and non-self in the practical world in which we live. Since all of us have to admit this proposition, we shall accept without question the reality of the world about us.

According to scientific investigation, we see that there are two realms: the spiritual and the material. Furthermore we shall accept the tenet that the spiritual is the higher of these two. Our cause for believing this is that mind controls matter. One of the reasons for accepting this proposition is that we know there is a distinction between animate and inanimate objects--a difference between a living person and a corpse. There is no difference between the weight of a living person and the lifeless body immediately after that person passes through that experience which we call dying. While the spirit remains in the body it controls the movements and the actions of the same, but as soon as it departs from the body, the corpse is powerless to move and function as formerly. While I recognize that the argument from analogy is in most instances fallacious, nevertheless there are similarities which justify basing an argument upon parallel cases, because like causes under like conditions produce like results the world over. This axiom is the fundamental of all scientific investigation. Since we see that mind controls matter as far as ourselves are concerned, and since we observe the material universe in motion, we conclude that there is some Spiritual Being, invisible to our mortal eyes, who is directing these movements and sustaining the life which we observe on every hand throughout the vegetable and animal kingdoms.

I refuse to consume my time and energy with the speculations of the philosophers who are never agreed among themselves. What one school affirms, the other denies; what one generation proclaims as truth, the next relegates to the discard. We are living in a practical world and must accept things as they are and work upon that basis.

The Scriptures open with this sublime, majestic statement: "In the beginning Gods created the heavens and the earth." In my book The Eternal God Revealing Himself to Suffering Israel and to Lost Humanity, I prove that the Hebrew word אֱלֹהִים literally means Gods. Though it is plural, it is used with a singular verb. This unusual grammatical phenomenon is an echo of the doctrine of the Trinity in Unity, as we learn in the volume just mentioned. According to this quotation, these Divine Personalities constituting the one, true God, created the heavens and the earth--the entire material universe.

Several questions arise in the mind of the thinking person. Among them may be listed the following: How did God create the material world out of nothing? What method did He employ? When did this occur? As to the first of these queries, I have never seen a satisfactory answer given by any man. To attempt an explanation is to philosophize without any factual basis. Such a course of reasoning always leads to confusion and speculation. We simply accept the fact that there are the two realms, a spiritual and a material, because, as stated above, our daily experiences prove their existence. As to the method employed by the Almighty in the act of Creation, no one can say. Whether or not the omniscient Creator flung the heavenly bodies out into space by His hand of omnipotence, full-orbed and obedient to the laws of His wisdom, and did this in a moment of time, no one can say. If He chose to perform the work in this way, He could have done it, because He is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. On the other hand, if He wished to accomplish this task over a long period of time which we call "light years," He could have done it this way. In our investigating this phase of the question, we must always keep our feet upon the basic facts of the existence of mind and matter and recognize the further fact that mind has the supremacy over matter. Let us keep in mind that the omnipotent, eternal Being brought into existence the universe as we know it today. In regard to the third question, which pertains to the time of His creative activity, no one is able to declare. We must accept the Almighty's statement of the case and say that He did it "In the beginning." From this sublime declaration we simply gather the fact that there was a time when the Almighty alone existed. In His good pleasure He put forth what is termed the creative act, and the material universe sprang into existence. As to the how, the when, and the where, we are totally ignorant, except that we know He did it "In the beginning." This period which is called "In the beginning" may have been millions of light years ago, as far as our knowledge is concerned. We shall have to be content, in our gross ignorance and our limited, finite comprehension, with the information which is imparted to us in this great statement.

As to the Almighty, His work is perfect (Deut. 32:4). Accepting this statement as accurate and true, we must believe that the Lord created the universe perfect. Thus declared Isaiah the prophet (Isa. 45:18). As to whether or not there was a race of beings that we might properly call preadamic, no one can say. Some have concluded from Isaiah's statement that, since He formed the earth to be inhabited, there was such a primitive race. This is altogether possible. Some see in the exhortation to Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth proof that there was a race of people on the earth originally, which, as we shall presently see, was blotted out by the disaster referred to in Genesis 1:2. Thus they see in these words, "replenish the earth," proof that there had been a race of people prior to the creation of Adam. As confirmation of this position, our attention is called to the use of the same word in Genesis 9:1, which the Lord spoke to Noah with reference to his repeopling the earth after the Flood. One must admit that this word might imply that there had been a race of people upon the earth prior to the creation of Adam.

In view of these facts, if some skeletal remains could be dug out of the earth's surface, and if absolute and positive scientific data could be discovered showing that such remains gave positive proof of the existence of men upon the earth fifty thousand or a hundred thousand years ago, I would not have to discard my faith in the absolute verity and accuracy of the Biblical account. I would be driven by the stubborn logic of facts to believe that such unearthed remains came from a preadamic race; but I refuse to accept the speculations of theorists who discover a tooth here, a mere fragment of a cranial bone there, and another bit of a bone somewhere else, around which a supposed lifelike model for our museums is made. To such reconstructions names are given, and the unsophisticated and unsuspecting student, gazing with amazement upon them, comes to the conclusion that such an array of reconstructions is scientific evidence of the existence of life upon the earth for hundreds of thousands of years, and that here is proof of the evolutionary hypothesis, which simply assumes that men sprang from the lower forms of life. Instead of such effort's being scientific evidence of this unproven theory, it is simply wild guessing labeled as proof.

Since the Lord performs His work in a perfect manner, we must conclude that He created the earth in this state, but that at some later period it was wrecked and reduced to the condition described in Genesis 1:2. A literal reading of the first words of this verse is, "But the earth became a desolation and a waste." The word in the original text הָיְתָה rendered "was" literally means "became." The Hebrew language does not use the copula as we in English do. One of the personal pronouns was used frequently to serve this purpose. When, however, the word הָיָה was employed, the idea of becoming was in the author's mind. This fact is seen throughout the first chapter of Genesis in the recurring phrase, "And there was evening and morning." The period called "evening" and that designated as "morning" combined developed into or became a day. This is the significance of the term. Another fine illustration is to be seen in Genesis 19:26. Here we read of Lot's wife's fleeing with her family from the doomed cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Looking around, contrary to the specific instructions given her, she became a pillar of salt. She was a woman of flesh and blood prior to this act. When she disobeyed, she was turned into a pillar of salt. Such is the primary significance of this word; therefore whenever we see it, we must understand that it has this inherent meaning, unless the facts of the context indicate clearly otherwise. Such an assumption is the only scientific method of approach in the understanding of this word. Another fine example of this primary meaning is seen in Isaiah 66:2, "For all these things hath my hand made, and so all these things came to be, saith Jehovah." Evidently the earth in its perfect primitive condition as created suffered from some great calamity which reduced it to a state of desolation and waste, as is indicated in Genesis 1:2.

As to what or who caused this disaster no one is able with dogmatic certainty to affirm. There are indications, however, that he who is called in the Hebrew text הַשָּׂטָן, the adversary, was the one who wrecked it or was the occasion of its being reduced to a state of desolation. From Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14 we have the strong implication that Satan, the adversary of God and man, revolted against the Almighty and attempted to match swords with Him. This rebellion caused the wrecking of the earth. Bildad, in his discussion with Job, alludes to this very calamity (Job 25). Other references to this fact appear at different places in the Scriptures.

Corroborative testimony of this position is seen in the strata of the earth which give evidence of great upthrusts on the face of the globe from beneath and which occurred in the physical realm. According to the science of geology, there have been convulsions in nature which have caused mighty upheavals in the past. It is reasonable to suppose that many of these, if not all, were caused by the clashing of wills, since, as we have seen, mind is superior to matter. In the sacred Scriptures Satan is represented as an opponent of God, who is very powerful, and wise, yet deceitful and crafty. It is also reasonable to suppose that in his rebellion against the Almighty, this wrecking of the earth and possibly the universe, was brought about.

While the entire universe is moving according to established laws without any variation whatsoever, there are abnormalities in the physical realm which give evidence of disaster here and there. For instance, every meteorite is a silent testimony to some former wreck or disaster. From these and many other facts we are to conclude that we have confirmatory evidence to the statement that the earth was reduced to a state of wreck and ruin, as seen in Genesis 1:2.

The result of the revolt against God was that life, if it had existed on the earth prior to the creation of man, became extinct. It is altogether possible, and quite probable, that the skeletal remains of prehistoric animals date from the period which antedates this calamity. All the fossil remains of animals and insects, extinct at the present time, may have come from that primitive age. On this point no one can be dogmatic, but we can take our stand upon the statement of Genesis 1:2 that after the wreck the earth was surrounded by water and enveloped in darkness. There is evidence in abundance that the continents, as we now know them, have been submerged under water at various times. The first deluge of the earth, then, is mentioned in Genesis 1:2.

According to the sacred record, there were six days, not of Creation, but of Reconstruction, as they might properly be termed. On the first day, we are told, God said, "Let there be light: and there was light." This illumination was not from the sun because its rays had not penetrated the darkness enveloping the globe until the fourth day. We must conclude that this light was the result of a direct fiat of the Almighty. On the second day part of the waters on the face of the earth were removed and placed above the expanse. Explorations in the stratosphere show that the temperature in those high ethereal regions is very low. Hence, according to the laws of physics, these waters placed at such high altitudes would freeze and would encase the earth in the form of an ice envelope. Of this position there is quite a bit of positive evidence. On the third day the waters left upon the earth were gathered together into one place, forming one original sea, and the dry land appeared, which constituted the original continent. On this day also God brought the vegetable kingdom into existence. The light from the sun, moon, and stars penetrated the darkness that had hitherto shrouded the earth. These heavenly bodies had been in their places from the beginning, but had been obscured by the darkness surrounding the earth. Nevertheless on the fourth day they became visible from the standpoint of the earth. Marine life and the fowls of the air were created on the fifth day. Finally on the sixth the land animals were created. As the crowning effort of God's activity, He created man, to whom He gave the right of supremacy over this world.

The perennial question as to whether these days were literal periods of twenty-four hours each or long geological epochs has been debated by the ablest minds, but still remains unsettled. The word day, as a study of its use in the Old Testament shows, could and primarily did mean a literal day of twenty-four hours. It also had a second connotation. In the case of its use in Genesis 1, no one can be dogmatic in taking either position. It is wisest, therefore, to hold oneself in reserve and await further information. Personally I am inclined to believe that they were of twenty-four hours duration, but I refuse to be dogmatic. After having made this short preliminary survey, we can be certain that the six days mentioned in Genesis 1 were periods of reconstruction and not of creation. We should avoid the statement that the Bible speaks of the heavens and the earth's being created in six days, for there is not one syllable to support this position. There is a difference between the Hebrew word indicating "to make" and that connoting "to create." During these six days God was repairing and remodeling the earth preparatory to the creation of man, whom He purposed to place here as the crowning act of all His works. We shall therefore speak of these six days as a period of reconstruction and preparation.

The word rendered "create" is בָּרָא. It occurs fifty-three times in the Hebrew text of the sacred Scriptures. In every occurrence where it appears in the active voice, God is the subject. The reason is obvious, because no creature can perform this act. The Almighty alone can create. It occurs in Genesis 1:1, 21, 27. According to verse 1 the Almighty existed in the period called "In the beginning." The result of His putting forth the creative act was the coming into being and the forming of the entire material universe. From a study of verses 20 and 21 we see that the second use of this word also indicates the bringing into being of that which had no existence prior to the act. Up to and through the fourth day there was no evidence of the existence of marine life and that of the fowls of the air. God put forth His creative activity, and the result was the bringing into existence of this type of life. On the following day He brought into being the animal kingdom.

Finally, as stated above, He held a conference, humanly speaking, in His council chambers of eternity, in the very heaven of heavens. The Divine Personalities constituting the one true God decided to make man, decreeing "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." Those engaged in the conversation were of the same image and likeness, i.e., the same divine substance and being. In their resolution they decided to make man after themselves as the great prototype. Having reached this decision they created man out of the dust of the earth; i.e., they made his body of this material. This fact is further attested by the statement of the Almighty, "for out of it (ground) wast thou taken: for dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return" (Gen. 3:19). Having formed his material body, the Lord "breathed into his nostrils the breath of lives; and man became a living (immortal) soul" (Gen. 2:7). The word rendered "living" is very frequently used by the inspired writers as an adjective modifying God who, as we know from other passages, has always existed and will continue throughout all eternity. Man, when he was created, consisted of his corporeal body, his animal life which is indicated by the Hebrew word נֶפֶשׁ soul, and the breath of lives, his spirit. Many students of the Word have concluded that man is a tripartite being, since he is spoken of as having a body, soul and spirit. But a thorough study of the subject brings to light the fact that soul and spirit are frequently used synonymously. The facts seem to indicate that man's spiritual nature when it is thought of in relation to the body* is called soul. When however it is thought of in relation to God, it is spoken of as spirit.

When man was created, the Lord placed him in a garden eastward in Eden. This place is described with relation to four rivers, two of which are the well-known Tigris and Euphrates. This Eden was a specific, historical location. In this place were all things that were conducive to man's happiness and needs. He was permitted to partake of the fruit of all the trees in the garden except that of the knowledge of good and evil. He was granted the privilege of partaking of even that one which was known as "the tree of life." The Lord solemnly warned him, however, not to partake of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for, declared He, "in the day that thou eatest thereof dying thou shalt surely die" (Gen. 2:17). This statement is thoroughly scientific. Two forces are operative in our bodies from birth to death, the one opposed to the other. They are known as the anabolic and katabolic processes. The former builds up whereas the latter tears down. During the early part of life the anabolic forces are the more powerful. From middle life to the grave the katabolic gain the ascendency and finally accomplish one's death. All of this was involved in the warning given to man that the day he partook of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he should begin to die--the katabolic processes would enter his physical being and begin their destructive work.

From the very beginning Adam had full possession of his intellectual powers, which were very great indeed. From the beginning he possessed the ability to speak. He held the mastery over the animals, because the Lord caused them to pass before him as he named each of them. Enmity had not entered into the world at that time. Everything was peaceful. The creatures were obedient to man's behest. Each had its mate, but for man one was not found.

God provided for man a helper "as over against him," one to share his joys and to assist him in fulfilling his duties. In order to do this, the Lord caused a deep sleep to come over Adam while He performed the surgical operation of removing from his body "the rib," which possibly or probably involved the removal from his body of the feminine organs, around which the Almighty built woman and breathed into her nostrils the breath of lives. Then she, too, became an immortal soul, a never-dying individual in the sense that her spiritual life will continue throughout all eternity. As stated elsewhere in this work, the first clue to modern surgery was taken from this incident by a believing physician, who saw the possibilities of an anaesthetic in order to perform a surgical operation.

In Eden the marriage relation was ordained and the home set up. This is the first institution among men. The marriage relationship from the divine standpoint is indissoluble except for the disloyalty on the part of one of the contracting persons.

In chapter 3 Satan makes his first appearance upon the scene of human endeavor. As seen before, he probably was the cause of the trouble which brought about the wrecking of the earth. But we know that it was he who destroyed the first home. According to his real character, he came in disguise claiming to be a friend of the woman, whose destruction he was planning. By way of digression let me say that he always follows these tactics. Deception is his chief weapon. He endeavors to conceal the real purpose. Only spiritually-discerning people can detect the fraud. He could not deceive the man; hence he did not make any attempt, but, realizing the nature of woman who depends more on her intuitive powers than upon reason, he approached her by attacking God's character. Of course he did not come out in the open and question His goodness, but did it by innuendo. This type of approach is most vicious and powerful.

When Eve partook of the forbidden fruit and Adam followed her example, they experienced what they had never known before. There entered their bodies and surged through their being a new force and a power hitherto unknown by them. For the first time they became conscious of what had really happened--the corruption of their natures. With a smiting conscience they became ashamed of their condition and endeavored to clothe themselves with fig leaves. When the Lord God appeared to them, as He was in the habit of doing, they shrank from His holy presence and hid themselves. This is evidence of their consciousness that something had taken place within their very beings. Then they realized that they were not worthy to stand in the presence of His holiness. This new element which entered their being, I might, by way of comparison, call spiritual gravity. The physicists tell us that there is a force which acts upon all material substances pulling them toward the center of the earth. In the same manner there appeared in human life a subtle, evil force which has a downward pull upon the soul, and which causes men to do wrong, to think evil, and to rebel against God. Moses and the prophets spoke of it as being uncircumcised in heart. Frequently the men of God designated it as sin. There is a difference between sin in the flesh and sins in the life. They are related as cause and effect. As long as sin is in the flesh, just that long will there be sins in the life unless one is absolutely yielded to the Spirit of God.

When man sinned, the Lord announced that He would banish him from the garden lest he should put forth his hand and partake of the tree of life and live forever. At the same time He gave him assurance that "the seed of the woman" should bruise the serpent's head. This is the first intimation of the coming of Messiah, who is here designated "the seed of the woman." This point I have thoroughly discussed in my book Messiah: His Nature and Person.

As to how long man remained in the garden of Eden before the transgression, we are not told. To attempt to do so is mere speculation and guessing. Some theologians speak of his stay there as "the age of innocency." This designation is quite appropriate. After the promise of the coming of the Redeemer of the race was announced, man was expelled from the garden. He then had to go forth and battle, not only with Satan and hostile powers, but also with sin in his very being. The struggle within is between two contrary forces: the desire to do right and serve God on the one hand, and to rebel against the Lord and to do evil on the other. Thus he went out into an unfriendly world. The promise of the coming of the Redeemer was the only ray of light to encourage his heart.

According to some archaeologists, the oldest piece of art known to the human family is that which is recognized as the temptation seal that pictures a tree on the opposite sides of which are seated two persons. Behind one of them is the upright form of a serpent, who is whispering to this one. This ancient piece of art is recognized by scholars as a pictorial representation of the account found in Genesis 3 and is corroborative evidence proving the historicity of the Biblical narrative.