THE THEORY OF CREATION

A SCIENTIFIC AND TRANSLATIONAL ANALYSIS OF THE BIBLICAL CREATION STORY


CHAPTER FIFTEEN

THE LIGHTS IN THE SKY ABOVE


The purpose of the Fourth Day is best understood from the theological perspective. Ancient man had long worshipped the sun, the moon, and the stars as if they were gods, or were controlled by deities. Here, the power of those imaginary gods was exposed as nonexistent, as the Hebrew God declared that the celestial bodies were His creations. They were not even addressed by their formal names, but were merely designated as the "greater light" and the "lesser light." They were commanded by God to cast their light onto the Earth during the day and the night, and they further benefited man by serving as signs and markers for our calendar.

These ancient "gods," having been reduced to one of the many creations of the Hebrew God, were, in fact, given a divine purpose on the Fourth Day. They were appointed by God to serve man in all the ways that I have mentioned - not to rule over man as ancient people believed. This then, is the primary objective of God's work on the Fourth Day.



(These are selected paragraphs within this chapter. This is not the entire chapter.)



RETURN