Creation (1927)
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CHAPTER I. SPIRIT BEINGS
CHAPTER II. THE EARTH
CHAPTER III. MAN
CHAPTER IV. DEGENERATION
CHAPTER V. PURPOSE OF BIBLE
CHAPTER VI. NEW CREATION FORESHADOWED
CHAPTER VII. A PERFECT SACRIFICE
CHAPTER VIII. THE NEW CREATION
CHAPTER X. WHERE ARE THE DEAD?
CHAPTER XI. AWAKENING THE DEAD
CHAPTER XII. COMING OF THE LORD
CHAPTER XIII. PURPOSE OF NEW CREATION
CHAPTER XIV. REGENERATION
Creation
The Scriptural proof of the creation of things seen and unseen, showing the unfolding of the Divine Plan from the Logos to the completion of the royal family of heaven and the restoration of man.
By J. F. Rutherford
Author of
The Harp of God
Comfort for the Jews
Deliverance
Reconciliation
Government
etc.
1,645,000 Edition
Publishers
International Bible Students Association
Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society
Brooklyn, New York, U. S. A.
Also
London, Toronto, Melbourne, Cape Town, Berne, Magdeburg, etc.
As a Testimony to the Name of GOD, THE LORD, The Giver of Every Good and Perfect Gift This Book Is Dedicated
"He that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein."--Isaiah 42 : 5.
Copyrighted 1927 by
J. F. Rutherford
Made in U. S. A.
PREFACE
IT IS with pleasure that the Publisher presents to the people another book from the pen of Judge Rutherford. During the past five years his books, published in thirty different languages, have reached a circulation exceeding twenty-seven million volumes. It is probable that the writings of no other man on earth have a greater circulation. This book is published to aid the people to get a better understanding of their relationship to the great Creator. It aids you to acquire such knowledge. As a testimony to the name of Jehovah, and with the hope that this publication may benefit the people, it is confidently sent forth.
THE PUBLISHER
FOREWORD
JEHOVAH is the Creator of heaven and earth and the Giver of every good and perfect gift. His name has not received its due honor, but the time is approaching when he shall be better known by his creatures. This book is published for the purpose of enabling the people to have a clear conception of the great Creator and of his loving-kindness toward men. To know God and his relationship to his creation will lift the student above the sordid things of this evil world and give him a vision of the blessings that are coming to mankind from God’s gracious hand. Peace, prosperity, life and happiness are within the grasp of man. Each one owes it to himself to know the truth concerning these things so much desired.
THE AUTHOR
CREATION
CHAPTER I. SPIRIT BEINGS
IN THE land of Palestine the environment and conditions are such as to induce solemn meditation. Walking over the hills of Judea in the autumn season you are quickly convinced that here the rarity of the atmosphere and the clearness of the sky are unusual. At night-time the stars appear in such great numbers that they seem to crowd each other for space in the heavens. You are reminded then that astronomers estimate that there are thirty thousand million astral bodies in our universe. Of course the human mind can not fully grasp or appreciate that statement, but as you gaze into the heaven of bright shiners you conclude that astronomers have not overstated the matter. With admiration, wonder and reverential awe you behold them. Involuntarily you ask, Who made that myriad of marvelous stars that shed their gentle light to cheer the way of the weary traveler?
Knowing that you are a sensible man, endowed with reasoning faculties, you seek a sensible and reasonable answer to your question. You know of the theory of evolution, but at once you discard that theory as unworthy of consideration. It is not reasonable that those stars made themselves nor that they came there by chance. Their very existence bears eloquent testimony that there is a Creator far greater than the stars and by whom they were made and hung in space.
You know that you have an honest and sincere desire for information concerning the wonders that you now behold. Who put that desire into your mind? Who clothed you with power to reason and the faculty to seek information? If there is a great Creator who made those wonderful astral bodies, and who made you, is it not reasonable that he would make it possible for you to obtain a true answer to your honest inquiry? If there is in existence a record giving the true answer concerning the origin of things visible, then that record must be consistent with itself and consistent with the great Maker.
All the books written at the dictation of man fail to measure up to the required standard, because they are merely the expressed opinions of imperfect men. They are not consistent with themselves nor with the Creator, who must possess unlimited wisdom and power. The Bible meets every requirement. It is consistent with itself. It is not contradictory when understood. It is consistent with him who is perfect in wisdom, justice, love and power. It answers your questions, and these answers will be found entirely satisfactory to the reasonable mind. It is the sacred Word of the Creator.
The Bible discloses that the name of the One who exercises supreme power in creation and in all things is God. He also has other names, as is shown by the Bible, all of which have a deep significance concerning his relationship to his creatures. A careful study of the Bible proves that it is absolutely true. As you progress in the examination of the sacred pages you marvel at the wonders there disclosed. You are forced to the conclusion that only the supreme mind of the great Eternal One could have dictated that Book. It not only proves the existence of the great God, and that he is the Author of creation, but discloses a marvelous program which the great Creator is working out in his own orderly and perfect way and which shall ultimately result to the good of all his creatures and to the glory of the great Creator.
The reverential man pursues its study with the keenest interest. As his mind broadens and his vision of its great truths increases, instinctively he exclaims: "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!" If you, as an imperfect man, develop a plan and then begin to build, how much more reasonable to expect the mighty Creator of the universe to have all his plan perfected from the beginning. The Bible discloses that God has such a plan, and that in the progressive march of his work each event transpires exactly as he has timed it.
The outworking of the divine plan holds the greatest interest to any one who diligently and honestly seeks knowledge. "A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels." (Prov. 1:5) "When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul, discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: to deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things."—Prov. 2:10-12.
But how shall I begin to learn wisdom? you ask. The reverence of the Lord God is the beginning of wisdom. (Prov. 1:7; Ps. 111:10) Those who reverentially and diligently seek to understand the secrets of the Lord will be rewarded. "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant."—Ps. 25:14.
Faith means to obtain a truthful knowledge and then to confidently rely upon that knowledge. Faith in God means to acquire the truth and facts concerning God and then to confidently rely upon that. If you would know the Lord and receive his good pleasure, then you must believe that God, the great Eternal One, exists, and that he is the rewarder of those that diligently seek him. (Heb. 11:6) You can not believe without knowledge. That man might obtain knowledge God has endowed him with reasoning faculties, and then he invites man to use those faculties and reason upon the great truths revealed in the Scriptures. (Isa. 1:18) You will find that reason and the Scriptures are in exact harmony.
Now to the question which you propounded to yourself: Who made the stars? The Word of God answers: “And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.” (Gen. 1:16) Not only did he make them, but, “He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.” (Ps. 147:4) The eternal power and deity are clearly seen and may be understood by the things which God has made. (Rom. 1:20) Observation of these wonders beheld in the sky above induces sober meditation. And now, “come . . . let us reason together” upon the things of creation.
Beginning of Creation
There must have been a time when the great God was alone. There must have been a time when he began his creation. Does the Bible disclose what was the beginning of God’s creation? It does. The time of the beginning is not revealed; that is to say, no date is disclosed. Whether that time was a million or ten million years ago is not material to man. The fact of the beginning of creation is what man seeks. We may know that the mighty Eternal One who would create all things according to his sovereign will, and who would cause a record thereof to be written, would cause that record to be written truthfully.
The Word of God, the Bible, therefore imports absolute verity. There could be no inducement to have a false record. The men therefore who were used by the great God to write the Bible were directed by his unlimited power and perfect wisdom in making the Bible record true and right. "The works of his hands are verity and judgment: all his commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness." (Ps. 111: 7, 8) The Word of God is true, and he magnifies it above his name. (Ps. 138: 2) The great Eternal One changes not, and what was once true is always true. "Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope." (Ps. 119: 116) The Word of God is absolute authority concerning the beginning of creation. That authority is certain, and upon it the student may confidently rely.
The Word of God records the fact that long before the creation of the earth, when there was no sea, when there were no springs and lakes, before there were any mountains or hills, yea, before the sun and the moon and the stars were made, God began his creation; and that beginning was his beloved One, known in the holy record as the Logos. The word Logos is one of the names or titles given to the beloved Son of God, and carries with it a deep meaning. When God gives a creature or thing a name, that name bears much significance. Logos means the representative or spokesman for the great Creator. The title is therefore often translated WORD, because he who is the Logos is the express Word of the One whom he represents.
It pleased God to speak through the Logos, that his message might be conveyed to others of his intelligent creation. (Heb. 1: 2) It is therefore appropriate that this mighty and beloved Son be called the Word of God. Concerning him it is written: "In the beginning was the Logos [Word], and the Logos [Word] was with the God, and the Logos [Word] was a god. This was in the beginning with the God.'' (John 1: 1, 2, Diaglott, interlinear) This mighty One, the Logos, speaking as the authorized representative of the great Jehovah God concerning the question of the beginning of creation, said:
''The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth: while as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth; when he established the clouds above; when he strengthened the fountains of the deep; when he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment; when he appointed the foundations of the earth.''—Prov. 8: 22-29.
This beloved One, the beginning of God's creation, was the delight of the great God; and the Father, the Creator, took his beloved Son into his counsel, and thereafter operated through him in the creation of all things that have been created. ''All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.''—John 1: 3.
In God's due time this creature, the Logos, was transferred from heaven to earth and made in the likeness of man. ''The Word [Logos] was made flesh, and dwelt among us.'' (John 1: 14) He was then known by his God-given name of Jesus, because the name Jesus means that he is the Savior. (Matt. 1: 21) At the time of the beginning of his earthly ministry he was anointed by God's holy spirit; and from that time forward he was known by the title Christ Jesus, because Christ means Anointed One. (Matt. 1: 16)
After he had represented Jehovah faithfully on the earth, he was given, in addition to his other titles, the title of “Faithful and True”.—Rev. 19: 11.
It is again stated in the Bible that the Logos was “the beginning of the creation of God”. (Rev. 3: 14) After his creation God made the Logos his active agent in the creation of everything that was created. The great God placed his beloved One, the Logos, in a position of confidence and trust. He counseled with him; and all things were created at the direction of the Almighty God, by and through the work of his beloved One, the Logos. Concerning this it is written:
“Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: for by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: and he is before all things, and by him all things consist.”—Col. 1: 15-17.
As further proof that the Logos was God's true and trusted One, it is written: “God . . . created all things by Jesus Christ.” (Eph. 3: 9) Not that he was Jesus Christ at the time all things were created, but this mighty One who now holds the title of Jesus Christ, as well as other titles, was the One who created all things. Nothing was ever created by the Almighty God after the creation of the Logos, except by and through his beloved One.
Here then is the authoritative proof that the stars and all things visible and invisible were created by Jehovah God by and through his active Agent, the Logos. In this and in all other work the Logos has been at all times true and faithful in representing the great Jehovah God.
"God is a Spirit." (John 4:24) God is invisible to man, and always will be. "Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting." (1 Tim. 6:16) The word "spirit" is from a root word translated in the English, wind. The wind is invisible to man, and it has power. God is invisible to man, and possesses unqualified power. It is therefore appropriate that we speak of God as The Spirit; because he is, and always will be, invisible to man, and in him resides all power.
God is not a spirit creature, but he is a spirit Being. The Logos is a spirit creature, and was created by the Great Spirit, Jehovah. From the time of his creation he was with God, in his presence, and ever his delight. It is therefore entirely proper, according to the Scriptures, that we state that the Logos, now also known as Christ Jesus, the great and mighty Son of God, is a spirit being, and the first creature of all of God's creation.
No creature can exist without form or organism. Every being must have a body suited to that being or creature. "There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body." (1 Cor. 15:44) The natural body is flesh and blood and bones. A spirit body has none of these. (Luke 24:39; 1 Cor. 15:50) Man can not describe the appearance of a spirit body, because this knowledge has not been given nor revealed to him. "It doth not yet appear" what a spirit being is like.—1 John 3:2.
In symbolic language the stars are used to represent spirit beings. (Num. 24:17; Job 38:7; Ps. 148:3; Isa. 14:13; Dan. 12:3; Rev. 2:28) As the stars which we behold shed forth light reflecting the glory of the great Creator, so the spirit creatures in the realm of the great God are bearers of light in his name and to his glory.
Among the spirits created by Jehovah, through his beloved One the Logos, was Lucifer. His name means "the bearer of light" or "morning star". (Isa. 14: 12) It is written concerning him: "Thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire." (Ezek. 28: 14) The term "stones of fire" here seems to symbolically refer to other spirit creatures shedding forth great light. (Heb. 1: 7; Ps. 104: 4) A class of creatures created by the great God, by and through the Logos, is described in the Scriptures as cherubim. The great eternal Jehovah is represented as dwelling between the cherubim. (1 Sam. 4: 4; 2 Sam. 6: 2; Ps. 99: 1) Thus the Scriptures indicate that the cherubim occupy positions of honor and trust near the great Jehovah God.
Seraphim is the name given to other creatures of the spirit realm. They were created by the Logos, acting in the name and under the direction of the great Jehovah God. These creatures are bearers of light reflecting the glory of the great Jehovah.—Isa. 6: 2-4.
Archangel is the name given to some of God's spirit creatures, which name signifies "first in rank". (1 Thess. 4: 16) The title or name archangel was also applied at times to the Logos, when he was serving Jehovah in a certain or specific capacity. One of his titles is "Michael", which means "like God". (Jude 9; Dan. 10: 13; Rev. 12: 7) It seems quite clear, however, that the title Michael is applied to the messenger of Jehovah clothed with chief authority and sent on some special mission. In proof of this, it is written: "Lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me." The title, however, especially belongs to the great and beloved Son of God.—Dan. 12: 1.
Angels are others of God's spirit or heavenly creatures, made by him through his beloved One the Logos. "Who maketh his angels spirits: his ministers a flaming fire.'' (Ps. 104:4) ''Angels'' means messengers sent or dispatched as deputies or representatives to perform some specifically assigned duty. In the outworking of the divine plan these messengers or angels have always been employed by Jehovah to carry out his orders. These angels are spirit creatures, and are therefore invisible to man. They have from time to time been granted the power to appear before men in material bodies, and then at the proper and convenient time to disappear or dematerialize. Many instances are recorded in the Bible where angels have appeared in the form of men in order to perform some mission granted to them by Jehovah.
On an occasion Abraham was sitting in the door of his tent, which was then pitched in the plains of Mamre, in the southern part of Palestine. Looking up he saw three men standing before him. The circumstances recorded in connection therewith and subsequent thereto clearly establish the fact that one of these three messengers was the Logos, who appeared in human form to bring a message of great importance to Abraham.—Gen. 18: 2-20.
When Abraham, in obedience to God's command, was offering up his son Isaac, ''the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven'' (Gen. 22:11), thus proving that angels served as messengers for Jehovah to deliver messages for him, and were in the presence of men although invisible at the time, because in spirit bodies. ''Heaven'' means that which is high and lofty, and which is invisible to human eyes. Angels are greater and higher than man. The angel was greater and higher than Abraham, and was invisible to Abraham; and the angel there speaking was the messenger of the great God.
These spirit creatures or messengers of God appear otherwise than in human form for the purpose of carrying out orders from Jehovah. An instance of this is found when Moses beheld a bush on fire and yet the bush was not consumed by the fire. He turned aside to observe the phenomenon. “And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses.” —Ex. 3 : 2-4.
Angels have been used as the invisible guides of men. When God directed Moses to lead the Israelites through the wilderness and on to the land of Canaan, he said: “Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.”—Ex. 23 : 20.
These spirit creatures have often been sent by the Lord God as messengers of war, to execute orders against the enemies of his people. When Joshua was about to lead the Israelites into the land of Canaan God sent one of his angels as captain of his own host to direct Joshua.
“And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? And the captain of the Lord’s host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.”—Josh. 5 : 13-15.
There are in heaven great multitudes of spirit creatures called angels, “even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them.” (Ps. 68 : 17) The Lord God sends these as protectors of those who are his. “And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God’s host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim." — Gen. 32: 1, 2.
These angels are spoken of as the hosts of Jehovah God. They are also referred to as legions, thus indicating that they are organized into great bodies to carry out Jehovah's purposes. When the Logos, then Jesus, was on earth, and was about to be slaughtered by his enemies, he said to his disciple: "Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?" — Matt. 26: 53.
These mighty spirit creatures God has made for his purposes and for his pleasure. That they are beautiful and glorious beyond description of human phrase there can be no doubt. No man can see a spirit creature or being and live. When some of these appeared in the form of men they were beautiful and glorious. It follows then that in their spirit bodies they are far more beautiful and glorious. Daniel the prophet records such an experience. This is what he says:
"Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: his body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire; and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude." — Dan. 10: 5, 6.
On the morning of the resurrection of Jesus, when some of his faithful followers went to the tomb to give attention to the body, "the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow." — Matt. 28: 2, 3.
Since these accounts are attempts to describe the beauty and glory of the lesser angels, how much more beautiful and glorious must be the Logos! Concerning the beloved Son of God it is written: “Thou art fairer than the children of men; grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever.” (Ps. 45:2) After Jesus had ascended on high Saul of Tarsus had a vision of his reflected glory, and so marvelous was it that Saul was stricken blind. The light from that reflected glory was brighter than the sun at noonday.—Acts 9:3-8.
In the same sacred record it is written concerning this mighty and glorious One: “My beloved is white and ruddy; the chiefest among ten thousand. His head is as the most fine gold; his locks are bushy, and black as a raven: his eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set: his cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers, his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh: his hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires: his legs are as pillars of marble set upon sockets of fine gold; his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars: his mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.”—Cant. 5:10-16.
Long ages ago, before earthly time began, the great Jehovah God had a wonderful and mighty organization consisting of a host of spirit creatures, the beautiful angels among them, archangels, seraphim, cherubim, Lucifer and the mighty Logos, the two latter being designated as “the morning stars”. We may be sure that the great Creator would not create these mighty creatures for any idle purpose; therefore we must know that each one of them was assigned to some duty of importance. They were, when created and so assigned, all holy; because they were completely devoted to Jehovah. These glorious spirit creatures, all in harmony with God, constitute what is called the heavens.
Above and higher than all, of course, was the great Jehovah God; and all of his holy creatures were singing praises and rejoicing before the Eternal One. “Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him. To him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens, which were of old: lo, he doth send out his voice, and that a mighty voice.” (Ps. 68:4, 33) All these of the spirit realm obeyed, supported, upheld and looked up to and praised the great God; therefore it is written that Jehovah rides above the heaven of the heavens. All the heavens declared his glory and sang his praises.
Up to the period of time thus far described in God’s creation there was no earth and, of course, no man. It seems reasonable that God disclosed to his heavenly creatures his purposes of making a creature called man, who should be prince of his home and whose home should be designated the earth. The time came then to lay the foundation of the earth, and that wonderful ceremony of laying the corner stone of the place for a habitation of this creature intended to be created brought great joy to the creatures in heaven. The two mighty “morning stars” sang together a duet, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.—Job 38:7.
Doubtless at this time there were myriads of stars and planets already created and performing their function and shedding forth the glory of the great Creator, but as yet there was no earth. The dawn of the creation of earth was only beginning to break when this marvelous ceremony was held in heaven, at which these glorious creatures performed to the praise of the great and mighty God.
Up to this time there was nothing in heaven to mar its peace, beauty and happiness. We know this because God had created everything there, and all the works of Jehovah are perfect. (Deut. 32:4) So far as the divine record discloses, nothing up to this time had occurred as an inducement to cause the deflection of any of the spirit beings. As a mighty host, led by the Logos and the other great light-bearer that walked by his side, they proclaimed the praises of him who inhabiteth eternity. They looked forward with joyful anticipation when there should be another realm in which a creature should be brought forth in the image and likeness of the great Jehovah God, endowed with wisdom, justice, love and power, and be made the ruler of the place of his habitation.
CHAPTER II. THE EARTH
THE earth is the terrestrial globe and is the largest within the orbit of the planet of Jupiter, the latter being far greater in size than the earth. The earth is the third planet in distance from the sun and is one of the solar system. It revolves about the sun in an elliptical orbit. It also rotates about an axis. The sun furnishes the daylight to that part of the earth turned toward the sun. The mean distance from the earth to the sun is approximately ninety-three million miles.
The diameter of the earth is seven thousand nine hundred and seventeen miles, whereas the diameter of Jupiter is eighty-six thousand two hundred and fifty-nine miles. The circumference of the earth is twenty-five thousand miles. It moves ceaselessly and regularly in its orbit and fixes our year at exactly three hundred and sixty-five days, five hours, forty-eight minutes and forty-six seconds. The rotation of the earth is so perfectly regulated and uniform that experiments over a period of two thousand years show that the variation has been less than one thousandth of a second.
The earth is hung in space. It is hung on nothing. Its surface bears up great mountain ranges, tremendous bodies of waters, broad fields and a few things that man has built upon it. It contains all the precious metals known to man. Its soil produces innumerable kinds of plants and trees and flowers of surpassing beauty, and fruits and foods of a diversified form and kind.
Who made this wonderful planet and placed it in space? Savants, so called, look wise, and in their assumed wisdom try to explain how nature formed it. But why waste time with the things of imperfect men, when we have the sure and positive testimony about which there can not be the slightest doubt? The earth is the work of the great Creator, God. He caused his servant to write in his sacred record:
“The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof.” (Ps. 24:1) “He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.” (Job 26:7) “Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty. Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever. Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains.”—Ps. 104:1, 5, 6.
Time of Creation
The time of the construction of the earth is nowhere stated. Men have expressed different opinions, but mere opinion proves nothing. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.” (Genesis 1:1, 2) Such is the divine record.
If the earth was at one time an incandescent molten mass there could have been no oceans of water on it at that same time. The formations of the rocks show conclusively that at one time these rocks were subject to intense heat. Fiery rocks or molten minerals and oceans of water could not have remained long in the same place at the same time. Therefore the account of creation given in Genesis must pertain to the creative work of the earth preparatory for the sustenance of life thereupon.
When did that period of time begin? The Scriptures divide the creative work into seven days, or periods of time. While God could have done this work in seven days of twenty-four hours each, had he so desired, the facts show that he did not do so, but that the term “day” is a period of time covering many centuries. This creative period has no reference to a twenty-four-hour day. Since the Lord has divided the creative periods into seven, it is reasonable that these creative days, or periods of time, are of equal length.
The law of God later given to man provided for a week of seven days each, each day being twenty-four hours long. Each of these days being of the same length, it is reasonable that the seven creative days or periods would each cover the same period of time. The Scriptures, together with subsequent facts which are indisputable proofs beyond a doubt, indicate that the seventh day or epoch of creation, mentioned in Genesis, covers a period of seven thousand years of our time.
If then we assume that each of the creative days was of the same length, we must conclude that the period of time that elapses from the beginning of the creative work to the end thereof is a period of forty-nine thousand years. How long prior to that time God began the formation or construction of the earth is not revealed, for the reason that it was not necessary and not the will of God that man should know. What we are concerned about is the beginning of the plan for the sustenance of life upon earth.
Moses, under inspiration and direction of Jehovah, wrote the book of Genesis. Of course it is God’s record, which he caused his servant to write. The opening statement is: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” That is an abstract and profound statement. It is the end of all controversy. The Master Builder, in the beginning, created the heaven and the earth; and just when that beginning was is not material to our inquiry. God reveals his secrets when it pleases him. Then follows the Scriptural statement: "And the earth was without form, and void." Being without form it was a place of desolation, and no life was therein. It was void; that is to say, it was empty of any and all forms of life. It was dark and there was no light thereon. From this point dates the beginning of the creative period or week of seven creative days.
Theory of Earth's Creation
It is to be expected that the theories of men with reference to the creation of the earth would differ. The theory that is reasonable and supported by the Scriptures is entitled to a candid consideration. Theories out of harmony with the Scriptures may be discarded as useless. It seems to have been the plan of Jehovah God to begin the increase of light upon his great work for the benefit of man about the year 1874 A. D. It was in that year that Isaac N. Vail first published a pamphlet entitled "The Earth's Annular System". Annular means having the form of rings, or ring-shaped, and has reference to successive rings or canopies of aqueous vapor which surrounded the earth and which fell upon the earth at different periods. A brief summary of the annular theory as stated by Mr. Vail is here given, before beginning the examination of the Scriptural record, to wit:
That the primitive earth was a molten mass rapidly rotating in space; that the intense heat therefrom expelled all vapors, whether aqueous or metallic, and these were carried to the skies; that both heat and centrifugal energy caused these vapors to accumulate in the skies, particularly in the equatorial region; that these red-hot vapors contained all the fusible and vaporizable minerals known to the earth; that as the earth cooled, the heaviest of these vapors formed into rings nearest the earth and the lighter substances formed numerous other rings according to their weight and density; that these rings or belts were separate and well defined; that the rotation of these near the polar belts was slower than at the equator; that as these rings, formed of aqueous vapors and heavily laden with carbon, cooled down they rotated near the earth until they fell, the nearest and heaviest one falling first and leaving those more distant and lighter to move on in their respective orbits about the earth; but that each one of these rings in due course cooled and fell.
Prof. Vail then reasons that while all of these rings contained quantities of carbon, and other mineral substances expelled from the earth by the great heat, the last one of these rings was composed chiefly of water; that the light penetrating the ring or rings around the earth in due time caused this canopy which enveloped the earth to produce a hothouse condition, thus making plants and animal life flourish at the poles equally with any other part of the earth; that these rings encircling the earth rotated more rapidly than the earth rotates upon its axis, but in time the cooling process would cause them to fall to the earth; and that the falling of the last one of these aqueous canopies occurred after man was created, and produced the great deluge of Noah’s time. The following is a quotation from Mr. Vail’s “The Earth’s Annular System”:
All terrestrial waters were held in suspension during that age of inveterate heat, far removed from the surface of the boiling, flaming and smoking mass of the earth.
This suspended ocean of vapors rotated as a part and parcel of the earth, a primeval atmosphere of great complexity of materials, in the same time that the earth then rotated, just as our present atmosphere now does.
This suspended matter in the course of time gathered in the earth’s equatorial heavens, and upon condensing necessarily contracted and segregated into rings, which revolved independently about the earth, thus causing a great lapse of time between the descent of the first, or primitive, ocean of water nearest the earth, and those waters most remote in the annular system.
This illustration shows a full-face view of the earth and its annular system. Here A is the earth; B, the earth's atmosphere; C, the heavy carbons and their accompanying mineral sublimations; D, the lighter carbons and hydro-carbons; E, glacial snows and their accompaniments; F, outer vapors, principally aqueous and likely in a frozen state. From this outermost ring came the polar snows that chilled the Eden earth, and afterwards caused the deluge.
The waters remaining on high, after the interior waters or first ocean fell to the earth, fell in a succession of stupendous cataclysms, separated by unknown periods of time.
The first ocean was necessarily impregnated with mineral and metallic salts, or filled with mineral and metallic particles, to a far greater extent than any other section or division of waters or exterior vapors, for the simple reason that in the system the heaviest vapors would settle lowest or nearest the earth as it cooled down.
All such changes required a great length of time, and a progressive motion of declining matter from the equator, polar-wise; also the bands and belts of the earth's annular system necessarily presented the same general aspect that Jupiter's and Saturn's do today.
A succession of concentric rings necessarily requires a vast lapse of time between the declension of one ring of vapors into the outskirts of the atmosphere, and the fall of the next succeeding one; so that each fall, or each ring, after it reached the attenuated atmosphere continued to revolve as a belt about the earth with an ever-decreasing velocity as it spread toward the poles and over-canopied the earth.
The smoke or unconsumed carbon that arose from the burning world commingled with the upper vapors, darkened them, and formed inevitably dark bands or belts among bright vaporous ones, as we now see on some other planets.
After a ring of vapors had fallen into the air, it is likely that it may have over-canopied the globe and finally descended to the earth, leaving the atmosphere clear, before another ring reached the atmosphere in its persistent decline.
The apparent retardation of the moon is but a gradual recession of our satellite, caused by diminished attraction as the annular system declined; and the necessary check put upon the revolving rings necessarily caused them to sink and finally fall to the earth, if no other cause of their fall existed; and further, this retardation proves the former existence of an annular system about the earth.
The archæan metalliferous deposits are so located as to be inexplicable by the old theory of aqueous denudation, but beautifully in accord with the new.
The silurian beds, and particularly the order of their occurrence in the earth, utterly refute the idea that they were derived from pre-existing beds. Hence it is evident that during the silurian age there was an annular system about the earth. In other words, it is evident that all the primeval waters did not fall before the dawn of life on the globe.—The Earth's Annular System, pages 72-74.
A very forceful argument is produced by Mr. Vail to the effect that all planets are formed by universal or inexorable law; and since we now can see the rings surrounding Saturn, and can also see Jupiter forming toward the uncompleted annular system, we must conclude that the earth also was developed by the progressive and successive collapse of aqueous canopies.
I believe the birth, growth and development of worlds are regulated by inexorable law; and if one planet was ever surrounded by rings, a sister planet under the same circumstances, ruled by the same dynamic and static conditions of force, in process of development, must also be attended by rings during some stage of its career. Not that I ignore the fact that circumstances varying must vary the resulting phenomena of ruling forces, but the great principles of planetary growth must obtain on all planets.
It is, for instance, as essential that ring-formation should follow igneous action, as the oblatoidal form of a planet should follow its rapid rotation. They are pure results of acting forces everywhere apparent in the solar system, from the great burning, seething and smoking sun, to the utmost and smallest satellites. If we can detect this universal disposition in the worlds around us, we may rest assured that our own has passed through the same grand cycles of change. Nay, we may in fact read the geological history of the earth in the ringed and belted worlds of the solar system.
It must now be clear that these features exhibited by the belted vapors of Saturn and Jupiter are vital considerations. Modern science has established beyond a doubt the fact that the motion of their polar belts is slower than the equatorial. From this we are forced to the conclusion that they revolve nearer their primaries.
If those belts could by any possibility increase their motion they would rise and revolve in a larger orbit. That is, they would move from the poles toward the equator. On the other hand, if the equatorial belts should lose the smallest part of their motion they would sink along the lines of least resistance and greatest attraction—i. e., toward the poles. Now can it be possible in a universe of unchanging law, that one planet could become the possessor of a ring-system unless the causes that formed it were universal? Can it be possible that the earth, under the influences of these universal causes, has not passed through the same mode of planetary evolution?
I can no more doubt the universality of this process than I can doubt that an apple would fall from a Saturnian or Jovian tree; and when we see, that in addition to this necessarily universal annular development, the condition of the primitive earth demands such development, we are not even allowed to entertain a doubt upon the subject. If the laws of gravitation be universal, the causes of annular formation are also; and effects must follow. It may be said that unknown conditions may modify the operations of the law. Certainly this is true, but they may also modify the operations of the law of universal gravitation; yet, where is the man who doubts its universal application in the midst of all modifying tendencies?
From this it must be seen that the mere fact that Jupiter's and Saturn's polar belts move more slowly than the equatorial, is positive proof that they have moved from the equatorial regions, and therefore there is a perpetual tendency in the solar system now for all belts to fall at the poles! Here, then, we are simply impelled to admit that the original form of all revolving planetary belts was annular, and that they were located in the equatorial regions of all planets during some period of their history. The supposition also that these belts must reach the surface of the planets in stupendous downfalls, during intervals of immeasurable time, receives here an emphatic avowal.
Thus by following the path pointed out by the unerring voice of law, we may look upon those giant worlds, and read a history of the mighty changes that made our world what it is today. For unknown ages rings and belts attended the earth. One by one they declined and reached its surface around the poles.—The Earth's Annular System, pages 42-44.
The annular system relative to the earth, as advocated by Mr. Vail, is reasonable. It is supported by truth revealed in the Word of God. God invites his creatures to reason with him, and we must therefore expect to find in his Word that which is reasonable when we properly apply it.
Creative Periods
God has divided the work of the preparation of the earth into periods of creation which he calls “days”, and which are numbered in their order from one to seven. It seems clearly proven from the Scriptures, however, that the material forming the earth had been brought together and the earth formed long before the beginning of these epochs or creative days. Long before the beginning of those seven days the molten mass had thrown off great quantities of mineral substances in vapor form, and these had formed into rings around the earth.
These great masses of hot vapors were heavy with carbon, thus causing "thick darkness" to surround the earth. Without doubt this darkness extended for a great number of miles beyond the earth and all around it. In the prophecy of Job there is written information concerning the beginning of the creative period which corroborates the Genesis account: "Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddling-band for it, and brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors."—Job 38: 8-10.
This thick darkness extending all around the earth formed the "swaddling-band", and corresponds to the statement in Genesis that "darkness was upon the face of the deep". No light was then penetrating to the earth. Surrounded by numerous rings or canopies composed of heavily carbonized vapors and other mineral substances, it was impossible for the light to penetrate that thick darkness which formed a band around the earth.
"And God said, Let there be light: and there was light." This statement must refer to the light that came from the heavenly sphere illuminating the rings around the earth but not reaching the earth. Light is coexistent with Jehovah. Concerning this it is written in God's Word: "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." (1 John 1: 5) "O Lord my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty. Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment; who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain." — Ps. 104 : 1, 2.
The sun must have been created long before the earth became a form, because the sun is the center of attraction of the solar system. Light from the sun was shining through space, but had not yet shined upon the earth because of the "swaddling-band" that surrounded it. God needs only to express his will, and things transpire. The time came for the light to shine upon that which surrounded the earth. "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day."—Gen. 1 : 3-5.
Prior to the beginning of the first creative day, as described by the Genesis account, some of the rings around the earth may have fallen or may not have. It is manifest, however, that many remained. With the beginning of the first creative day or period, "darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."
What is meant here by "the deep" and "the face of the waters"? Beyond a question of doubt there were waters above the earth and upon the earth. This is apparent from the Genesis statement. The great deep therefore must have reference to the waters above the earth, which waters could have been held up only by reason of the fact that they were revolving rapidly in an orbit about the earth. As soon as they would become inactive they would necessarily fall. The lightest one of these rings would necessarily be farthest out from the earth and nearest the sun.
The time came when the spirit of the Lord God, that is to say, his power, exercised according to his sovereign will, moved upon or took action upon the face of the waters, and the light penetrated this great deep or canopy that surrounded the earth. What it really means is that God caused the rays of the sun's orb to shine upon the face of the waters or great deep, illuminating them. God pronounced the light good, and the light God called day and the darkness he called night, and God divided the light from the darkness. That was the beginning of the division of day and night. So far as the sacred record discloses, such constituted the work of the first creative day, which record concludes with the words: “And the evening and the morning were the first day.” There is no evidence to warrant the conclusion that at this time the light had penetrated to the earth.
Firmament
The visible arch of the sky, which we behold when we look aloft, is called the firmament. It is a great aerial expanse wherein are the atmosphere and ether surrounding the earth. The work of the second creative day or period was devoted to preparing this great expanse and to dividing the waters. The firmament is called heaven because it is high and lofty, above the earth. “And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.”—Gen. 1: 6-8.
All the rings formed by the rising vapors surrounding the earth necessarily contained great quantities of water, as well as carbon and other mineral substances. These revolved with greater rapidity near the equator and gradually spread out like an envelope toward the poles until they enveloped the earth as a canopy. As these rings neared the poles their motion was retarded, and both the weight and the retarded velocity caused them to fall. As each one fell, necessarily great pools of water or bodies of water were precipitated upon the earth. All the mineral substances taken up in solution were brought down at the poles and were rushed on toward the equator.
There would then, of course, be water upon the earth and waters above the earth. The prophet of God sustains this conclusion in the inspired Word when he says: “Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me” (Ps. 42:7); “Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains.” (Ps. 104:6; Prov. 8:27, 28; Job 38: 9-11) By the falling of these aqueous rings or canopies the oceans were formed, and these great bodies on the earth were separated from the deep above the earth by the firmament. The firmament was not holding up the water; the great deep above the earth was held there by virtue of the fact that it was rapidly revolving in its orbit. In the same way a flying machine remains in the air above the earth when in motion, but when it stops its forward movement it falls.
The firmament merely served to form a division between the waters on the earth and the great deep far out from and surrounding the earth. We understand the formation to be something like this: First the earth; then the firmament or earth’s atmosphere; and beyond that many rings containing heavy carbon and other minerals and sublimations, the lighter rings containing hydro-carbons being still farther from the earth, and the outermost ring being principally water. The firmament above the earth God called heaven.
Land Appears
It was during the third creative day or epoch that the dry land appeared. Men have advanced different theories as to the process of bringing forth the dry land. The land might have been brought forth by pressure of water causing some portions to sink and others to arise, or it might have been caused by waters running down into the crevices of the heated rock, which caused great upheavals. However it was done the Lord God's statement is that it was done according to his will. There the controversy ends. God then gathered together the waters on the earth in order that other portions of the earth might be free from water, as it is written: “And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.”—Gen. 1: 9, 10.
For the first time the Scriptures here mention waters upon the earth as seas. The Scriptural proof therefore is conclusive that there was a great deep above the earth, separate and distinct from the waters upon the earth. The waters above the earth are designated in the Scriptures as “the deep”; whereas the waters upon the earth are called the “seas” or oceans.
The preparatory work progressed. The dry land did not appear suddenly, but gradually; and doubtless the appearing covered a large part of the third creative day. During that period the earth brought forth grass and herbs, each yielding seed and fruit after his own kind. One kind of seed did not develop another kind of seed; but each kind produced its own seed, which seed in due course produced other grass and herbs. “And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day.”—Gen. 1: 11-13.
Because of the canopies or rings surrounding the earth the heat and conditions upon the earth were conducive to the growth of plants and herbs. It seems that the plant formation during that period grew rapidly and very large. Some geologists claim that it is from these plants of prodigious growth that the coal beds were formed; that these plants and mosses were covered with sand and clay, and that in the course of time coal beds resulted. Others advance a much more reasonable theory, to wit, that the incandescent or molten mass forming the earth threw off great quantities of vapor charged with carbon, which vapors formed rings or canopies about the earth each of which contained great quantities of carbon; that these rings falling at different intervals of time upon the earth caused the deposit of great quantities of carbon; and that thereby the coal beds were formed, which are found today in the earth at different depths.
Coal is carbon. It follows conclusively that the smoke and gas passing off from the earth contained carbon, and it would be much more reasonable that when these returned to the earth such deposits of carbon formed the coal fields than that this carbon was first converted into plants and then plants formed carbon fields. Great quantities of carbon are found in the oldest beds of the earth, which of necessity existed before any plants were known.
All geologists admit that if coal be a vegetable product graphite must also have had a vegetable origin; compromising only so far as to admit that animal organisms may have aided in the process, which of course only adds to the difficulty, since it is carbon that makes the organism, not the organism the carbon. Here, then, is a problem which the vegetarian can neither circumvent nor climb over without the aid of the annular theory. The foundation stone upon which the vegetarian theory stands has vanished in primitive fire, and the whole edifice tumbles into a mighty mass of ruins.
Here we are compelled to admit that the graphite is a primitive carbon; that carbon did exist, and was placed as sedimentary beds in the earth before a plant ever grew upon its surface. Hence the plant did not form the carbon, but the carbon formed the plant. Upon this eternal plan the world was built. From the carbon beds locked amid the metallic and granite sills of the earth's crust to the peat swamp of the present day, carbon has been king, and the plant its pliant product. — The Earth's Annular System, page 398.
It also seems reasonable that the petroleum or rock oil comes from the same source. All these elements were in the igneous rock before thrown off from the earth; and the same reasonable deduction is that coal and oil in the earth were formed from deposits made by the falling of the rings, long before there was any plant or vegetation on the earth.
Now, there are some things known in the proposition we have in hand. It is known that this earth, in the dawn of geologic time, was an igneous, incandescent mass; and, whether we choose to call it the Great Chemist's crucible, a flaming sun, or scintillating star, it is all one in the grand scheme of world making. Fire held dynamic control. It is known that carbon and hydrogen were two all-abounding elements in that primitive furnace. It is known that carbon and hydrogen, thus conditioned, actively seek combination; and unless they passed through a sea of free oxygen on their way to the skies, they arose as oily products of the infant earth and filled the surrounding heavens —light carbons heavy carbons, asphaltic and graphitic carbons; and we know, too, that all this occurred long, long before the day of fishes.
It is known that the vaporized oceans were there, a world of superheated steam, and took an active part in this plan of world evolution, ever active and eager to increase and enrich the planet's oily products. It is known that the resolution and decomposition of world matter in its primitive stage is not different from that of matter in its secondary condition, except in degree of competency; hence, if the decomposition of organic matter can make petroleum in infinitesimal quantities by bringing nascent carbon and hydrogen into contact, how much more must have been produced when all the hydrogen and carbon of the molten earth came in contact for millions of years, under conditions a thousandfold more adequate to effect rapid combination! It is, therefore, not so much a question as to the ability of the igneous earth to make oil compounds, as to how it could have failed to make them. It would be just as reasonable to deny the adequacy of the chemist's retort as that of the molten earth, since the selfsame elements are treated in the selfsame way—comparing the small with the great.
One of the great lessons we learn at the retort is, that it requires a great heat and the presence of steam to make truly oily hydro-carbons, even with organic matter supplied. A molten world supplied inveterate heat and all the elements needed, and the chemist can only imitate in the most impractical way what nature is continually doing in millions of molten orbs. If the geologist denies this universal process he must also deny that hydrogen and carbon are universe elements, and so far as our world is concerned it cannot be denied; and hence he cannot for a moment logically or reasonably oppose the claim I have made, that all the petroleum of the earth was found in the world furnace when it shone out as a star.—The Earth's Annular System, pages 398, 399.
The weight of authority does not support the theory that the coal and oil beds were laid down by the perishing of vegetable or animal life, but that these elements were in the igneous rock mass and were placed there by the great Creator. When carried off as a vapor which formed the rings around the earth these in due time fell and were deposited in the various parts of the earth, forming the coal beds and oil fields at different depths. Instead therefore of these being formed in the third creative day or epoch it seems quite reasonable to conclude that they were formed prior thereto.
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