“But now ask the beasts, and let them teach you; and the birds of the heavens, and let them tell you. Or speak to the earth, and let it teach you; and let the fish of the sea declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this, in whose hand is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind? - Job 12:7-10
In a previous message, I stated that the sequence of creation can be broken down strictly by the day or it can be broken down in stages of related actions. At times the days and the stages are the same, but not always. Let’s consider both of these methods side-by-side.
Day 1 God’s Light Shines Stg 1 God’s Light Shines
Day 2 God Separates the Waters Above Stg 2 God Separates and Gathers
and Below to Create an Expanse the Waters Above and Below
Day 3 God Gathers the Waters Below (Forming the Expanse/Sky/Space,
and Dry Land Appears Seas & Land)
God Creates Plants & Vegetation Stg 3 God Creates Plants & Vegetation
Day 4 God Creates the Lights - the Sun, Stg 4 God Creates the Lights - the Sun,
Moon, & Stars Moon, & Stars
Looking at the chart, Stage 1 and Day 1 are identical. However, Stage 2 includes all of Day 2 and half of Day 3. The remaining half of Day 3 is Stage 3. This cycle found on days 1-3 repeats itself on days 4-6. Stage 4 and Day 4 are identical. However, as we will discover in today’s message, Stage 5 includes all of Day 5 and half of Day 6.
I have titled this morning’s sermon “God Creates the Animals”. It is the 6th message of this series. Let’s continue our study of the account of creation reading from Genesis 1:20-25.
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.” 21 God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.
24 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind”; and it was so. 25 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.
I. AQUATIC AND FLYING ANIMALS
On the 5th day of creation, God created aquatic animals and flying animals. This included everything in the waters (both freshwater and saltwater) from the largest whales and “sea monsters”, to all the different types of fish, all the way down to the tiniest organisms in the sea. Furthermore, it included all sorts of birds and winged creatures, such as bats, and every other animal that flies. Immediately the waters and sky (the 1st heaven) were filled with a host of different types of animals. Once again, God saw that what He had done was good.
The Bible teaches that all of these different types of animals appeared simultaneously and spontaneously, not through the slow, gradual process of evolution over millions of years. It also specifically says that God created “great sea monsters”, already large and fully developed, not evolved from tiny organisms. Furthermore, as we discussed previously when dealing with plants, all of these creatures were created according to their kind. In other words, they were distinct from each other and made to reproduce offspring like themselves. Animals may be crossbred to an extent, but they don’t change or evolve from 1 “kind” to another.
II. GOD BLESSES THE ANIMALS
God blessed the animals and instructed them to be fruitful and multiply. This is the 1st instance of God blessing anything in the Bible. It indicates that God viewed the animals differently than anything He’d created previously. Animals have consciousness, an awareness of themselves and their surroundings. While plants are living organisms, they aren’t conscious.
Following this precedent, there are some churches such as Catholics and Methodists, that bless animals today. There is nothing Biblically wrong with praying for animals, such as your pets, so long as you distinguish them from humans. Blessing an animal involves praying for God’s care and protection, not for its salvation. I personally do not give public blessings to animals, as I don;t want to blur the line between the value of animals and people and God’s eyes.
God gave animals the responsibility of populating the earth. They were charged with maintaining their own survival through reproduction. The Bible teaches that God cares for and provides for animals (Matthew 6:26). This is reflected in the fact that God He instructed Noah to take animals with Him on the ark to insure their survival.
III. LAND ANIMALS
The 6th day of creation began with God creating land animals. This included every type of animal that lives on the land - all mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and insects. Once again, the Bible states that these animals were created according to their kind and that God saw that they were good.
The Bible categorizes land animals into 3 categories - cattle, creeping things, and beasts of the earth. “Cattle” includes all types of livestock (sheep, pigs, oxen, etc) and other domesticated animals. “Beasts of the earth” refers to all kinds of wild animals (lions, bears, wolves, etc). “Creeping things” includes insects, small amphibians and reptiles, rodents, and so forth. Again, God created all of these animals at the same time, large and small, in complete contrast to the theory of evolution.
IV. DID GOD CREATE DINOSAURS?
Creationists who believe that the earth is millions or even billions of years old have no trouble in accepting the position that dinosaurs existed in ages past. However, for those of us who believe in a young earth, this question is a bit more complex. If the earth is only 6,000 or so years old, and God made the land animals (including dinosaurs) on the same day as He made people, they would have to live at the same time. Right?
Scientists tell us that dinosaurs became extinct millions of years before human beings existed. They point out that dinosaur and human fossils have never been found together. Though it sounds good, this is a weak argument. Many different creatures who lived at the same time have not had fossils found together. It proves nothing. Besides that, most ancient cultures have left drawings, sculptures, stories, and other evidence of their belief in dragons or other large dinosaur-like creatures. Where did these ideas come from if they’d never seen any such thing?
The word dinosaur was coined in the 1800’s. It is not surprising that we don’t find it in the Bible. That said, we do find the words behemoth (Job 40:15-24), leviathan (Job 41:1, Psalm 104:26), and dragons or sea monsters (Isaiah 27:1). All of these may be references to dinosaurs. While we can’t be absolutely certain, young earth proponents like myself believe that dinosaurs and humans lived at the same time, that Noah took dinosaurs with him on the ark, and that they became extinct a few centuries after the flood.
CONCLUSION
In today’s message we have discussed stage 5 of creation which took place on days 5 and 6 of creation week. God created the animals - on land, in the sky, and in the water. He created them all at virtually the same time, fully developed, and each according to its own kind. He blessed them and told them to be fruitful and multiply. Friends, do your own research. The theory of evolution is not true and is riddled with numerous flaws and misplaced assumptions.
Next week we will study God’s greatest creation - human beings. It promises to be a great message. In the meantime, take a moment to thank God for all of the wonderful animals He has made and how they are a blessing to our lives.
In a previous message, I stated that the sequence of creation can be broken down strictly by the day or it can be broken down in stages of related actions. At times the days and the stages are the same, but not always. Let’s consider both of these methods side-by-side.
Day 1 God’s Light Shines Stg 1 God’s Light Shines
Day 2 God Separates the Waters Above Stg 2 God Separates and Gathers
and Below to Create an Expanse the Waters Above and Below
Day 3 God Gathers the Waters Below (Forming the Expanse/Sky/Space,
and Dry Land Appears Seas & Land)
God Creates Plants & Vegetation Stg 3 God Creates Plants & Vegetation
Day 4 God Creates the Lights - the Sun, Stg 4 God Creates the Lights - the Sun,
Moon, & Stars Moon, & Stars
Looking at the chart, Stage 1 and Day 1 are identical. However, Stage 2 includes all of Day 2 and half of Day 3. The remaining half of Day 3 is Stage 3. This cycle found on days 1-3 repeats itself on days 4-6. Stage 4 and Day 4 are identical. However, as we will discover in today’s message, Stage 5 includes all of Day 5 and half of Day 6.
I have titled this morning’s sermon “God Creates the Animals”. It is the 6th message of this series. Let’s continue our study of the account of creation reading from Genesis 1:20-25.
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.” 21 God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.
24 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind”; and it was so. 25 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.
I. AQUATIC AND FLYING ANIMALS
On the 5th day of creation, God created aquatic animals and flying animals. This included everything in the waters (both freshwater and saltwater) from the largest whales and “sea monsters”, to all the different types of fish, all the way down to the tiniest organisms in the sea. Furthermore, it included all sorts of birds and winged creatures, such as bats, and every other animal that flies. Immediately the waters and sky (the 1st heaven) were filled with a host of different types of animals. Once again, God saw that what He had done was good.
The Bible teaches that all of these different types of animals appeared simultaneously and spontaneously, not through the slow, gradual process of evolution over millions of years. It also specifically says that God created “great sea monsters”, already large and fully developed, not evolved from tiny organisms. Furthermore, as we discussed previously when dealing with plants, all of these creatures were created according to their kind. In other words, they were distinct from each other and made to reproduce offspring like themselves. Animals may be crossbred to an extent, but they don’t change or evolve from 1 “kind” to another.
II. GOD BLESSES THE ANIMALS
God blessed the animals and instructed them to be fruitful and multiply. This is the 1st instance of God blessing anything in the Bible. It indicates that God viewed the animals differently than anything He’d created previously. Animals have consciousness, an awareness of themselves and their surroundings. While plants are living organisms, they aren’t conscious.
Following this precedent, there are some churches such as Catholics and Methodists, that bless animals today. There is nothing Biblically wrong with praying for animals, such as your pets, so long as you distinguish them from humans. Blessing an animal involves praying for God’s care and protection, not for its salvation. I personally do not give public blessings to animals, as I don;t want to blur the line between the value of animals and people and God’s eyes.
God gave animals the responsibility of populating the earth. They were charged with maintaining their own survival through reproduction. The Bible teaches that God cares for and provides for animals (Matthew 6:26). This is reflected in the fact that God He instructed Noah to take animals with Him on the ark to insure their survival.
III. LAND ANIMALS
The 6th day of creation began with God creating land animals. This included every type of animal that lives on the land - all mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and insects. Once again, the Bible states that these animals were created according to their kind and that God saw that they were good.
The Bible categorizes land animals into 3 categories - cattle, creeping things, and beasts of the earth. “Cattle” includes all types of livestock (sheep, pigs, oxen, etc) and other domesticated animals. “Beasts of the earth” refers to all kinds of wild animals (lions, bears, wolves, etc). “Creeping things” includes insects, small amphibians and reptiles, rodents, and so forth. Again, God created all of these animals at the same time, large and small, in complete contrast to the theory of evolution.
IV. DID GOD CREATE DINOSAURS?
Creationists who believe that the earth is millions or even billions of years old have no trouble in accepting the position that dinosaurs existed in ages past. However, for those of us who believe in a young earth, this question is a bit more complex. If the earth is only 6,000 or so years old, and God made the land animals (including dinosaurs) on the same day as He made people, they would have to live at the same time. Right?
Scientists tell us that dinosaurs became extinct millions of years before human beings existed. They point out that dinosaur and human fossils have never been found together. Though it sounds good, this is a weak argument. Many different creatures who lived at the same time have not had fossils found together. It proves nothing. Besides that, most ancient cultures have left drawings, sculptures, stories, and other evidence of their belief in dragons or other large dinosaur-like creatures. Where did these ideas come from if they’d never seen any such thing?
The word dinosaur was coined in the 1800’s. It is not surprising that we don’t find it in the Bible. That said, we do find the words behemoth (Job 40:15-24), leviathan (Job 41:1, Psalm 104:26), and dragons or sea monsters (Isaiah 27:1). All of these may be references to dinosaurs. While we can’t be absolutely certain, young earth proponents like myself believe that dinosaurs and humans lived at the same time, that Noah took dinosaurs with him on the ark, and that they became extinct a few centuries after the flood.
CONCLUSION
In today’s message we have discussed stage 5 of creation which took place on days 5 and 6 of creation week. God created the animals - on land, in the sky, and in the water. He created them all at virtually the same time, fully developed, and each according to its own kind. He blessed them and told them to be fruitful and multiply. Friends, do your own research. The theory of evolution is not true and is riddled with numerous flaws and misplaced assumptions.
Next week we will study God’s greatest creation - human beings. It promises to be a great message. In the meantime, take a moment to thank God for all of the wonderful animals He has made and how they are a blessing to our lives.