Foreword

My Journey to Life provides the keys for living every day with peace of mind, harmony of body and wonderful relationships. As you read through each lesson guide, your daily outlook will be transformed and renewed by the Spirit. We pray you will experience a growing adoration for the greatest Teacher this world has ever known. Let’s begin walking, step-by-step, on the pathway toward a new life together with Jesus. JTL12 1.1

Preface

In many places today, the theory of evolution is believed as fact. But much is lost in the assumption that we evolved over long periods of time. The biblical account of Creation affirms God’s power, establishes purpose and meaning for our lives, and gives us a hope-filled promise of re-creation by the One who redeems us. JTL12 1.2

Step Twelve—God’s Creation

What does the Bible say about earth’s origins? “God has revealed in Scripture the authentic and historical account of His creative activity. He created the universe, and in a recent six-day creation the Lord made “the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them” and rested on the seventh day. God established the Sabbath as a perpetual memorial of the work He performed and completed during six literal days that combined with the institution of Sabbath constituted the same unit of time that we today call a week. The first man and woman were made in the image of God as the crowning work of Creation, given dominion over the world, and charged with responsibility to care for it. When the world was finished, it was “very good,” declaring the glory of God.”—Seventh-day Adventists Believe, p. 79 JTL12 1.3

Bible Discovery:

Genesis 1; 2; 5; 11; Exodus 20:8-11; Psalm 19:1-6; 33:6, 9; 104; Isaiah 45:12, 18; Acts 17:24; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2; 11:3; Revelation 10:6; 14:7 JTL12 1.4

Further Reading:

Ellen G. White, Spiritual Gifts, book 3, p. 90.2 JTL12 1.5

1. Is the creation account in Genesis 1 and 2 both literal and historical?

The elements contained in the Genesis Creation story are not merely symbolic or metaphorical; they are an accurate account of the way God created the world for its inhabitants, both animal and human. The author of Genesis refers to literal 24-hour days, each with its night and day, culminating with the seventh-day Sabbath. This was the original model for the unit of time known as the seven-day week. JTL12 1.6

The Creation narrative also serves as an introduction to the history of the plan of salvation, which is the theme of Scripture. We see this premise repeated throughout the Old Testament as other passages follow the general outline of Genesis 1. (See Psalm 8, 19, 104; Jeremiah 32:17). JTL12 2.1

Likewise, we have a responsibility to preserve God’s creation. Earth’s resources are His handiwork. We must care for the environment that He so tenderly and lovingly created for us. God made us stewards over this planet’s created works (Genesis 1:28). JTL12 2.2

Bible Discovery:

Genesis 1, 2; Psalm 33:6-9; Amos 4:13; 5:8; 9:5, 6; Isaiah 40:26-28; Jeremiah 27:5; 51:15, 16 JTL12 2.3

Further Reading:

Ellen G. White, Review and Herald, August 19, 1884, pars. 10, 13; Steps to Christ, pp. 9.3-10.2 JTL12 2.4

2. Are Genesis 1 and 2 two separate and contradictory Creation accounts?

Some scholars and commentators believe that the differences in the tone and story of Genesis 1 and 2 provide evidence that the Creation narrative is a myth, not a historical account of earth origins. However, the two reports of Creation—one in Genesis 1:1 through to 2:3 and the other in Genesis 2:2-25—both harmonize. JTL12 2.5

The first narrative recounts the creation of all things in chronological order of literal 24-hour periods. The Hebrew word translated “day” in Genesis 1 is yowm. When yowm is accompanied by a definite number, it always means a literal, 24-hour day—which is another indication that the Creation account speaks of literal 24-hour days. JTL12 2.6

The second narrative begins with the words, “These are the generations of…” (KJV), an expression that, in Genesis, introduces a family history. This narrative describes man’s place in Creation. It is not strictly chronological but reveals that everything served to prepare the environment for humanity. It gives more details on Adam and Eve’s creation and the setting God provided in the garden of Eden than does the first narrative of Genesis 1. Additionally, it informs us of the nature of humanity and of divine government. Only if these two Creation accounts are accepted as literal and historical do they harmonize with the rest of Scripture. JTL12 2.7

The divine name Elohim is used in Genesis 1, a more generic name for God. In Genesis 2, God is called Yahweh Elohim, a more personal and specific identification of God used to describe the creation of man and woman. Adam and Eve were personal human beings and could therefore respond to God’s love and interact with Him in a trusting, cognitive relationship that no other part of His creation could. While the use of different divine names in Genesis 1 and 2 is thus theologically important, it does not mean the narratives come from two different sources. JTL12 2.8

Repetitive parallelism is a basic literary device of the Old Testament, used to emphasize a point or underscore its importance. Parallelism does not repeat the exact words of what has been given before, but rather states the subject matter in a different but complementary way. This is what Genesis 2 does with Genesis 1. It expands on what was done before, but it does not negate or contradict it. Each Bible Discovery text below is an example of repetitive parallelism. JTL12 3.1

Bible Discovery:

Exodus 16:1; 20:8-11; Leviticus 23:32; Deuteronomy 16:6 JTL12 3.2

Further Reading:

Ellen White, Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 8, pp. 257.4-258.2 JTL12 3.3

3. What’s the biblical relationship between Creation and the Sabbath?

The Ten Commandments offer another evidence that the Genesis Creation account involves literal days. In the fourth commandment, God says, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work; … for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it” (Exodus 20:8-11). JTL12 3.4

After His six-day workweek of Creation, God rested on the seventh day. He ceased from all His creative activity. He did not physically need rest but His divine rest serves as an example for us. The seventh-day Sabbath is therefore a weekly memorial of Creation, a reminder of the power of our omnipotent God and His dominion over His creation. God blessed, made holy, and set apart the Sabbath for the benefit of human beings. JTL12 3.5

The sanctification of the Sabbath at Creation shows that the blessings of the Sabbath were for the entire human race, and not just for the Jewish people who were descendants of Jacob (Israel). The Sabbath is a gift of grace, speaking not of what we did, but of what God has done. He especially blessed this day and sanctified it so we would never forget that, besides work, life should include communion with our Creator, rest, and celebration of God’s creative works. JTL12 3.6

Bible Discovery:

Genesis 2:1-3; Exodus 20:3-17; 31:16, 17; Ezekiel 20:12, 20; Mark 2:27, 28 JTL12 3.7

Further Reading:

Ellen G. White, 9LtMs, Manuscript 10, 1894, par. 18; Signs of the Times, November 12, 1894, par. 7 JTL12 3.8

4. Can we find a Creation motif in the New Testament?

What was implied, but not explicitly revealed, regarding Creation in the Old Testament becomes clear in the New Testament with the introduction of Christ as Creator. The motif “God, who made heaven and earth, sea and everything in them,” or a variation thereof, occurs in Acts 4:24; 14:15; 17:24; Ephesians 3:9; Revelation 10:6; 14:6, 7. This idea finds its genesis in the fourth commandment of Exodus 20:8-11. JTL12 3.9

New Testament writers knew Creation week as a finite point in time that divided the time and events before Creation from those that took place after it. Their references were not vague but historically specific. JTL12 4.1

Bible Discovery:

Matthew 13:35; 25:34; Luke 11:50; John 17:24; Romans 1:20; Ephesians 1:4; Hebrews 4:3; 9:26; 1 Peter 1:20; Revelation 13:8 JTL12 4.2

Further Reading:

Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 113.4 JTL12 4.3

5. Which member of the Godhead spoke our world into existence?

All the members of the Godhead were involved in Creation (Genesis 1:2, 26). The active agent, however, was the Son of God, the preexisting Christ. In the prologue to his Creation account, Moses wrote, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Recalling those words, John specified Christ’s role in Creation, “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:1, 3). In the same passage, John makes abundantly clear of whom he was writing: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). JTL12 4.4

Jesus was the Creator, the One who spoke the earth into existence. JTL12 4.5

Bible Discovery:

Psalm 33:9; Mark 2:27; Ephesians 3:9; Colossians 1:16-19; Hebrews 1:2, 3 JTL12 4.6

Further Reading:

Ellen G. White, Education, p. 132.1 JTL12 4.7

6. Does the Bible identify a starting point for our world’s history?

The Old Testament does not give a precise date for the events of the Creation week of Genesis 1. It does, however, give some data that can be used to develop a general and approximate date for those events. JTL12 4.8

Biblical chronology must work backward from the known (the Old Testament kings) to the unknown. Using the dates for the reigns of kings, the birth of Abraham, the Exodus and the geologies of Genesis 5 and 11, we can affirm that Creation took place more recently than the proposed billions-of-years evolutionary theory—probably in the fifth millennium B.C. JTL12 4.9

In contrast, theistic evolutionists who try to harmonize God’s creating activities with the theory of natural evolution argue for a beginning several million years ago. Biblical archeologists, who read the biblical text from the perspective of the extrabiblical Egyptian, Assyrian, and Babylonian chronologies, propose some 10,000 years ago. Based on the information provided in the biblical genealogies, some interpreters have suggested around 6,000 years for the history of this world. We are on safe ground by simply recognizing that Bible authors support a literal creation week and a short earth chronology (Psalm 33:6, 9). JTL12 4.10

Bible Discovery:

Genesis 15:13; 21:5; 25:26; 47:9; Exodus 12:40; 1 Kings 6:1; Galatians 3:17; Hebrews 11:3 JTL12 4.11

Further Reading:

Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 111.1-2 JTL12 4.12

7. Does it matter whether God created our earth in seven literal, contiguous 24-hour periods, or over millions of years?

Creating through predation over millions of years would mean that the God we worship is cruel, brutal and willing to create life through suffering, violence, catastrophe, and death. The Bible portrays a God who notes the falling of a sparrow, who is compassionate, merciful, and life-giving. JTL12 5.1

Romans 5:12 states that death entered our world through sin. The entrance of sin into Planet Earth is described in Genesis 3, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and subsequently suffered its penalty—death. Today, instead of the clear biblical teaching that death came about because of humanity’s sin, revisionists are presenting death as a means through which God creates by an upward evolutionary trajectory! JTL12 5.2

Since the first temptation of Eve in her garden home, Satan has continually tried to misrepresent the character of God. Let’s consider the character of God in terms of “creative process.” If God did indeed create over millions of years, at what point did moral consciousness evolve and humanity become morally responsible? At what point in history did God let humanity know that He is a God who cares and can be trusted? JTL12 5.3

The character of a God of love and life is preserved in the literal Creation narrative in contrast to the severely maligned portrait of God’s character emerging from “deep time” theories. JTL12 5.4

Bible Discovery:

Genesis 1:26, 27; Psalm 33:6; Matthew 10:29; 1 John 4:18 JTL12 5.5

Further Reading:

Ellen G. White, Spiritual Gifts, book 3, p. 93.1 Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 415.5 JTL12 5.6

8. How important is it for a Christian to reject the macro-evolutionary theory of origins?

If a Christian is defined as one who believes in, and accepts Jesus as Lord, trusting the reliability of His Word, then could one be a Christian and support a non-literal interpretation of Genesis 1-11? If God cannot, or would not, “speak and it was so” (Psalm 33:9), why would a person believe anything else He is said to have done, or will do? If God’s initial creative process is up for grabs, a literal process both John and Paul corroborate (1 Timothy 2:13; John 1:10, 13), then one could, with consistency, also question a global flood, the virgin birth, and a historical resurrection JTL12 5.7

In Scripture, the historical events of Creation, a global flood, and imminent return of Jesus are closely linked (2 Peter 3:3-5; Matthew 24:37-39). Under the evolutionary model, all things are progressing; in some evolutionary models, God is already within us—we need only find the god in ourselves. Why would we need to prepare for the advent of One who already resides as us? If life is continually evolving toward something better and more complex, why would God interrupt history with an imminent visible return? Clearly, the Christian who accepts the Word of God must reject the macro-evolutionary theory of origins. JTL12 5.8

Bible Discovery:

Genesis 1:1-3; Psalm 139:13, 14; John 3:12; 14:1-3; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 2 Timothy 3:16, 17 JTL12 6.1

Further Reading:

Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 111.3-112.3; Education, pp. 128.2-129.1 JTL12 6.2

9. What relationship is there between a literal Creation narrative and our salvation?

Jesus is the centerpiece of our salvation. In Him, Creation and salvation meet. Although Jesus spoke the world into existence in six literal days of perfect creation, the process of saving people stretches over millennia. God’s covenant to be faithful to His creation as they remain in Him finds its genesis with Adam and Eve, its relational significance in the agony of Christ on the cross of Calvary, and its zenith in our ultimate redemption JTL12 6.3

Christ's perfect, divine hands first gave humanity life and Christ’s hands, pierced and blood-stained, will give humanity eternal life. We are not only created in His image; we are to be re-created to reflect His image more fully. Both creations are equally the work of Christ—neither has come from within through natural development. JTL12 6.4

Bible Discovery:

Genesis 1:27; 2:2; John 1:14; 19:30; Acts 17:28; Romans 5; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 4:24; 2 Peter 3:9 JTL12 6.5

Further Reading:

Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 22.2; Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Vol. 6, p. 1074.6 JTL12 6.6

10. What is the ‘mega-narrative’ of Creation?

The Bible is a story—a story of the faithful, covenantal love of God for you and me. All of us, regardless of gender, race, education or position, were created in the image of God for a close, loving relationship with Him (Zephaniah 3:17). Love is the motivation for all God does. His created works of nature function as a witness and an agency to lead us to His heart of love. JTL12 6.7

God’s creative power is involved not only in Creation, but in redemption and restoration. This redeeming, restoring power is not limited to changing human lives. The same power that originally created the heavens and the earth will, after the final judgment, re-create them, making of them a new and magnificent creation. If God’s creation activities require long geological eras, then the recreation of the world would need to follow the same pattern. This “deep time” recreation would destroy the biblical eschatological sequence, however. JTL12 6.8

The Bible begins and ends with the same story: Creation. Genesis 1 and 2 tell of the creation of our world and all that is in it. Revelation 21 and 22 continue with the story of the new re-creation. Everything in between contains the grand history of the plan of salvation, accomplished by our Creator God, without a thread of human intervention. JTL12 6.9

Bible Discovery:

Psalm 19:1-4; Isaiah 44:21-28; 65:17-19; Romans 1:20; Colossians 1:17; 1 John 4:8; Revelation 21:22 JTL12 6.10

Further Reading:

Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 677.2-3; 678.2-3 JTL12 6.11

11. What does the biblical Creation narrative tell us about trusting God, even in times of chaos and societal disruption?

Today, our world shows signs of “growing old like a garment.” Catastrophes, pandemics, droughts, political unrest and violence create anxiety and panic, with “men’s hearts failing them for fear.” JTL12 7.1

Job understood the stress of calamity! Stricken with debilitating disease, mourning the loss of his children, possessions, and position, maligned by his own friends, Job needed a revelation of God’s ultimate purpose! As God asked Job rhetorical questions about nature, Job recognized the wisdom and love of God demonstrated in His created works. He came to understand that even in suffering, even when he might not understand everything about his life, he could trust the Creator and His ultimate purpose of restoration. JTL12 7.2

As we accept a literal Creation week, we show the trust we place in the Word of God as an authentic guide for our disrupted lives. JTL12 7.3

Bible Discovery:

Job 38-42; Psalm 91:1-6; Isaiah 51:6; Luke 21:26 JTL12 7.4

Further Reading:

Ellen G. White, Gospel Workers (1892 edition), pp. 423-424.2 JTL12 7.5

12. What does Creation have to do with worship?

The phrase “worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters” (Revelation 14:7) finds its parallel in the language of the fourth commandment which points us to the purpose for worshiping God on His seventh-day Sabbath: “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is.” God reminds our neo-Darwinian world that the seventh-day Sabbath is inextricably linked to a short Creation week and the final judgment message of Revelation 14. Worshiping God on the seventh-day Sabbath—the memorial of His literal Creation week—will then become the focus of this earth’s last great conflict. (See My Journey to Life: Step 5—The Sabbath) JTL12 7.6

Before this last great conflict which includes the seven last plagues (Revelation 16), a special message is to be given which calls the attention of the world to the Creator once more (Revelation 14:6, 7). Coming at a time when most humans have chosen the theory of natural selection over the special revelation of Scripture, this last message of loving entreaty includes a call to worship God on the day He has set apart to commemorate His creation, the seventh-day Sabbath. JTL12 7.7