INTRODUCTION
============
When were the stars created? Many people believe this occurred in
Genesis Chapter One in the 16th verse which reads,

"He made the stars also."

But if the stars were created at this time, what are the heavens that
are described in verse 1 as being created "In the beginning"? Two very
different Hebrew words are used in verses 1 and 16. The first uses the
Hebrew word BARA to describe the creation of the heavens (verse 1).
The second uses the Hebrew word ASA, and states that "the stars were
made" (verse 16). The word BARA means to call into existence something
that previously had no existence, whereas ASA means to mold or shape
something that already exists. Moreover, and in context, verse 16 does
not say that stars as such were made, but instead, and like the
greater and lesser light (sun and moon), that they were made to rule.
 

The Creation sequence in Genesis 1 unfolds as a sequence of 12 created
elements. The first two elements (found in verse 2) are descriptions,
whereas each of the remaining ten elements (first word "Let") occur as
commands. The Creation sequence, along with their attending verses in
Genesis One are as follows:

Verse Descriptive / Command
===== =====================
2 Darkness was upon the face of the deep
2 God's Spirit hovered over water
3-5 Let their be light
6-8 Let their be an expanse
9-10 Let waters be gathered
Let dry land appear
11-13 Let vegetation sprout
14-19 Let there be lights in the expanse
20-23 Let waters team with living creatures
Let birds fly in the expanse
24-25 Let earth bring forth living creatures
Cattle (docile)
Creeping Things (insects)
Beasts (wild)
26-28 Let us make man in our image

Genesis One thus presents physical Creation as a composite of twelve
(12) events that result from God's activity. These, in turn, unify
into the following six (6) pairs of outcomes:

* Light and Vegetation

* Water and Sea Life

* Air and Flying Creatures

* Land and Insects

* Docile and Wild Animals

* Man and Woman

Genesis One presents these six pairs of outcomes using verses that
range in number from verse 2, and through verse 28 i.e., these
outcomes comprise a total of twenty-seven (27) verses.

This group of verses contains a three-fold symmetry where God makes:

* Light in Day 1 functions as time markers in Day 4

* An expanse in Day 2 permits birds to fly in Day 5

* Land in Day 3 allows animals to come forth in Day 6

It is interesting that the number twenty-seven (27) results
from multiplying the number three (3) by itself three times,
i.e., 3 x 3 x 3 = 27.
 

CREATION SEQUENCE
=================
The opening verse of the Bible asserts that "In the beginning, God
created the heavens (KJV: heaven) and the earth". The English word
"heavens" is generally understood by scientists and lay-persons alike
to mean an expanse of stars. It is translated from the Hebrew word
SHAMAHIM (or SHAMEH) which, in turn, arises from an unused Hebrew root
that means "aloft". It is used to denote heights where birds fly
(Deuteronomy 4:17), or where stars reside (Isaiah 34:4). However, as
used in Genesis, the phrase "Heaven(s) and earth" (verses 1:1, 2:1,
14:19, 22) means "mundus universus" i.e., the universe outside the
earth. Thus the stars (and planets) seem to be created in Genesis 1:1.

Will this create a problem? Does not Genesis 1:14-19 teach that the
sun, moon and stars are created in Creation Day 4? The answer is
emphatically No! To the contrary, and as will be seen, Genesis Chapter
One reveals a Creation scenario that is in full accord with modern
knowledge. The latter point should come as no surprise. The Bible
claims the Intellect that authored its content is the Intelligence
that created the world it describes, If so, they should agree.

Let's examine the physical meaning revealed by a Creation sequence
where the stars are created in the first verse of Genesis Chapter One.
The implications are as follows:

* THE HEAVENS PRECEDED EVERYTHING / verse 1
Based on what is known today, hydrogen and helium attended the
formative stages of the universe, and comprised a major part of the
material from which the early stars were formed. Two competing
forces are at play in a star. Thermal forces from its nuclear
furnace push out against gravitational forces that otherwise try to
collapse the star. When fuel in nuclear furnace is exhausted, and
when certain conditions are satisfied, instability occurs and the
star explodes, creating an event called a "supernova". This is a
stellar process that has been shown to create the heavier elements
found in our universe, such as oxygen.

* WATER IS THE FIRST CREATED SUBSTANCE MENTIONED / verse 2
Genesis Chapter One identifies the heavens as the first created
system, and then references water as the first created substance.
Water is composed of hydrogen and oxygen-- two elements that would
be available to form water from the stellar processes implicit in
the creation of the "heavens" earlier in verse 1.

* LIGHT APPEARS / verse 3
Our sun is a star and, like other stars, has a nuclear furnace
which Genesis One indicates was kindled in verse 3 where the text
reads: "Let there be light." Based on what we know, the hydrogen
and helium in our early universe was accompanied by lithium and
deuterium (an isotope of hydrogen), Light from our sun occurs when
deuterium and lithium fuse into two unstable helium atoms that then
split, releasing enormous thermo-nuclear energy (as do hydrogen
bombs). It is noteworthy that in the Creation sequence heavy water
(deuterium) exists prior to the creation of light.

* GREENHOUSE CREATED / verses 6 - 7
Genesis 1:6-7 reveal that waters are next divided to sandwich a
large body of air (the firmament). How do we know that this
firmament consists of air? The reason is that Genesis 1:20 shows
that birds (KJV: fowl) fly above the earth in the open firmament of
heaven. Where do the birds fly? In the firmament (NAS: expanse).
This is the same firmament that is sandwiched (verses 6-7) by two
bodies of water-- one located on the earth's surface, and the other
above earth's atmosphere. This arrangement constitutes an ideal
greenhouse. The upper layer may have become ice or a super-cooled
vapor. Radiation from the sun passes through this layer and enters
the atmosphere. Internal reflections between the layers trap the
energy, where it is absorbed and warms the atmosphere.

* LAND APPEARS / verses 9 - 10
Genesis 1:9-10 next state that waters "under the firmament" i.e.,
on earth's surface are gathered in one place so that dry land
appears. The Genesis account thus teaches that in the beginning
only one land mass existed. This agrees with modern Geophysics
which posits that all land was originally in one place, and that
this initial continent (named Pangaea) broke apart into the other
continents under a process known as "Plate Teutonics".

* PLANTS APPEAR / verses 11 - 12
We now have a greenhouse with radiation from the sun, and land on
which to grow plants, Minerals are needed for the enzyme action
plants need to grow, and the only way plants can obtain minerals is
from land. In the Creation sequence, vegetation thus arises under
conditions of ideal plant growth. The Hebrew word used for
"vegetation" conveys a perfectly structured and ordered growth.
Some form of photosynthesis must now exist because this is the
process that occurs when plants are exposed to radiation. But
another thing also happens-- the plants produce oxygen. Note that
the poisonous plants that exist today are explained by the Bible in
terms of the fall described in Genesis 3:17-18.

* LIGHT REACHES EARTH'S SURFACE / verses 14 - 18
What next occurs is truly remarkable. These verses read:

14. "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens
to separate the day from the night, and let them be
for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years;
15. and let them be lights in the firmament of the
heavens to give light upon the earth; and it was so.
16. And God made the two great lights, the greater
light to govern the day, and the lesser light to
govern the night; He made the stars also.
17. And God placed them in the firmament of the heavens
to give light upon the earth,
18. and to govern the day and over the night, and to
separate the light from the darkness."

Consider just verse 14:

"Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens
to separate the day from the night and let them be
for signs and for seasons and for days and years."

Does this mean:

`Let the sun and moon be created in the solar system'

or

`Let sunlight be visible at daybreak,
and moonlight be seen at sunset' ?
 

To understand what this text is teaching, let's consider how the
Bible answers these following questions:

1. WHERE IS THE LIGHT LOCATED?

Verse 14 "Let there be lights in the firmament of the
heavens"
Verse 15 "let them be lights in the firmament of the
heavens"
Verse 17 "God set them in the firmament of the heavens"

The text does NOT say that God created lights in the
heavens, but instead that He made lights appear in the
FIRMAMENT of the heavens. What is this "firmament". It is
our atmosphere. How do we know this? The reason is, verse 20
tells us that the firmament is where the birds fly. But our
atmosphere is, at most, only 12 miles high. Since the radius
of our earth is about 3900 miles, this means that earth's
atmosphere is only three-tenths of one percent of its
radius. Since in size, our sun relates to earth as a basket
ball is to a pea, for God to place the star we call our sun
in the firmament would mean that something the size of a
basketball had been place in a space three-tenths of one
percent of the size of a pea. Not only is this nonsensical,
the text neither says nor teaches this. What it's teaching
is that light from the sun, moon and stars was made to
appear or penetrate our atmosphere, and thus fall upon
earth's surface and function as time-keepers.

2. WERE LIGHT SOURCES CREATED, OR MADE TO GOVERN?
Verse 14 "Let there be lights ... to separate the day from
the night"
Verse 16 "And God made ... The greater light to govern the
day, and the lesser light to govern the night;
He made the stars also (in context, to govern).
Verse 17 "God set them in the firmament ...
18 to govern over the day and over the night"

These verses neither say nor teach that God created sources
of light. Stars were created when the heavens were created
in verse 1. These verses teach that God makes light appear
in the atmosphere. Genesis is teaching that the sun, moon
and stars have begun to function as time-keepers. Days and
nights are separated because light is reaching earth's
surface, and a human observer can now see the sun and
separate day from night. Stars are also now visible to allow
distinguishing among signs and seasons. If God had created
sources of light, the Hebrew word used would have been BARA,
but instead it is ASA, meaning to shape or form something
that is already in existence.

3. WHY WERE LIGHTS MADE TO APPEAR?
Verse 15 "let them be lights in the firmament of the
heavens to give light upon the earth"
Although the sun, moon and stars were created in verse 1,
their light doesn't reach earth's surface until verse 14.
The reason is that earth's atmosphere was opaque prior to
this time, but now clears allowing light to reach earth's
surface. Were it otherwise, the sun would have functioned as
a time-keeper at an earlier time.

4. WHAT CAUSED EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE TO CLEAR?
Verse 11 "Let the earth bring forth vegetation,
plants yielding seed, and fruit trees
bearing fruit in which is their seed"

At an earlier time, plant life is created, which alters
earth's atmosphere through the production of oxygen. Modern
geophysics has uncovered red clay-type ferric compounds that
are believed to have been part of an ancient process with
cyano-bacteria (plant life) that cleared earth's atmosphere
through the production of oxygen.
 

5. HOW COULD PLANTS HAVE GROWN IN AN OPAQUE ATMOSPHERE?
If light doesn't reach earth's surface until verse 14, how
is it possible for plants to grow (verse 11) prior to this?
The answer is that light was created in verse 3 when our
sun's nuclear furnace was kindled. Solar radiation consists
of a wide range of frequencies (colors) that stretch from
from below the infra-red, to above the ultra-violet. There
was an abundance of energy that penetrated the atmosphere
and reached earth's surface-- but it would not have been
visible to a human observer on earth's surface. The visible
portion of our suns spectrum doesn't reach earth's surface
until verses 14-19 when the atmosphere clears due to oxygen
production from the plants that appear earlier.

It is important to realize that Genesis Chapter One is primarily a
description of how made our world came into being. Note, for
example, how the earth is prominent from the beginning.
Verse 1: "In the beginning ... and the earth"
Verse 2: "The earth was without form ..."
Verses 2 - 30 speak of water, land, life and food

Genesis Chapter One thus describes how our world came into being,
and is unlike any other chapter of any other book in the Bible. It
is the ONLY chapter without human activity. All other Bible books
have man present. even Genesis Chapter 2. Since scientists now view
physical reality as multi-dimensional (string theorists accept 10),
not even our generation fully understands what occurred. How then
is Genesis to explain Creation to generations of mankind dispersed
across different continents, raised under diverse cultures, and
endowed with various levels of knowledge? It does so using
"phenomenal" language i.e., by describing our world the way human
observers see it. For example, Mark's Gospel (16:2) uses the phrase
"sunset". However we know that the sun doesn't move, but instead
only appears to do so as the earth rotates and removes us from the
horizon. Yet from our vantage point it's as though the sun had
"set". Likewise Genesis Chapter One describes things the way that
they appear to us, but not as they necessarily are in reality.
 

* SEA LIFE APPEARS / verse 20 - 22
Verse 20 speaks to the advent of sea life. In biology, this occurs
over a 10 million year period about 530 million years ago. Some
strongly disagree with these times, but they enjoy wide acceptance
throughout the scientific community. A more complete discussion of
the topic can be found in Dr. Gange's paper: "The Meaning of Yom".
The important point here, however, is that sea life explodes into
existence, with no transitional forms found either before or after.
It's as though Someone came down from the blue with a stamper that
created "life". Genesis Chapter One identifies this Someone as God.
Since the food chain in the oceans depends on plankton (plant life)
it is consistent to have plants first appear, and later sea life.
 

* AIR LIFE APPEARS / verse 20 - 22
The sequence of the things thus far created is:
1. Light
2. Water
3. Atmosphere
4. Land
5. Plants
6. Oxygen
7. Visibility
8. Sea life
The next event described is air life. English translators use the
word "birds", but the Hebrew denotes "flying creatures". Geologists
have found fossils with wing spans of almost thirty inches. Since
an atmosphere with oxygen now exists, these creatures would have
survived, and cross-pollinated plant life now available for food.
 

* LAND LIFE APPEARS / verses 24 - 25
The sequence of land life is:
1. Tame animals
2. Wild beasts
3. Soil creepers
The docile animals (cattle) that precede man (who is created in
verses 26-30):
- Provide milk and labor before fall ... (Genesis 1:24)
- Provide clothing after fall .......... (Genesis 3:21)
- Provide meat after flood ............. (Genesis 9:3)
Note that soil life (insects in verse 24) also precedes man. Our
current knowledge indicates that the ten million or so insects
stabilize soil, and perform functions essential to plant life.
 

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
-----------------------
In describing light from the sun, moon and stars, the biblical
phrase: "Let there be lights" used in Genesis Chapter One, verses
14 - 19, does not describe the light as being in the heavens, but
instead as occupying the FIRMAMENT of the heavens i.e., in earth's
atmosphere in which the birds fly (verse 20). Therefore the phrase,
"Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens" Text means:

Let there be light in the atmosphere
i.e., Let light appear in earth's atmosphere

God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day,
and the lesser light to rule the night. God made the lights to RULE
i.e., to function as time keepers. He made the stars also-- but the
context is, to RULE. The text indicates that God made (ASA) light;
He did not create (BARA) light. The context is light functioning as
a time keeper to man. In other words, light that was previously
created penetrated earth's atmosphere. For what purpose? Verses 15
and 17 state that this purpose is for light to fall on earth's
surface:
"Let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens TO
GIVE LIGHT ON THE EARTH"

To summarize, the sun, moon and stars are created in verse 1.
Genesis Chapter One, Their light begins to function as timekeepers
in verse 16, which reads:

"God made the two great lights,
the greater light to govern the day,
and the lesser light to govern the night;
He made the stars also (to govern).

This text teaches that the sun, moon and stars begin to FUNCTION AS
TIME KEEPERS. Verse 14 reads,

"Let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years;

The text does NOT teach that light sources are created, but instead
that lights already IN existence began to function as TIME KEEPERS.
It is important to realize that these lights do not appear in the
heavens, but in firmament or expanse of the heavens created in
verse 6, and where the birds fly in verse 20. Stated differently,
the the sun, moon and stars do not reside in earth's atmosphere--
they in reside outer space.

Genesis 1:14-19 references an early event in earth's history when
the atmosphere began to clear due to oxygen production. Geologists
and geophysicists concluded this occurred in earth's history by
measuring changes of color in iron rock.

Five related questions that often arise are:

1. When was earth created? Genesis Chapter One verse 1 reads, "In
the beginning, God created the heavens AND THE EARTH"

2. Was the earth created instantaneously? No: "The earth was
formless and void". Ancient Jewish scholars translated this,
"Unfurnished and in disarray". Earth was then formed and filled in
the six creative acts that Genesis Chapter One describes.

3. Are there other instances when God did not create instantaneously?
Yes-- three examples (many others exist) are:

* Adam was first formed out of earth's dust (Genesis 2:7)
* Eve was formed while Adam slept (Genesis 2:21)
* Mary carried Jesus full term (Luke 2:6)

4. Where was the sun when the earth was formless and void? These
were created with the moon, planets and other stars as part of "the
heavens" (verse 1).

5. If in the beginning the earth was formless and void, how could
the sun have been fully formed and functional? The answer is, it
wasn't. Its nuclear furnace was kindled to produce light in verse 3.