How Miraculous Were Creation Days 1 and 2?
Having made the case that Day 1 was 3.9 billion years ago, that Day 2 immediately followed Day 1, and and having described it all in terms of mainstream scientific hypotheses, some may say it calls the miraculous nature of those days into question. First, let us recap.
It seems that God said to let there be light when Jesus and the Holy Spirit were hovering over the ocean, in the rain. The rain was part of the aftermath of a large meteor strike 3.9 billion years ago that blew away much of the existing atmosphere, and vaporized the existing ocean. That vapor was now settling back through a worldwide rainstorm, and Jesus was watching the oceans reform below Him. Without an atmosphere, the sky was dark; in the rain, under those clouds, it only made it darker. The situation was remedying itself, but with another meteor strike it would all be for naught. God told Jesus, “Let there be light.” Jesus obeyed and saw to it that no more large meteors would strike; the atmosphere could now reform unencumbered. As light began to show, even through the rain and clouds, Jesus stepped into the night-side of the earth, and back into the day. Day 1 was over; Day 2 had begun. It was still raining.
The rain was relentless, allowing no real break between the ocean and the clouds. And so God told Jesus to separate the waters above from the waters below. Jesus obeyed, and the rain let up. The clouds and the ocean had a firmament separating them. Jesus stepped into the night again, and Day 2 was over. These were the sequence of events, as testified to by both science and scripture.
The events described above bring up the question of what is miraculous and what is not. Did Jesus interfere with the natural order when He stopped the meteors from bombarding the earth? Or was it going to happen anyway? Did He miraculously stop the rain, or was it going to let up on it’s own? The answer to this chicken-and-egg riddle is that the events were going to happen anyway, and it was miraculous when they did. I say this not to be annoying, or even clever, but because I believe it is how God works.
For example, scripture tells us that we must choose Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and that God will choose who He chooses. So, which is it? Which is the chicken? the egg? Well, if you choose Jesus by your own free will, then you will find that God chose you by His. Would you like an Old Testament example instead? God gave Joseph a dream that his brothers would one day bow down to him. In their jealousy, they sold him into slavery in Egypt. Over the years, Jospeh would rise to the point where he was second to the Pharoah. One day, his brothers came to Egypt to buy food from Joseph. They didn’t know it was him, and they bowed before him.
Unlocking these chicken-and-egg scenarios is not the point, but rather that such situations are one of God’s signatures. You may not know which condition or event precedes the other, but encountering the dilemma should result in confirmation rather than alarm.
I realize how unsatisfying this is for many people, who would prefer that the miraculous not occur in a manner that can be mistaken for mere natural events. (Can you see my arguments for Evolution forming yet?) I can only point out how God works; His actions are not for me to justify. But they are there are for us to see, for those who look in faith.
Having said that, for the sake of argument, let us suppose that the events were natural at the time, but Jesus set them up to happen like that. It still allows for a miraculous action, whose manifestation was only revealed 3.9 Ga. But, what does that do to the Geocreationist theory that Day 1 and Day 2 took place around 3.9 Ga, if the actual miracle arguably took place billions of years before? Well, the short answer is, “nothing.”
Genesis 1:3 doesn’t actually say that Jesus did anything. It just says, “Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.” I was the one who implied that Jesus acted right then to stop the meteors. Well, here’s the thing. Jesus could have acted miraculously to stop inbound meteors, willing them into non-existence at that moment if that is what He chose to do. He might also have set things up billions of years before, and merely watched the fruits of His labor in response to His Father’s command. The meteors were a hindrance to the light, and God wanted that hindrance removed. From the earth’s perspective, that only requires that there be no more meteors, and there weren’t. So, whether the miracle was then or not, either way matches the facts that we are aware of.
As for Day 2, the argument is very similar. God said to remove the hindrance of a firmament between the oceans and the clouds. From the earth’s perspective, that only means that the rain has to stop, and it did. Whether it’s because Jesus stopped it miraculously right then, or because He set things up ahead of time, either way matches the facts that we are aware of, and I am content to stop right there.