I Creation of the world The world considered in its external beauty and inner harmony, is a marvelous creation, amazing in the harmony of its parts and the wonderful variety of its forms. In all its immensity it moves correctly like majestic

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness was over the deep, and the Spirit of God hovered over the waters.

(Gen 1, 1-2).

The biblical doctrine of the creation of the world is briefly called six days. Day means day. In 1823, the Anglican priest George Stanley Faber (1773-1854) advanced the day-epoch theory. This opinion has absolutely no basis. In Hebrew to express words indefinite period of time or era there is a concept olam. Word yom in Hebrew always means day, days but never period of time. The rejection of a literal understanding of the day greatly distorts the biblical teaching about the creation of the world. If we take a day as an epoch, then how to determine evening And morning? How to apply the blessing of the seventh day and rest in it to the age? After all, the Lord commanded rest on the seventh day of the week - Saturday, because He Himself rested: and God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it, for in it he rested from all his works(Gen 2, 3). The Lord created plants on the third day, and the sun, moon and other luminaries on the fourth. If we accept the idea of ​​"day - epoch", it turns out that for a whole epoch, plants grew without sunlight.

The Holy Fathers understood day the first chapter of the book of Genesis literally. Saint Irenaeus of Lyon: "Restoring this day in Himself, the Lord came to suffer on the day before the Sabbath - that is, on the sixth day of creation, on which man was created, through His suffering giving him a new creation, that is (liberation) from death." Saint Ephrem the Syrian: "No one should think that the six-day creation is an allegory." Saint Basil the Great: « And there was evening, and there was morning, one day ... determines the sim measure of day and night and combines into one daily time, because twenty-four hours fill the duration of one day, if by day we mean also night. Saint John of Damascus: “From the beginning of a day to the beginning of another day is one day, for the Scripture says: and there was evening and there was morning, one day».

How, then, did the alternation of day and night take place before the creation of the luminaries, which appear on the fourth day? Saint Basil the Great writes: “Then, not by the movement of the sun, but by the fact that the primitive light, to a measure determined by God, either overflowed, then contracted again, day occurred and night followed” (Shestodnev. Conversation 2).

Genesis begins with a description of the majestic works of God - the creation of the world in six days. The Lord created the universe with innumerable luminaries, the earth with its seas and mountains, man and all animals and vegetable world. The biblical revelation about the creation of the world rises above all existing cosmogonies of other religions, just as truth rises above any myth. No religion, no philosophical doctrine could rise to the superior idea of ​​creation out of nothing: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

God is self-sufficient and absolutely complete. For His being He requires nothing and needs nothing. The only reason for the creation of the world was the perfect Love of God. St. John of Damascus writes: “The good and most good God was not content with the contemplation of Himself, but out of excess of goodness, He wanted something to happen that in the future would use His favors and be part of His goodness.”

The first to be created were incorporeal spirits - Angels. Although the Scriptures do not contain a story about the creation of the angelic world, there is no doubt that the angels by their nature belong to the created world. This view is based primarily on a clear biblical understanding of God as the almighty Creator who laid the foundation for everything that exists. Everything has a beginning, only God has no beginning. Some holy fathers see an indication of the creation of the invisible world of Angels in the words God created the sky (Gen 1, 1). In confirmation of this idea, St. Philaret (Drozdov) notes that, according to the biblical narrative, the physical heaven was created on the second and fourth days.

primordial the earth was unsettled And empty. Matter, created from nothing, was at first disordered and covered with darkness. Darkness was an inevitable consequence of the absence of light, which was not created as an independent element. Further, the writer Moses writes that The Spirit of God hovered over the water(Gen 1, 2). Here we see an indication of the creative and revitalizing participation in the creation of the third Person of the Holy Trinity - the Holy Spirit. Extremely short and precise definition Everything is from the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit. The water mentioned in the above verse is the most important element, without which life is impossible. In the Holy Gospel, water is a symbol of the life-giving and saving teaching of Jesus Christ. In the life of the Church, water has special meaning, being the substance of the sacrament of baptism.

First day of creation

And God said: let there be light. And there was light... And God separated the light from the darkness. And God called the light day, and the darkness night. And there was evening and there was morning: one day(Gen 1:3-5).

By divine command arose light. From further words: and God separated the light from the darkness we see that the Lord did not destroy the darkness, but only established its periodic change with light to restore and preserve the strength of man and every creature. This wisdom of God is sung by the Psalmist: You spread darkness and there is night: during it all the animals of the forest roam; lions roar for prey and ask God for food for themselves. The sun rises, [and] they gather and lie down in their lairs; A man goes out to his work and to his work until evening. How many are your works, O Lord!(Ps 103:20-24). Poetic expression and there was evening and there was morning ends with a description of the creative affairs of each of the six days. The very word day the saints understood literally.

Light was created by the Divine word possessing omnipotent creative power: for He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it appeared(Ps 32:9). The Holy Fathers see here a mysterious reference to the second Person of the Holy Trinity - the Son of God Jesus Christ, whom the apostle calls Word and at the same time says: Everything came into being through Him, and without Him nothing came into being that came into being.(Jn 1:3).

When describing the first day, the first placed evening, and then morning. For this reason, among the Jews in biblical times, the day began with the evening. This order was preserved in the worship of the New Testament Church.

Second day of creation

And God created the firmament...<...>and called ... the firmament sky(Gen 1, 7, 8) and placed the sky between the water that was on the earth and the water above the earth.

On the second day God created physical sky. Word firmament the word of the Hebrew original is transmitted, meaning prostration, for the ancient Jews metaphorically compared the firmament with a tent: spread out the heavens like a tent(Ps 103:2).

When describing the second day, it is also said about water, which is not only on earth, but also in the atmosphere.

Third day of creation

And God gathered the water under the sky into one place and opened the dry land. And he called the dry land the earth, and the collection of waters he called the seas. And God commanded the earth to bring forth vegetation, grass, and trees bearing fruit. And the earth was covered with vegetation. The Lord separated the water from the land(see: Gen 1:9-13).

On the third day were created oceans, seas, lakes and rivers, and continents and islands. This later delighted the Psalmist: He collected, like heaps, sea waters, laid abysses in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all who live in the world tremble before him, for he spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it appeared(Ps 32:7-9).

On the same day God created all vegetable world. This was fundamentally new: God laid the foundation for an organic life on the ground.

Produce Plant World Creator commanded the earth. St. Basil the Great says: “Then the verb and this first command became, as it were, a natural law and remained in the earth for later times, giving it the power to give birth and bear fruit” (St. Basil the Great. Shestodnev. Conversation 5).

The book of Genesis says that the earth brought forth grass, grass, and trees yielding seed. according to their kind. The Holy Fathers attached fundamental importance to this, for it points to the constancy of everything created by God: “What at the first creation arose from the earth, it is observed to this day, through the preservation of the family by the succession of succession” (St. Basil the Great. Shestodnev. Conversation 5). As you can see, the third day was devoted to the dispensation of our planet.

And God saw that it was good (Gen 1:12). The writer expresses in poetic language the idea that God creates wisely and perfectly.

Fourth day of creation

And God said that lights should appear in the firmament of heaven, to sanctify the earth and to separate the day from the night. According to the created luminaries, the calendar and time will now be counted. And the luminaries appeared: the sun, the moon and the stars(See: Gen 1:14-18).

In description fourth day we see the creation of the luminaries, their purpose and their differences. From the text of the Bible, we learn that light was created on the second day before the luminaries, so that, according to the explanation of St. Basil the Great, unbelievers would not consider the sun to be the only source of light. One God is the Father of lights (see: James 1, 17).

The creation of the luminaries had three purposes: first, to illuminate earth and everything on it; a distinction is made between daytime (sun) and nighttime (moon and stars) luminaries. Secondly, to separate day from night; distinguish four season, arrange time with calendar and keep track of the calendar. Third, serve for the signs of the end times; This is stated in the New Testament: the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of heaven will be shaken; then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven; and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory(Mt 24:29-30).

Fifth day of creation

On the fifth day, the Lord created the first living creatures living in water and flying in the air. And God said, Let the water bring forth reptiles, living creatures; and let the birds fly over the earth. So the inhabitants of the waters appeared, aquatic animals, insects, reptiles and fish appeared, and birds flew through the air(see: Gen 1:20-21).

At the beginning of the fifth day God turns His creative word to water ( let the water bring forth), while on the third day - to the ground. Word water is taken in this place in a broader sense, denoting not only ordinary water, but also the atmosphere, which the sacred writer also calls water.

On the fifth day, God creates a higher form of life than plants. By God's command, representatives of the water element appeared (fish, whales, reptiles, amphibians and other inhabitants of the waters), as well as birds, insects and all living in the air.

The Creator creates the first beings of each kind (“according to kind”). He blesses them to be fruitful and multiply.

The sixth day of creation

On the sixth day of creation, God created the animals that live on earth, and man, in His own image and likeness.(See: Genesis 1, 24-31).

Description sixth creative day the prophet Moses begins with the same words as the previous days (third and fifth): yes will produce... God commands the earth to create all animals of the earth (living soul according to its kind). God created everything in a certain sequence increasing perfection.

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his face breath of life and man became a living soul (cf. Gen 1:26-28).

The last, as the crown of creation, was created man. It was created in a special way. The Holy Fathers first of all note that his creation was preceded by a Divine Council between all the Persons of the Most Holy Trinity: let's make a man. Man is distinguished from the whole created world and by the way the Lord creates him. Although his bodily composition was taken from the earth, the Lord does not command the earth to produce man (as was the case with other creatures), but Himself creates him directly. The psalmist says, addressing the Creator: Your hands created me and arranged me(Ps 118:73).

God said that it's not good for a person to be alone.

And the Lord God brought a deep sleep upon the man; and when he fell asleep, he took one of his ribs, and covered the place with flesh. And the Lord God made a wife out of the rib taken from the man, and brought her to the man(Gen 2:21-22).

The Lord, of course, could create not only one married couple, but several and produce from them the entire human race, but He wanted all the people of the earth to be one in Adam. Even Eve was taken from her husband. The Apostle Paul says: From one blood He made the whole human race to dwell on all the face of the earth.(Acts 17:26). And so we are all relatives.

At the dawn of human history, God established marriage as a permanent life union between a man and a woman. He blessed him and sealed him with the closest bonds: will be one flesh(Gen 2:24).

Having created human body, God blown into his face breath of life and man became a living soul. The most important distinguishing feature man is that his the soul is godlike. God said: Let us make man in Our image [and] in Our likeness(Gen 1:26). About what is the image of God in man, we said earlier. When God created man, He brought to him all the animals and birds, man gave them all names. The naming of names was a sign of man's dominion over all creation.

With the creation of man, the six-day creation of the world ends. God made the world perfect. The hand of the Creator did not bring any evil into him. This doctrine of the original goodness of all creation is a sublime theological truth.

At the end of time will the perfection of the world has been restored. According to the testimony of the seer, the holy Apostle John the Theologian, there will be a new heaven and a new Earth(see: Revelation 21:1).

Seventh day

And God finished on the seventh day His works which He did, and rested on the seventh day from all His works which He did(Gen 2:2).

Having finished the creation of the world, God rested from His works. The writer here uses a metaphor, for God does not need rest. This indicates the secret of the true rest that awaits people in eternal life. Before the onset of this blessed time, already in earthly life we ​​see a prototype of this state - the rest of the blessed seventh day, which in the Old Testament was Saturday, and for Christians is a day Sunday.

My dear friend, in this collection you will find wonderful stories from books. Old Testament. These stories will tell you about God and man, about friendship and love, about good and evil. They can teach you a lot and can even help you become kind and happy yourself. Because God created man in order for man to be happy living with Him. How to live with God? How to learn to listen to God and obey Him? This is exactly what the stories of the Old and New Testaments tell about.

But, perhaps, you will ask me, what is a "covenant"? Let's think together.

Most of all, this word is similar to the words “cherished desire” or “testament”, right ?!

A cherished desire is our most secret dream, we hardly tell anyone about it, except for our mother or very close friend. We keep our dream as a secret.

And the testament? It's the paper we write when we give something of value to our loved ones, right? So that they always remember us.

So the covenant is something very important and secret, which is passed on to us from generation to generation. A covenant is a testament of wisdom, it is a promise of peace, it is a command to future children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren.

The book of the Old and New Testaments describes the covenants that the Lord Himself gave to people, the secrets that He revealed to them in order to make their life happier, to give them strength, hope, to teach them faith and love.

The Old Testament is a covenant given by God to people before He sent His Son to earth, that is, before the coming of Christ, which is why it is called the Old, that is, the Old Testament.

And the New Testament has already been given since the time of the birth of Christ. Coming to earth, Christ changed a lot, because He gave people a new covenant.

By reading the books of the Old and New Testaments, we can learn these mysteries of God.

world creation

When we want to make something, we take a sheet of paper, glue, scissors, colored pencils, plasticine and anything else that can be useful for our craft. Right?

And God made the world out of nothing. By His single will and Word He created Heaven and earth.

God filled the sky with angels. After all, angels do not have a body and weight, and therefore it became very good for them in Heaven.
And the land was completely empty and featureless.

And God said: let there be light! And the light shone. And the light was very pleasing to God. He separated him from the darkness. He called the light day and the darkness night. Thus appeared the first day and night, evening and morning.

And that was the very first day of our world.

Second day

On the second day, the sky appeared above the earth, but not the Sky where the angels live, but another, with clouds and clouds! We still see this sky above our heads! God looked at the sky and was very pleased!

Thus passed the second day of our world.

The third day

On the third day, God separated the water and the land. And lakes, rivers, seas, oceans and small streams appeared on the earth. As well as mountains, plains, hills and fields. The earth has become very beautiful. But something was missing.

And God said, Let the earth bring forth vegetation, grass and trees. And so it happened.

Since then, grass began to grow on the ground. Every autumn the grass throws a seed into the ground, and in the spring it grows again from the seed. And fruits ripen on the trees, which also contain a seed, from which trees grow again and again!

And you and I, if we plant a seed and water it, we will be surprised how soon it will sprout with us!

If you have ever experienced the joy of planting and growing seeds, you will understand how God felt when he saw the whole earth suddenly turn green.
It was the third day of our world.

Fourth day

And on the fourth day God said: let there be lights! And the sun, moon and stars appeared in our sky. And they began to separate the day from the night.

During the day, the Sun rises into the sky, bringing light and joy with it. And at night the sun sets, it becomes dark and the moon and stars appear in the sky. The moon helps people keep track of days, months and years. And the stars show the way to the traveler in the night.

How wisely God arranged everything!

These were the creations of the fourth day of our world.

Fifth day

On the fifth day, God began to inhabit the earth. He created fish, large and small, as well as reptiles - that is, all those creatures that crawl on the earth and on the bottom of the sea. Maybe you remember one of them? Yes, these are snakes, crayfish, insects, lizards. And God blessed them, and he said to the fish: fill the waters in the seas!
He also looked at the sky and created feathered birds. Ravens and jackdaws, gulls, eagles and all, all other birds: large and small, beautiful and not very.

Both the sky and the sea were filled with living beings. And it was good, God decided.

Thus passed the fifth day.

Day six

On the sixth day God said: let the earth bring forth a living creature. And the earth, according to the Word of God, produced animals. That is, God created animals not from nothing, but from the earth! Almost like we sculpt toys from plasticine or clay. But our toys remain toys, no matter what we do with them, and with God His creations come to life and become animals.

Do you know why animals are called that? Because they can give birth living soul. For example, a cow immediately gives birth to a calf. The calf is already alive, he stands on his own legs and even butts a little. And birds, as you remember, lay eggs first. That is why animals are called animals like that, from the word “belly” or “life”.

And God saw, on the sixth day of our world, how good it became on earth! How happy it was.

And then He said: Let us make man in Our image, in Our likeness!

He said "Let's make" because God is a Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And therefore God says: let us make a man who is like us in everything.

Can you imagine, this means that you and I can become like God, if only we really want it and try to become like that.

And God also said: And let man be master over all the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.

And God created man: male and female. And blessed them. And he said that they are now the masters of the earth.
It was the happiest day of creation - the sixth day of our world.

Seventh day

And on the seventh day God finished His works which He did. And He blessed the seventh day as a day of rest.

So we, when we do something good, we want to stop a little, relax and look at what we have done.
Doesn't that sound like our week? Six days we work, study, create, and the seventh day - Sunday - we dedicate to God. Because God Himself sanctified this day.

(To be continued...)