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Expanded Comments |
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| 1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. |
Finished – God finished his creative work. R2837:4
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| 2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. |
On the seventh day – The seventh period of 7000 years, whose known length furnishes the clue to the length of the other six creative days. R1731:5; F50; Q758:3, Q759:2; R5768:2
During the last thousand years of the seventh day earth will be restored to paradise condition and man to God's image. R5139:3
He rested – At the beginning of the great seventh day God rested from his work of creating; this has continued ever since. PD8/15; Q759:2; R1731:5, R5768:2
To give the Son the honor of finishing the work. F47
This great rest day of Jehovah has been man's work week, each day 1000 years long. R5768:3
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| 3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. |
And sanctified it – Throughout God's plan six periods of equal length were to be followed by a seventh period of special blessing, as illustrated in the seventh day, or rest day; the seventh year, or rest year; and the seventh thousand-year day, or Day of Restitution. (See note on Ex. 16:23) R1609:6
He had rested – God rested from creating. He did not actively employ his power to overthrow sin and uplift mankind, but left it in the hands of the Redeemer, Jesus. PD8/15
Meanwhile he permitted sin and evil to flourish. R4058:5
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| 4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, |
These are – As a good illustration of the folly of so-called Higher Critics, see their comments on this verse. R3397:5*
The start of the second account of the work of creation. Q758:5
The generations – Developments or details. F38; Q758:5
In the day – Not 24 hours but a long, definite period; as we speak of Luther's day, or Judgment day. A139
Grasping the whole as one larger epoch-day, including the work of the six already enumerated. Q758:5
The LORD God made – By his energy, exercised through his Son. E182; Q758:5
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| 5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. |
Not caused it to rain – The earth was still enveloped in the last canopy or watery veil which came down in Noah's day. F25; R5159:2
Noah manifested his faith in his building of the ark in obedience to divine direction. R4386:5
The whole earth was like a great hothouse. F24; PD16/25
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| 6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. |
A mist – No rain before the flood; vegetation sustained by a mist. R3933:6
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| 7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. |
LORD God formed man – It is not said of man, "Let the earth bring forth," or "Let the seas swarm." F39
Dust of the ground – Producing an earthly creature, as the same energy operating on spirit substances produced angels. E105
What God formed out of the dust of the earth was not man, but merely a form, or body, that would be made into man. R5611:1
The first man, root or life-giver of the race, is of the earth, earthy; the second man, root or life-giver of the race, is the Lord from heaven at his second advent. E137, E453
And breathed – Naphach, inflated, blew. E319
The breath of life – Neshamah, life power Caiyah, lives. E319
The same breath of life common to all breathing animals. CR170:1; Q667:1; R5611:1; HG330:1
Vitality, the power to live. R5611:2; CR338:5*
And man became – Man is a soul, not that he has a soul. E322, R5166:1
A living soul – Nephesh, sentient being, as other creatures. E322
A being capable of sensation, perception and thought. HG330:2
The union of a body and a life principle. R5611:2, R5612:2, R5166:1
The entire man, a thinking person. OV137:2, 4; R4774:4,5; CR170:2; CR397:6
An animal or earthly soul. OV137:2; R4774:3
Defined by a Methodist Episcopal Bishop as "Without interior or exterior, without body, shape or parts; and you could put a million of them in a nutshell." E321; Q666:6
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| 8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. |
Planted a garden – A paradise, soon to be restored, and into which the dying thief shall come, as promised. F668
God foresaw that man would sin so he left the earth in an imperfect condition, except the garden of Eden. R4973:1
God foresaw that if the earth were perfected the death struggle would be longer. R5058:1
There he put the man – The perfection of man and of the earth was represented in Eden when Adam was in his Maker's image. PD8/15
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| 9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. |
To grow every tree – Every kind of tree. A209
The tree of life – Which would have sustained life perfectly. A209
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| 10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. |
A river – Might represent the human race. R4240:6*
Parted – The human race has gone out of Eden because of sin, and it has been divided into four classes. R4240:6*
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| 11 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; |
Gold – Symbol of the divine nature. T18; R4240:6*
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| 12 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. |
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| 13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. |
Gihon – Corresponding to the servants before the throne-- touching a symbolic Ethiopia, representing servitude. R4240. 6*
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| 14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. |
Hiddekel – Flowing toward Assyria, the world, the restitution class. R4240:6*
Euphrates – Symbol of the Second Death class. R4240:6*
Symbol of the world of mankind in Rev. 16. B209; R718:6, R4699:4
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| 15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. |
The man – Holy, pure and free from sin, with every favorable prospect. R4963:3
Garden of Eden – Presumably the site is in Mesopotamia, in the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. OV68:3
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| 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: |
Of every tree – Life-sustaining trees. R4792:5
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| 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. |
But – The provision (of life) was conditional, dependent upon man's obedience. R4792:5
Tree of knowledge – Not one tree, but one kind of trees. Q6:2
Mankind has learned evil first. R5058:4
Not eat of it – Had Adam and Eve remained obedient this restriction would doubtless have been lifted in due time. R3925:3; PD10/17
The headship of Jehovah was thus expressed to Adam in his perfect condition. R1075:2*
For In the day – One day with the Lord is as a thousand years. (2 Pet. 3 :8) R5417:6, R4552:1; F332; Q762:5
Adam died within the 1000-year day of the Lord's reckoning. (2 Pet. 3:8) HG120:2
Came under the death sentence. R4551:6
That thou – The Nephesh, sentient being, soul. E400
Shalt surely die - Dying thou shalt die. A140; OV207:1; SM62:T, R4964:1, R5774:2
The death of the soul, the entire being. HG654:1
Much less horrible than if it had read, "living thou shalt live in eternal torment." HG650:3
The death penalty was a just penalty. OV16:3, OV405:4; CR429:4
Physically, mentally and morally. R5429:6, R5774:2; E407; SM96:T, R5284:1
With no intimation of any release. R5149:2; A154; R5623:6
The penalty included sickness, sorrow, pain, dying and death. OV131:2
With no suggestion of torment afterwards. OV376:2, OV303:4, OV288:3; R5063:6, 5635:6; F333; SM28:1; CR269:4; CR458:3
Implying everlasting life if not disobedient. R4551:6; E22
Adam experienced 930 years of dying. CR278:6; R4551:6; SM503:1
This penalty has continued 6000 years. R4973:1, R5429:6, R5760:2, R5919:5; OV329:4
The dying process began immediately. OV299:1; R4551. 6, R5149:2; Q218:T
Death is the divine sentence for disobedience. SM110:1; R4792:1, R5768:2, R5972:2
The death penalty could not be increased by any subsequent sins. R5149:3
Adam alone had been tried and condemned; and all will be released by the obedience of one, Christ. R4552:3
The death penalty did not change Adam's nature. OV288:3
The penalty against Adam must be met before the world could be blessed. R4964:1
If Jesus had failed in any degree, the death penalty would have been upon him also. R5551:3
Satan was merely ostracized, while man was subjected to the full penalty of the divine law. OV16:1
We were condemned to death, and we were redeemed, without our consent or knowledge. R4552:3
A clear declaration of the Creator that only a perfect and clean creation shall be accounted worthy to abide forever. R1610:2
Death is not a friend, but an enemy. R15:2
Would it be just thus to sentence a being who was only a little above the beast? R2835:5
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| 18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. |
Meet for him – Adam was so far superior to all other creatures that he had no companionship amongst them. R3922:3
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| 19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living soul, that was the name thereof.
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Living creature – Nephesh, soul, sentient being, as of man. E325, E334
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| 20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. |
And Adam – In the two years before the fall. C127
To every beast – The perfect man had perfect control over all the brute creation. R2374:5
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| 21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; |
One of his ribs – Implying separation of some of his qualities. F497
Indicating that when the work of restitution is complete, all will be as Adam was originally. T101
Closed up the flesh – Typifying that the Church, the Bride of Christ, was formed from his wounded side as a result of the deep sleep of death which came upon our Lord Jesus. R1388:1
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| 22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. |
Made he a woman – Eve, type of the Church. E140
Predominating in the sympathetic tendencies. R5141:2
The creation of Mother Eve is indicated as having been accomplished in the beginning of the seventh day. R5140:5; PD9/16; F37
The time spent by Adam and Eve before sin entered is not counted as part of the six days of evil. B127, B128; R1980:6
Mother Eve was a portion of Adam, separated for the purpose of the propagation of the race. PD9/16
Mother Eve had no standing with God except as a part of Adam; so the Church has no standing with God except through the sacrifice of Jesus. R5719:3
The object of woman's creation was to be a suitable help for man. R1551:3
An intelligent, sympathetic companion. R1551:6
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| 23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. |
Taken out of Man – They twain were one; neither one was complete without the other. The feminine qualities of Adam's perfection he still possessed in Mother Eve. PD9/16
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| 24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. |
Unto his wife – Marriage is honorable in all. (Heb. 13:4) S104
They shall be one – The figure of Adam and Eve as typifying the Lord Jesus and his Bride ends here, where, the twain are made one. R1388:3
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| 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. |
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