Third Morning—The Earth Forms
The first stars formed on the second morning, mostly in the centers of the galaxies. On the perimeters of the galaxies there were still clouds of cold gases, like hydrogen, that would take thousands of millions of years to become compact and produce stars. When some of the first stars exploded and dispersed the contents of their interiors, the dust formed long streamers threaded among the clouds of gases. Many galaxies turn like windmills. The streamers of dust look like threads partly wound around the center of their galaxy. Some of the dust mixed with the clouds of hydrogen. When the clouds formed new stars, the heavy elements catalyzed their nuclear burning reactions. This allowed new, yellow stars to ignite at a lower temperature than the first, bluish-white stars. One of these yellow stars was under the heavens because it was in the dusty region that was to form the Earth and solar system. That star was and still is our Sun. The Sun circulated in the arms of the Milky Way, collecting a dusty disk that later formed a “court” of planets.
Jeff Hester and Paul Scowen of Arizona State University used NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope to photograph a star-forming region in the Eagle nebula. They called their picture “Pillars of Creation.” It shows fingers or pillars of dust four light years in length. In the picture a yellow star seems to plunge through one of the pillars and drag after it a trail of dust about the diameter of our solar system. Is that what the Earth’s third morning was like?
Jeff Hester and Paul Scowen of Arizona State University used NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope to photograph a star-forming region in the Eagle nebula. They called their picture “Pillars of Creation.” It shows fingers or pillars of dust four light years in length. In the picture a yellow star seems to plunge through one of the pillars and drag after it a trail of dust about the diameter of our solar system. Is that what the Earth’s third morning was like?
A star collects dust to make planets in the third morning.
The words of Genesis 1:9, “Let the waters under the heavens come together in one place, and let that which is dry be uncovered” also describe another event that occurred much later. For a long time as the Earth was forming its surface was very hot. Any condensed water that fell as rain quickly boiled away again as steam. Clouds constantly enveloped the Earth, just as they still do on the planet Venus. But there came a time in the third day when the surface of the Earth was cool enough for puddles, ponds, lakes, seas, and oceans. Genesis 1:10 says, God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” The mountains and continents rose up and dried off, and the waters of the oceans sought their basins. Sunlight reached the dry ground for the first time.
Under the mists there was surface moisture. The first microbes conditioned the soil, and made things ready for the creation of vegetation. Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good (Genesis 1:11). The vegetation released oxygen and conditioned the atmosphere for animal and human life. The trees grew from seeds God created.
Trees take many years to become tall. With the rotation of the Earth darkness and light alternated on its surface. However, considered in its totality, the Earth was always close to the Sun, bathed in light. Regardless of the events ocurring on its surface, the Earth as a whole was still in the third morning. God still retained for Himself the authority to separate day and night.
Under the mists there was surface moisture. The first microbes conditioned the soil, and made things ready for the creation of vegetation. Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good (Genesis 1:11). The vegetation released oxygen and conditioned the atmosphere for animal and human life. The trees grew from seeds God created.
Trees take many years to become tall. With the rotation of the Earth darkness and light alternated on its surface. However, considered in its totality, the Earth was always close to the Sun, bathed in light. Regardless of the events ocurring on its surface, the Earth as a whole was still in the third morning. God still retained for Himself the authority to separate day and night.