T
he fifth day of creation – sea life, insects and birds
Genesis 1:20 – 23 speaks about the fifth day of creation and says:
“Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and birds that fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky. God created the great sea monsters, and all the living creatures of every kind that creep, which the waters brought forth in swarms, and all the winged birds of every kind. And God saw that this was good. God blessed them saying be fertile and increase, fill the waters in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth. And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day”. Genesis 1:20 – 23. The Jewish Bible.
I understand this to mean that on the fifth day, God created, in the waters, the beginnings of all marine life, all living creatures that swarm (insects) and birds that fly in the air. It includes the biggest fish (sea monsters and possibly marine mammals such as whales), and all insects which would eventually come forth onto dry land and live on the land; as well as all the birds. This probably did not include the reptiles, and land mammals, which I believe were created on the sixth day.
Science gives us the following timeline for the evolution of life on planet Earth. This timeline can be found on the Internet on the “History World” website at (www.historyworld.net), by clicking on “timelines”, then typing “evolution” in the search box and clicking go. You can also try clicking on this link. http://www.historyworld.net/timesearch/default.asp?keywords=evolution&date=&sort2=&bottomsort=&topsort=&direction=&timelineid=&getyear=&viewtext=extended&conid=timeline&event_number=20
In the interest of keeping this as simple as possible, I have only taken those items in the timeline which are most relevant to this discussion. For additional ease of reference, I have highlighted the events that are most relevant to this discussion of the 5th day of creation.
According to this timeline, the following occurring.
- 3 billion years ago single celled water creatures such as algae, begin building your process of evolving into slightly more complex forms of life.
- One billion years ago sponges and jellyfish drift in the sea, to be joined later by more purposeful shrimps and lobsters.
- 500 million years ago earliest known creature with a skeleton evolves as a form of fish.
- 400 million years ago plants previously living only in the seas, begin to establish themselves on land.
- 350 million years ago insects become the first creatures capable of living their entire lives out of the water, and become the first to master flight.
- 340 million years ago amphibians developed lungs, enabling them to live on land as well as in the water.
- 300 million years ago reptiles developed evolutionary advantages for adaptation to a wide range of environments.
- 225 million years ago dinosaurs dominate the planet.
- 170 million years ago mammals begin to make their appearance on the planet.
- 150 million years ago a creature with both dinosaur and birdlike features exists.
- 125 million years ago primitive birds begin to feature in the fossil record.
- 65 million years ago mammals evolve in many new forms on land and in the water, using opportunities made possible by the extinction of the dinosaurs.
- 230,000 years ago humans evolve who can be classified as Homo Sapiens, among them the Neanderthal man.
Clearly again the biblical account and science are compatible. Animal life first began in the seas which produced all the swarming creatures that creep. I understand this to be all insects which came onto dry land from the seas, and flew, eventually evolving into birds. It is uncanny how God through Moses has told us the precise sequence of evolution that science later confirms. How did Moses know that all life originated from the oceans? How did he know that the first out of the oceans would be swarms of insects? How could he know all this if GOD had not revealed it to him? And if God does not exist how could he have revealed it to Moses?