25-0504a Transcript

Preacher: Scott Reynolds

(1:19) Good morning. Good to see everybody.

(1:23) We’re going to be talking about day five of the creation week. (1:28) Imagine a world, silent and still, its oceans empty of life, (1:33) its skies devoid of motion, no whales breaching, no fish darting, no birds soaring. (1:42) And then, in a single glorious moment on day five of creation, God speaks.

(1:52) And the seas and the skies explode with life. (1:57) This wasn’t a slow, gradual process spanning millions of years. (2:01) As the world often claims, no, Genesis 1 records a literal history.

(2:10) About 6,000 years ago, in a 24-hour day, God’s mighty word filled the seas and the skies (2:19) with creatures from great sea dragons to soaring birds. (2:25) In a world far richer than today’s, (2:29) young Earth creationism rooted in a literal reading of Genesis 1 through 11 (2:36) anchors us in this truth. (2:38) A young Earth created instantly, teeming with diversity, and reshaped by a historical flood.

(2:49) Why does this matter? (2:51) Genesis 1 through chapter 11 is not a myth or poetry, but God’s historical record. (3:02) The six days of creation, the genealogies of Adam to Abraham, the global flood, (3:10) the Tower of Babel, form a timeline of a recent creation rejecting billions of years. (3:18) On day five at Genesis 123, declared with evening and morning, (3:26) God crafted sea creatures and birds in hours, not eons, (3:31) and their past abundance now diminished points to his power.

(3:36) Today, we’ll marvel at day five’s wonders, the great sea creatures, the swarming life, (3:44) the birds of the air, and we’ll see how their past abundance points to God’s limitless power, (3:53) a literal genesis, and nature allowing to tell one story, (3:59) a young Earth bursting with his design, calling us to awe and worship. (4:05) So let’s dive into this area of wonder and soar on wings of praise. (4:11) Our text for this morning is Genesis 1, verses 20 through 23.

(4:18) And God said, (4:20) Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, (4:24) and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens. (4:29) And so God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves (4:34) with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds. (4:39) And every winged bird, according to its kind.

(4:43) And God saw that it was good, and he blessed them, saying, (4:47) Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters and the seas, (4:52) and let the birds multiply on the earth. (4:55) And there was evening, and there was morning, the fifth day. (5:01) So our first point is the great sea creatures, (5:05) God’s mighty tanninim.

(5:08) That’s the Hebrew word, tanninim gedolim, (5:14) for great sea creature. (5:17) And it literally means great dragons or great monsters, Genesis 121. (5:24) These aren’t myths or fantasies, (5:25) but real creatures showcasing God’s unparalleled strength.

(5:31) The term tanninim evokes awe, massive, untamable beasts ruling the seas, (5:37) each a testament to the creator’s voice. (5:41) The Hebrew word yam for day in Genesis 123, (5:45) paired with evening and morning, (5:48) signal a literal 24-hour period. (5:51) As Exodus chapter 20, verse 11 confirms, (5:55) in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them.

(6:01) In hours, God spoke whales, sharks, and more into being, (6:06) fully formed, no millions of years required. (6:11) But a literal Genesis opens our eyes to an even grander past, (6:17) in the pre-flood world, the tanninim kind likely included (6:24) creatures far more varied than today’s whales and sharks. (6:28) Scriptures give us a glimpse in Job 41, describing Leviathan this way.

(6:37) His back is made of rows of shields. (6:41) Out of his mouth go flaming torches. (6:44) Sparks of fire leap forth.

(6:46) And when he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid. (6:51) And that’s Job 41, verses 15, 19, and 25. (6:56) This isn’t a crocodile or a modern whale.

(7:00) It’s a sea dragon, perhaps a mosasaur, (7:06) a 50-foot marine reptile with jaws that could snap a ship, (7:11) fossils of mosasaurs and plesiosaurs with their long neck and paddle-like limbs (7:18) show us tanninim kinds that swarm Eden’s oceans now extinct. (7:25) So why is such diversity absent today? (7:30) Genesis 6 through 9 describes a global flood dated roughly 4,500 years ago (7:36) via Genesis 5 genealogies from Noah fathered Shem at 500, Genesis chapter 5, verse 32. (7:48) This catastrophe, which entombed the mosasaurs and plesiosaurs in sediment, (7:54) marked a pivotal shift.

(7:56) Young Earth creationists cite this fossil record, rich with mosasaurs and plesiosaurs (8:02) and other marine giants as proof of a pre-flood world beginning with very tanninim. (8:11) These creatures were encased in flood sediments during a single year of turmoil, (8:18) not over millions of years. (8:20) Post-flood oceans transformed.

(8:23) Currents altered. (8:25) Temperatures fell, leaving many specialized tanninim unable to survive. (8:30) Whales and sharks endured.

(8:33) Majestic forms like Leviathan vanished, leaving fossils and legends of sea creatures. (8:40) Ancient maps noting "Here be dragons" may reflect these lost titans, (8:47) hunted out or overcome by a harsher world. (8:51) This former variety showcases God’s might.

(8:55) He didn’t craft these beings from primordial ooze. (8:59) He spoke, and they thrived, each type vibrant with diversity, (9:05) now seen only in fossils and scripture. (9:09) And the mosasaurs, the creationists think, are probably the most likely candidate for a Leviathan.

(9:18) A literal Genesis chapter 1 through 11 fixes this timeline, (9:23) genealogies from Adam to Noah, Genesis 5, and from Noah to Abraham, Genesis 11, (9:30) span 2,000 years, placing creation around 6,000 years ago. (9:37) This rejects old Earth claims and affirms that tanninim swam recently. (9:43) They’re fossils, a testament to God’s judgment, not eons.

(9:47) When we see a whale breach, imagine Leviathan’s glow, a lost kind, (9:54) created in a day, proof of young Earth and God’s boundless power. (10:01) Point number two. (10:03) Now let’s explore the sea’s smaller wonders, the swarming creatures, diversity in design.

(10:11) Genesis 1.20 says the waters were to swarm with swarms of living creatures. (10:17) A Hebrew word, sharats, that paints a picture of bustling, teeming bites. (10:24) Schools of fish shimmer like silvers.

(10:28) With bursts of ink, jellyfish pulse like glowing lanterns. (10:33) And octopuses shift colors to vanish in plain sight. (10:37) And yes, I looked it up.

(10:39) It’s not octopi. (10:41) The plural of octopus is octopuses. (10:45) So each kind was created distinct, not from a single ancestor, (10:52) but in a literal 24-hour day, as Genesis 1’s fifth day declares.

(10:57) This instant creation rooted in a historical genesis defies evolution’s millions of years. (11:06) Younger creationism sees that these swarming creatures were even more diverse before the Flood. (11:13) The pre-Flood oceans, warm and vibrant, supported countless variations within kinds.

(11:19) Imagine fish kinds with colors and forms we’d find alien today, (11:24) or cephalopod kinds with intricate designs lost to history. (11:29) The fossil record from the Cambrian’s bizarre marine life to the Jurassic ammonite. (11:36) And that’s not a people, like you would expect Israel battling people to ammonite.

(11:42) Well, a Jurassic ammonite, that’s an ammonite. (11:47) And I wanted in the pictures to get some way of getting the size of the creature. (11:54) That’s a cephalopod, which is actually a trilobite.

(11:58) And you see the little pictures, and they look like roaches, right? (12:01) But that size, well, that’s the size. (12:05) There’s the guy’s hand. (12:06) They’re like this big.

(12:09) And then, of course, you can see the size of the ammonites, what they could be. (12:15) So the fossil record from the Cambrian’s bizarre marine life to Jurassic ammonites (12:20) show a snapshot of this variety very rapidly, not evolving over eons. (12:27) Each kind carried rich genetic potential, allowing rapid variation, like the cichlid fish, (12:34) those colorful tropical fish often seen in aquariums today, (12:40) diversifying into hundreds of species from one pair.

(12:44) But the pre-flood seas held far more tapestry of life we can only glimpse. (12:51) The historical flood described in Genesis 6 through 9 changed this. (12:57) Turbulent waters and sediment buried many swarming tides.

(13:01) And post-flood changes, colder oceans, altered currents, limited survivors. (13:08) Some fish thrived, like the tuna or cod we know, (13:12) but others, like trilobites or the ornate ammonites in our picture, (13:18) are created on day five and lost in God’s judgment. (13:23) Psalm 104.25 captures this.

(13:27) Here is the sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, (13:32) living things both small and great. (13:34) The teeming was grander once, a tapestry of kind, now frayed, (13:39) but still declaring God’s wisdom. (13:42) God’s blessing, be fruitful and multiply, in Genesis 1.22, (13:47) ensured marine life’s survival, but not its full past splendor.

(13:53) Today’s coral reefs, with their dazzling fish and anemones, (13:57) are a remnant of day five’s design, thriving despite loss. (14:03) A literal Genesis 1 through 11 anchors this view. (14:07) The fall, Genesis 3, brought death after creation, (14:11) so fossils cannot predate Adam’s sin.

(14:15) As Romans 5.12 states, death comes through sin. (14:19) This rejects pre-fall death over millions of years. (14:24) Supporting a young earth were swarming creatures filled sea 6,000 years ago.

(14:31) Their loss a historical reality. (14:33) When you watch a pufferfish puff or an octopus hide, (14:38) you’re seeing echoes of a world where swarming creatures filled every mix, (14:45) every kind of brushstroke of God’s art spoken in a day. (14:51) The blessing of abundance, fruitfulness as God’s design.

(14:56) But let’s pause to consider the divine blessing woven into day five. (15:01) God blessed them, saying, (15:04) be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters and the seas, Genesis 1.22. (15:10) This wasn’t merely a command. (15:12) It was a sacred empowerment.

(15:14) God’s gift to ensure his creation thrives. (15:19) Younger creationists see this as a key to a young earth. (15:23) In a world just 6,000 years old, (15:25) this blessing enabled swarming creatures to fill the warm seas, (15:30) each kind bursting with life, clownfish and vibrant reefs, (15:35) sardines and shimmering clouds, all obeying God’s voice.

(15:40) Del Tackett calls this fruitfulness a form of worship. (15:44) Every new shoal of fish, (15:46) every coral polyp budding glorified God by fulfilling this design. (15:52) In the pre-fall world with no death or decay, (15:56) this multiplication was unhindered.

(15:59) Jellyfish pulsed in endless waves. (16:02) Octopuses laid eggs in perfect safety. (16:06) Psalm 148.7 calls sea creatures and all deeps to praise God, (16:12) and they did by swarming as he ordained each life a note in his symphony.

(16:19) Tackett reminds us these creatures were sub-creators, (16:23) extending God’s work through their abundance, (16:26) a reflection of his boundless creativity. (16:28) This blessing speaks to God’s heart for life. (16:32) Unlike the scarcity of evolutionary tale, (16:37) Genesis shows a God of overflow, (16:39) empowering fish and squid to fill every niche.

(16:43) Even after the flood loss, the mandate endured. (16:47) Coral reefs today teem because of day five’s blessing, (16:52) a shadow of that first abundance. (16:54) For us, it’s a call to mirror this fruitfulness, (16:58) not just in families, but in faith, love, and service.

(17:02) As swarming creatures filled the seas, (17:05) we fill our lives with deeds that glorify him, (17:09) trusting his provision to make us fruitful. (17:13) John chapter 15, verse 8. (17:16) Point number three, the birds master of the skies. (17:22) Finally, God filled the heavens, (17:25) let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens, (17:29) Genesis 120.

(17:31) In an instant, eagles soar, hummingbirds hover, (17:36) penguins paddle, and ostriches sprint, (17:39) each a distinct kind, not evolved from reptiles, (17:44) but created to rule the air in a day. (17:47) Their complexity defies chance. (17:50) Feathers interlock like zippers.

(17:52) Lungs flow air uniquely, and a falcon’s eyes, (17:57) it’s 240 miles per hour, guided by eyes sharper than hours, (18:04) designed to find slow evolution. (18:08) But a literal Genesis reveals a sky once far richer. (18:13) The pre-flood world likely saw bird kinds and varieties we can’t fathom, (18:19) giant forms, vibrant colors, behaviors lost forever.

(18:25) Fossils hint at this. (18:27) Birds like archaeopteryx, with true feathers, (18:31) flew alongside modern birds, showing no evolution, just variety. (18:36) Pterosaurs with wingspans up to 30 feet may be day five’s flying serpents, (18:42) Isaiah 30, verse 6, (18:44) soaring as distinct kinds, not birds' ancestors.

(18:49) Imagine a sky where eagles shared thermals with pterodactyls, (18:54) and massive birds like fossil teratorns, (18:57) with 23-foot wings darkened the horizon. (19:02) That’d be something you wouldn’t want to see flying overhead. (19:06) The flood was a historical cataclysm, per Genesis chapter 6 through 9, (19:11) that spared no air-breathing life outside of the ark, (19:17) submerging the earth for 10 months before the tops of the mountains (19:21) could be seen and reshaping its landscape.

(19:25) While the ark preserved representatives of bird kind, (19:29) the pre-flood world of winged creatures was lost. (19:33) Forests sank, climates shifted, (19:35) and many species like pterosaurs were buried in the flood sediments. (19:40) They’re fossils tied to that global event not millions of years ago.

(19:47) Post-flood, surviving bird kinds diversified. (19:51) Think of finches adapting to islands, but never regained their full splendor. (19:57) Extinctions followed.

(19:58) The dodo, the passenger pigeon, perhaps giant eagles hunted by early humans. (20:05) Native American thunderbird legends or ancient art of winged serpents (20:09) may recall these lost fliers, echoes of day five’s crowded skies. (20:16) This past abundance glorifies God.

(20:19) Psalm 148, 7 through 10 calls sea monsters and all beeps (20:24) and flying birds to praise him. (20:28) A choir once fuller than today’s, a hummingbird’s dance is stunning, (20:33) but imagine a pterosaur gliding or a teratorn soaring, (20:38) kinds crafted in a day, singing his praise, now silent but not forgotten. (20:46) So what’s our application? (20:49) What does day five’s past diversity mean for us? (20:54) First, it strengthens our trust in God’s word.

(20:58) Genesis chapters 1 through 11 is history, not allegory. (21:01) It declares these creatures appeared in a day about 6,000 years ago (21:07) in a world bursting with variety. (21:11) When skeptics push millions of years, we point to fossils, mosasaurs, (21:16) pterosaurs, ammonites, buried in the flood, not evolved, (21:20) as 2 Peter chapter 3, verses 5 and 6 affirm, (21:24) a world deluged and destroyed, confirming a young earth.

(21:30) Scripture stands true from Leviathan’s roar to a sparrow’s chirp. (21:36) Second, it deepens our awe, and we marvel at its power. (21:42) Today’s whales, fish, and birds of wonders, (21:45) but their shadows of day five’s fullness.

(21:48) Imagine oceans teeming with taming of every form, (21:54) skies thick with wings. (21:55) God’s creativity was limitless then, and it still is. (22:01) Romans chapter 120 says, (22:04) His invisible attributes are clearly perceived in creation.

(22:08) Every shark’s fin or hawk’s dive echoes a grander past, urging us to worship. (22:16) The problem with evolution is it’s going the wrong way. (22:20) The rule is extinction, not creation.

(22:24) Creation happened once. Extinction’s continually happening. (22:31) Third, it assures us of God’s care.

(22:35) He blesses these creatures to multiply, even through the floods lost. (22:41) If He preserves fish and birds from a richer world, won’t He sustain us? (22:47) Matthew 6, verse 26 says, (22:49) Look at the birds of the air. Your heavenly Father feeds them, (22:55) and the same God who crafted a teeming creation watches over you.

(23:00) And finally, let’s share this truth. (23:04) A world once filled with tanninim and pterosaurs points to a creator, not chance. (23:11) Tell your family or friends and point them to the God behind the fossils, the waves, the wings.

(23:17) Let’s live in awe, trusting His word and proclaiming His name. (23:24) The day five recorded of little history in Genesis reveals God’s power in the young earth. (23:32) Seas teemed with tanninim and swarming life in skies with birds, (23:38) once far more diverse than now, a testament to His boundless design.

(23:43) The historical flood took many, but survivors carry His glory. (23:49) And tonight, we’ll see how these creatures call us to deeper faith. (23:53) For now, let’s marvel at every wave and wing, (23:57) praising the creator of a richer past and a living present.

(24:02) Let’s finish with a prayer. (24:06) Lord, we stand in awe of your day five works. (24:10) Whales, fish, birds, once filling seas and skies with unmatched variety.

(24:17) And thank you for your word, revealing a young earth teeming with your glory. (24:23) Strengthen our faith and deepen our worship. (24:26) And let us proclaim your name in Jesus' name.

(24:30) Amen.