00:00:14 The universe is vast and awe-inspiring.
00:00:21 Earth and life on it are amazingly complex.
00:00:29 How did it all get here?
00:00:36 The Bible book of Genesis says that there is a Creator.
00:00:42 But the account is often misunderstood or even dismissed as a myth.
00:00:49 Is what the Bible says about the origin of the universe plausible?
00:00:55 Scientists estimate that the universe is 14 billion years old.
00:01:02 This implies that the universe, including earth, had a beginning.
00:01:09 The Bible agrees.
00:01:11 Genesis 1:1 reads:
00:01:14 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
00:01:19 The account does not say when or how the universe began.
00:01:24 Rather, it focuses
00:01:26 on the creative process that took place on earth
00:01:29 over six periods of time, which the Bible calls days.
00:01:36 Were these six 24-hour days, as many believe?
00:01:40 No.
00:01:42 The Hebrew word used in the Bible for “day”
00:01:45 can refer to various lengths of time.
00:01:48 Genesis even summarizes
00:01:50 the six days of creation as one day
00:01:54 —“the day that Jehovah God made earth and heaven.”
00:01:58 Each “day” in Genesis chapter 1
00:02:01 must have spanned extremely long periods of time.
00:02:06 The account’s perspective is also important.
00:02:11 The writer describes the creative periods
00:02:15 as they would have appeared to an observer on the earth.
00:02:18 Had someone been there, he would have seen events
00:02:22 that started in one period
00:02:24 and then progressed into the following periods.
00:02:29 Light penetrated the atmosphere
00:02:31 to reveal alternating day and night.
00:02:35 Earth was covered with water,
00:02:38 and vapor filled the air.
00:02:40 The dense clouds lifted from the waters that covered the earth,
00:02:44 forming an expansive sky between them.
00:02:50 Water receded to uncover dry ground,
00:02:53 and the first plants appeared.
00:02:56 The atmosphere cleared further
00:02:59 to reveal the sun and the moon.
00:03:03 God created living creatures in the sea
00:03:05 and flying creatures above.
00:03:08 And in the last period,
00:03:10 God created land animals and humans.
00:03:21 In harmony with the Genesis account,
00:03:24 the Bible says:
00:03:26 “Of course, every house is constructed by someone,
00:03:30 but the one who constructed all things is God.”
00:03:36 The Bible does not speak in scientific detail,
00:03:39 but its account of creation is logical and reasonable.
00:03:45 The Bible also offers logical and reasonable answers
00:03:49 to other important questions.
00:03:52 Does our planet exist for a purpose?
00:03:55 What is the meaning of life?
00:03:58 What does the future hold?
00:04:01 To see the Bible’s answers, go to jw.org®
00:04:05 or fill out the online request for one of Jehovah’s Witnesses
00:04:09 to visit at a time and place convenient for you.
