‘…Worship “Him who has made the heaven, and the earth, and the sea,” and the fountains of waters.’\u00a0(Revelation 14:7 [LITV])
\nThe Old Testament is in no doubt that YHVH, the Father,\u00a0created the heavens and the earth. The people of the New Testament times tell us the same thing. In today\u2019s world misunderstandings have led to an alternative view, despite that fact that this new view introduces contradictions into the Bible. What does the scripture tell us about the identity of the creator, what is this new view and how does it introduce contradictions in the Bible?
\n[All Bible quotes are from Jay P. Green’s literal translation of the bible (LITV) unless otherwise indicated.]<\/p>\n
I summarise here the points I intend to make. I will further expand on the points in later sections of this document. The Old Testament writings tell us that YHVH and He alone created the heavens and the earth. My point of focus will be the places in the bible where personal statements are actually made regarding the Creator’s identity, rather than third-party affirmations.
\nYHVH stated that He was the one who made the heavens and the earth (Exodus 20:11; Isaiah 45:12) with His own hands (Isaiah 45:12; Isaiah 48:13; Jeremiah 27:4-5; Job 38:4-11,12; Job 39:19,26) and alone (Isaiah 44:24).
\nIn the New Testament, Jesus confirmed that YHVH\u00a0is the creator when he talked about future events (Mark 13:19), and again when explaining about\u00a0marriage (Matthew 19:4-6). Jesus also says that he was given life by his Father (John 6:57).\u00a0Some\u00a0cite Jesus as the creator of the world as part of a combined entity \u2013 the Trinity. However, the bible does not support this. \u00a0In the bible the creator of the world is identified as YHVH, and Jesus was very careful to distinguish himself, the Anointed One,<\/i> from his Father, YHVH\u00a0(Matthew 7:21, 10:32, 11:25, 16:27, 20:23, 22:41-45, 23:9, 23:39, 26:64; Mark 8:38, 10:40, 12:24-27, 12:29, 14:62; Luke 4:17-19, 9:48, 10:16, 10:21, 20:42, 23:46, 24:49; John 3:16, 4:23, 4:34, 5:19, 5:30, 6:27, 6:29, 6:32, 6:38, 6:44, 6:57, 6:65, 7:16, 7:18, 7:28, 8:16, 8:18, 8:28, 8:29, 8:38, 8:40, 8:42, 8:49, 8:54, 9:4, 10:29, 10:36, 11:41, 12:26, 12:28, 12:44, 12:49, 12:50, 13:20, 13:31, 14:16, 14:24, 14:28, 15:1, 15:9, 15:15, 15:16, 15:24, 15:26, 16:3, 16:10, 16:16, 16:23, 16:27, 16:28, 16:32, 17:1, 17:3, 20:17, 20:21).
\nWe have the direct testimony of others in the New Testament about the authorship of creation. Peter and John tell us that YHVH\u00a0is the Creator and Jesus His Messiah (Acts 4:24-27). Paul clearly distinguishes YHVH\u00a0as the Creator and Jesus as the man He raised (Acts 17:22-31);YHVH\u00a0as the one making things alive with Jesus as the one who testified to Pontius Pilate (1 Timothy 6:13). In Hebrews it tells us\u00a0that YHVH\u00a0built all things and that Jesus is the son over the house YHVH\u00a0built (Hebrews 3:4-6). Furthermore, YHVH\u00a0is identified as the Creator several times in Revelation (Revelation 4:11, 10:6, 14:7).
\nIn the bible there are multiple affirmations of YHVH as the personal creator of heaven and earth, acting alone. These statements, which are discussed in greater detail below, are unequivocal. If there also exists within the Bible unequivocal statements that YHVH did not act alone or created through an agent, then this would present contradictory information that cannot be reconciled. The new view that has been in the Christian church for over seventeen hundred years is that Jesus was the creator, either as the active agent of YHVH, or, as before mentioned, as part of a combined entity \u2013 the trinity. I describe this as a \u201cnew view\u201d because it was not known by the people of the Bible, being introduced after their time. The suggestion that Jesus is the \u201cCreator God\u201d introduces contradictory information into the Bible. As Jesus is not YHVH, the supreme God, it then follows that Jesus did not create the heavens and the earth. Saying that he did suggests that YHVH is confused or a liar, which cannot be. There are certainly passages in the bible that suggest that Jesus is the creator, supporting the \u201cnew view\u201d. If these are correct then the bible contradicts itself. However, it is shown that valid alternative understandings of these passages reconcile the contradictions in a way that the \u201cnew view\u201d cannot.<\/p>\nYHVH’s Personal Claims<\/h1>\n
Just as there are many places where YHVH\u00a0is called\u00a0the creator, it is important to note that YHVH\u00a0has also personally identified himself as the creator, and claimed to have done so alone. The very first verse in the Bible is:<\/p>\n
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth; (Genesis 1:1).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
However, this is a third-party statement saying that YHVH\u00a0is the Creator. The very first personal creator-ship claim from YHVH does not occur until He talks to all the people of Israel. Before we move on to that, it would be a good idea to first\u00a0show\u00a0who YHVH is, and this he told to Moses too. \u00a0YHVH\u00a0first identified himself to Moses as the God involved from times past:<\/p>\n
And He said, I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob…(Exodus 3:6)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
He then goes on to say\u00a0what he wants\u00a0to be called when Moses asked for his name:<\/p>\n
And God said to Moses, I AM THAT I AM; and He said, you shall say this to the sons of Israel, I AM has sent me to you. And God said to Moses again, You shall say this to the sons of Israel, YHVH\u00a0the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial from generation to generation. (Exodus 3:14-15).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
So God wants\u00a0to be known as YHVH\u00a0(JHVH), and this is the name that I will use throughout my writing, with respect to His wishes.
\nNow that we have established who YHVH\u00a0is we can come to where He first identifies himself as the creator of heaven and earth. This occurs when he talks to the people of Israel from Mount Sinai giving them the Ten Commandments. \u00a0Hitherto YHVH\u00a0had only talked to Moses, and this is the first and only time that He addressed all the people at once. (They were too frightened by this to have it happen again \u2013 Exodus 20:18-21) YHVH’s claim to being the creator comes in the issuing of the fourth commandment:<\/p>\nRemember the sabbath day, to keep it holy; six days you shall labor and do all your work; and the seventh day is a sabbath to YHVH\u00a0your God; you shall not do any work, you, and your son, and your daughter, your male slave and your slave-girl, and your livestock, and your stranger who is in your gates. For in six days YHVH\u00a0made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all which is in them, and He rested on the seventh day; on account of this YHVH\u00a0blessed the sabbath day and sanctified it. (Exodus 20:8-11).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Here YHVH\u00a0established the seven-day week based on His creation schedule. Hitherto, YHVH\u00a0had already introduced the seven-day week for the people of Israel using the distribution of Manna,the bread that he provided to sustain them while in the desert (Exodus 16:4-31). It is only when YHVH\u00a0gives the fourth commandment that He explains that He made the seventh day special because after creation He rested on that day. There are two points to note here. The first is that we should realise that this is the one and only origin of the seven-day week, and the second is that it is the memorial to YHVH’s creation of the world. Here YHVH\u00a0says that He created the heavens, the earth, the sea and everything in them. At this point He does not say that He did it alone nor did\u00a0He say that it was done by His own hand, this was stated\u00a0later. The point about the seven-day week is important because it reminds us that YHVH\u00a0is the creator: The year is defined\u00a0by\u00a0how long it takes for the earth to revolve around the sun. The months are defined\u00a0by how long it takes for the moon to revolve around the earth.\u00a0 There is no such phenomena to explain the seven-day week other than that it was set up\u00a0by YHVH\u00a0to remind us that He created the world.
\nThe next personal claim from YHVH\u00a0that He is the creator is found in the writings of the prophet Isaiah. This particular claim is also important because YHVH\u00a0is giving Isaiah information about the coming Messiah, and it makes a clear distinction between the Messiah and YHVH. After talking about His servant \u2013 Jesus (Isaiah 42:1-4) \u2013 YHVH\u00a0gives His credentials, or curriculum vitae (CV):<\/p>\nSo says Jehovah God, creating the heavens and stretching them out; spreading out the earth and its offspring, giving breath to the people on it, and spirit to those walking in it. (Isaiah 42:5)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
In this statement YHVH\u00a0tells us\u00a0that He was personally active in creation. He stretched out the heavens and spread out the earth and its offspring. It was He who gave the breath of life to the people.
\nYHVH\u00a0provides us with more concrete affirmations that he created us personally, with His own hands. The first of these references is again found in the words given to Isaiah. It is at one of the, unfortunately, many moments in time when the people of Judah have wandered from YHVH, and He has allowed them to be subdued by the Chaldeans. He tells them that He is going to save them, not for their sake, but for the sake of His name, and that credit be properly assigned to Him (Isaiah 48:11). \u00a0YHVH\u00a0again presents his credentials:<\/p>\nListen to Me, O Jacob, and Israel My called: I am He; I am the first; I surely am the last. My hand surely founded earth, and My right hand has stretched out the heavens; I called to them, they stood up together. (Isaiah 48:12-13).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
YHVH\u00a0is saying plainly that He created with His own hands. He identifies himself as the God that called Israel, their one and only God, who created the heavens and the earth. There is a similar circumstance in the words given to Jeremiah:<\/p>\n
And command them to go to their masters, saying, So says YHVH\u00a0of Hosts, the God of Israel: So you shall say to your masters, I have made the earth, the man, and the animals on the face of the earth, by My great power, and by My outstretched arm; and I have given it to whom it seemed right in My eyes. (Jeremiah 27:4-5)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Here YHVH\u00a0points out that as the creator having used His power, and His own arms, He has the right to set as its ruler whomever He so wishes. At this time YHVH\u00a0gives authority to Nebuchadnezzar and to two generations of his descendants (Jeremiah 26:6).
\nIn the book of Job after he has suffered and was\u00a0counselled by his associates, YHVH\u00a0finally answered Job, pointing out his ignorance (Job 38:1-41). After challenging Job to answer His questions YHVH\u00a0asks:<\/p>\nWhere were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare if you know understanding. Who has set its measurements, for you know? Or who has stretched a line on it? On what were its bases sunk? Or who cast its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it burst out; it came forth from the womb? 9 When I made the clouds to clothe it, and darkness its navel-band; and I broke My limit on it, and set bars and doors; and I said, You shall come to here, but no further; and here your proud waves shall be set? (Job 38:4-11)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
So YHVH\u00a0says here that it was He who laid the foundations of the earth, set its measurements, set the boundaries for the sea and made the clouds. He is claiming that he was actively involved in creation, and not just a supervisor. In verse 12 YHVH\u00a0says:<\/p>\n
Have you commanded the morning from your days, and caused the dawn to know its place, (Job 38:12)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Here I believe YHVH\u00a0is saying that it was He who created days, but there is no doubt that He states that it was He who defined the dawn. This whole chapter of Job provides us with an understanding of just how intimately involved YHVH\u00a0is with his creation and nothing seems too insignificant for His attention. More such details are given in the next chapter, Job 39. A detail that has a bearing specifically on creation if given in verse 19:<\/p>\n
Have you given the horse its strength: have you clothed its neck with a mane. (Job 39:19)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
and verse 26:<\/p>\n
Does the hawk soar from your understanding? Will he spread his wings toward the south? (Job 39:26).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Here YHVH\u00a0is saying that He gave the horse its strength, and designed the hawk’s soaring ability.
\nFor the last point in this section we return to Isaiah where YHVH\u00a0has just been talking about the stupidity of making idols to worship (Isaiah 44:9-20). Admonishing Israel to remember Him, YHVH\u00a0ends again by stating His credentials:<\/p>\nSo says Jehovah, your Redeemer and your Former from the womb; I am Jehovah who makes all things; stretching out the heavens; I alone, spreading out the earth. Who was with Me, (Isaiah 44:24)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Thus we see that YHVH\u00a0claims to have actively created all things\u00a0Himself. Surely YHVH\u00a0would know if somebody else had actually carried out the creation as His agent, but by asking the rhetorical statement, \u201cWho was with Me?\u201d \u00a0YHVH\u00a0is making it clear that nobody was with him.
\nYHVH\u00a0has consistently claimed that He was the one who created the heavens and the earth, on His own and with His own hands. To suggest that it was otherwise is not only blasphemous, but also in direct contravention of YHVH’s insistence that He expects to receive His due credit:<\/p>\nI am Jehovah; that is My name; and I will not give My glory to another, nor My praise to engraved images. (Isaiah 42:8)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Statements from Jesus<\/h1>\n
After YHVH\u00a0himself, the most important biblical witness about the identity of the creator is His son, Jesus. Jesus’ earthly ministry was to the people of Israel (Matthew 15:24). These people worshipped YHVH\u00a0and knew that He was the creator, so it is natural\u00a0that Jesus did not spend a lot of time talking about this. Nonetheless, Jesus did mention this fact in passing. When the disciples questioned Jesus about the future one of the things he told them was:<\/p>\n
for there will be affliction in those days, such as has not been the like from the beginning of creation which God created until now, and never will be. (Mark 13:19)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
When the Pharisees questioned Jesus about divorce Jesus replied:<\/p>\n
But answering, He said to them, Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning “created them male and female”? (Matthew 19:4)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n