Creation Week: Yom Rishon (First Day)

Colossians 1:15 [Who] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation[?] 16 For [in] Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He [has existed prior to] all things, and in Him all things [endure]. (NASB 1995)

The following is a slightly modified excerpt from my forthcoming book entitled: Our Messiah Few REALLY Know. This represents copyrighted material; please treat it as such. On this yom in history — the “evening” of March 16th and the “morning” of March 17th of the pagan Gregorian calendar — the following occurred…

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. (NASB 1995)

Most would assume that this “light” is referencing the sun. But, in fact, the sun was not created until the fourth yom; refer to the Yom Revi’i article regarding the first day of the Most High’s year. So, what possibly could the good light be that is separated from the darkness? Hint: It is part of the central Scriptural theme headlining this article. Here is confirmation of this mystery:

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not [lit. overcome] it. 6 There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. 9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (NASB 1995)

Several NT passages declare this same truth proclaiming Christ’s being the Light; the following represents a non-exhaustive list:

• John 8:12-30 concentrating on verse (v) 12;
• John 3:16-21 concentrating on verses (vv) 19, 20, and 21;
• John 12:35-36,46;
• 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 concentrating on v6;
• 1 John 1:5-10 concentrating on vv5 and 7;
• Matthew 17:1-8 concentrating on v2; and
• Acts 26:12-15 concentrating on v13.

Four important points about the Genesis and related passages regarding the first yom of Creation are:

1. The word translated as God in Genesis 1:1 is Elohim; it is the plural form of Eloah. That fact will be developed further after reviewing the Jubilees passage below.
2. The Holy Spirit, or Spirit of God, in Genesis 1:2 existed from the beginning with the Father. The only unpardonable sin is denying – or speaking against – the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:31-32).
3. The preincarnate, or spiritual form of, Christ was the Light of the first yom of Creation; He demonstrated a glimpse of that as He transfigured in the Matthew 17 passage above as well as appearing as a light from Heaven – brighter than the sun – on Saul’s journey to Damascus in Acts 9:1-31 and 26:1-32. He was literally the firstborn of the Creation; everything was created through and for Him; and all things hold together through Him as is recounted in the Colossians 1 passage.
4. According to Reuben Alcalay, a famous Hebrew lexicographer and author of the Complete Hebrew-English Dictionary, Christ’s Name Yehoshu’a (=Yahoah saves; Gr. ‘Iesous/Eng. Joshua) is the shortened form of “Let there be…”; see the following figure. His Name was truly the spoken Word of the Creation.

Now, examine the applicable passage from Jubilees:

Jubilees 2:1 And the angel of the presence spake to Moses according to the word of the Lord, saying: Write the complete history of the creation, how in six days the Lord God finished all His works and all that He created, and kept Sabbath on the seventh day and hallowed it for all ages, and appointed it as a sign for all His works. 2 For on the first day He created the heavens which are above and the earth and the waters and all the spirits which serve before Him – the angels of the presence, and the angels of sanctification, and the angels [of the spirit of fire and the angels] of the spirit of the winds, and the angels of the spirit of the clouds, and of darkness, and of snow and of hail and of hoar frost, and the angels of the voices and of the thunder and of the lightning, and the angels of the spirits of cold and of heat, and of winter and of spring and of autumn and of summer, and of all the spirits of His creatures which are in the heavens and on the earth, (He created) the abysses and the darkness, eventide (and night), and the light, dawn and day, which He hath prepared in the knowledge of His heart. 3 And thereupon we saw His works, and praised Him, and lauded before Him on account of all His works; for seven great works did He create on the first day.

Not only were the Heaven and Earth created on the first yom but all the spiritual beings who serve before the Father – including His Son! Again, Christ was the firstborn of Creation; everything was created through and for Him. He even created the abysses, which included She’ol in the OT and is referenced as Hades in the NT. That topic will be discussed in detail in articles regarding Christ’s death at His crucifixion as well as His Second Coming.

The canonized Bible speaks of the six-winged seraphim (Isaiah 6:1-7), the four-winged cherubim (Ezekiel 10 concentrating on v21; Genesis 3:22-24; Exodus 25:17-22), and ophanim (Ezekiel 1:15-21) as well as archangels (Jude 1:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:16) and angels (Matthew 26:53-54; Genesis 19:1; Genesis 22:10-12; Revelation 15:1) among other Heavenly host (Nehemiah 9:6; Luke 2:12-14). Note that the Bible does NOT state that arch-/angels have wings – not even two; that is another false church tradition. They are always presented as males; perhaps that is a reason why there is no marriage in Heaven (Matthew 22:30; Mark 12:25; and Luke 20:34-36). One of the better discourses on angels is found in Hebrews 1. Angels are messengers (Heb. malak/Gr. aggelos), are ministering spirits to believers, and comprise the army of God.

All of these spiritual beings – the Father, Holy Spirit, Son, seraphim, cherubim, ophanim, malakim, and sabaoth – comprise the Elohim; think of it as being the name of the family or tribe of El. As the Elohim reside in the Heavenly realm or domain (i.e., not on Earth), they are, by definition, extraterrestrial beings!

At this point, most will say that this line of reasoning is preposterous or claim it to be heresy! Is it? Read Genesis 6:1-8. In verse 2, the Hebrew translated as “sons of God” is bene ha’elohim. That passage leaves some ambiguity, but only two sons of God were explicitly noted in the canonized Bible: Adam (Luke 3:38) and Christ (Mark 1:1). Obviously, Genesis 6:2 is not referring to either of them. Yet, examine the following passages: Job 38:7 and Luke 20:34-36 concentrating on v36; these “sons of God” are referencing ANGELS! Examine the same phrase in the Septuagint: υιοί του Θεού; it is essentially the same as the NASB Lexicon for Luke 20:36.

Before delving into the Books of Jubilees, 1 Enoch and Jasher, Josephus wrote the following in Book 1, Chapter 3, Section 1 of his historical work Antiquities of the Jews:

Ant. 1.3.1 “For many angels* of God coupled with women, and begat sons that proved unjust, and despisers of all that was good, on the account of the confidence they had in their own strength; for the tradition is, that these men did what resembled the acts of those the Grecians call giants.”

*Endnote: This notion, that the fallen angels were, in some sense, the fathers of the old giants, was the constant opinion of ancient antiquity.

As Josephus’ accounts are to be taken with a grain of salt, this remains tenuous at best. But, he firmly establishes that the “sons of God” in Genesis 6:2 were angels (while the endnote commentary further qualifies them as “fallen angels”), and he introduced that their progeny were giants. This time, examine Genesis 6:1-8 more closely:

Genesis 6:1 Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. 5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 The Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. (NASB 1995)

Concentrate on the Nephilim in verse 4 and review this entry from Strong’s Concordance:

In fact, these tribes of giants were called by multiple names as is referenced in the Bible:

• Anakim (Deuteronomy 1:28; Strong’s 6062; Wikipedia);
• Rephaim [also Emim] (Deuteronomy 2:10-11; Strong’s 7497; Wikipedia); and
• Zamzummim (Deuteronomy 2:20-22; Strong’s 2157; Wikipedia redirects to “Rephaite” above).

Therefore, the Josephus account does seem to corroborate the passages in Genesis 6 and Deuteronomy 1-2 cited above – that fallen angels procreated with human women and their progeny were giants! Recall that Deuteronomy and Genesis were the second and fourth most frequent manuscripts discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls, respectively; see the “Biblical books found” section.

Examine the following passage from the Book of Jasher [or Jashar] (Joshua 10:13; 2 Samuel 1:18):

Jasher 4:18 And their judges and rulers went to the daughters of men and took their wives by force from their husbands according to their choice, and the sons of men in those days took from the cattle of the earth, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and taught the mixture of animals of one species with the other, in order therewith to provoke the Lord; and God saw the whole earth and it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon earth, all men and all animals.

This translation applied “their judges and rulers” instead of angels, but examine the second portion of this verse closely. Were the “sons of men” simply cross-breeding “cattle of the earth, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air” or does this appear to be some sort of genetic engineering between species (i.e., outside of their “kind”)? Would simple cross-breeding (or animal husbandry) lead to corruption of God’s Creation in His eyes? That is highly unlikely. If genetic modification were exploited, how would mankind of that time in history have learned such advanced biotechnology only (again!) being realized today? Who taught them – the judges and rulers who forcibly took the daughters of men for their wives? Were these judges and rulers their gods?

Could it be that the Egyptian gods – such as Anubis, Ra, and Set – were the actual products of these genetic manipulations? Were these fallen angels and their progeny the basis for worldwide mythology and not simply imagined fantasies? What about the pantheon of the Greeks, Romans, Norse, Hindu, Shinto, Chinese, Africans, Native Americans, Mayans, Incas, Aztecs – literally civilizations worldwide? One thing is certain: the Book of Jasher is referenced TWICE in the Bible, yet it was excluded from canon. The more adventurous may study the Book of Jasher as well. For a thoughtful discourse regarding the contortion of Biblical FACT serving as the basis for mythology in various cultures, watch the video entitled “Mythology and the Coming Great Deception.”

1 Enoch is yet another book explicitly cited in the Bible (Jude 1:14-15 reiterates 1 Enoch 1:9) yet was not canonized. Jude also states the following:

Jude 1:6 And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, 7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire. (NASB 1995)

Regardless, the expanded narrative on the fallen angels/Watchers (Daniel 4:17) describes not only the names of the leaders but exactly where they descended to Earth. This discourse commences in Chapter 6:

1 Enoch 6:1 And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto them beautiful and comely daughters. 2 And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: ‘Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men and beget us children.’ 3 And Semjâzâ, who was their leader, said unto them: ‘I fear ye will not indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.’ 4 And they all answered him and said: ‘Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.’ 5 Then sware they all together and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. 6 And they were in all two hundred; who descended [in the days] of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. 7 And these are the names of their leaders: Sêmîazâz, their leader, Arâkîba, Râmêêl, Kôkabîêl, Tâmîêl, Râmîêl, Dânêl, Êzêqêêl, Barâqîjâl, Asâêl, Armârôs, Batârêl, Anânêl, Zaqîêl, Samsâpêêl, Satarêl, Tûrêl, Jômjâêl, Sariêl. 8 These are their chiefs of tens.

According to this passage, these angels, who lusted after the daughters of men, descended on the summit of Mount Hermon. Note the following from the Wikipedia article on Mount Hermon in the “Epigraphy, archaeology and references in religious texts” section:

“An inscription on a limestone stele recovered by Warren from Qasr Antar was translated by George Nickelsburg to read: ‘According to the command of the greatest a(nd) Holy God, those who take an oath (proceed) from here.’ Nickelsburg connected the inscription with oath taken by the angels under Semjaza who took an oath together, bound by a curse in order to take wives in the Book of Enoch (1 Enoch 6:1-6). Hermon was said to have become known as ‘the mountain of oath’ by Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau.”

Author’s Note: The Banias spring at the foot of Mount Hermon is the source of the Banias River, one of the main tributaries of the Jordan River. This spring is important regarding the Baptism of John, and Mount Hermon plays into Christ’s transfiguration as will be examined in later articles.

In Chapter 7 of 1 Enoch, it is clear that the progeny of these angels and women were giants. However, either the word ell, which is Proto-Germanic, was mistranslated or the magnitude of their height was misinterpreted; otherwise, their height would have been approximately 4,500 feet tall. Regardless, an ell is NOT a Biblical measurement of length.

1 Enoch 7:1 And all the others together with them took unto themselves wives, and each chose for himself one, and they began to go in unto them and to defile themselves with them, and they taught them charms and enchantments, and the cutting of roots, and made them acquainted with plants. 2 And they became pregnant, and they bare great giants, whose height was three thousand ells: 3 Who consumed all the acquisitions of men. And when men could no longer sustain them, 4 the giants turned against them and devoured mankind. 5 And they began to sin against birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and fish, and to devour one another’s flesh, and drink the blood. 6 Then the earth laid accusation against the lawless ones.

What does the Bible state regarding the stature of these giants?

Numbers 13:31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us.” 32 So they gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size. 33 There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” (NASB 1995)

Once again, this passage mentions the postdiluvian Anakim being part of the antediluvian Nephilim of Genesis 6. These men were of great size making the Israelite spies feel as if they were grasshoppers by comparison. 2 Samuel 21:19-22 and 1 Chronicles 20:4-8 below speak of a man from Gath of great stature who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot – twenty-four digits in all – and was a descendant of the Raphah (i.e., Rephaim); that specific medical condition is called hexadactyly or more generally, polydactyly. Polydactyly and hyperdontia – including double rows of teeth – are sometimes associated with the medical condition known as gigantism.

1 Chronicles 20:4 Now it came about after this, that war broke out at Gezer with the Philistines; then Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Sippai, one of the descendants of the Raphah, and they were subdued. 5 And there was war with the Philistines again, and Elhanan the son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. 6 Again there was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature who had twenty-four fingers and toes, six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot; and he also was descended from the Raphah. 7 When he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea, David’s brother, killed him. 8 These were descended from the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants. (NASB 1995)

This passage also states that Goliath’s brother Lahmi had a spear whose shaft “was like a weaver’s beam.” Likewise, Goliath’s armaments were described in greater detail in 1 Samuel 17:4-7:

1 Samuel 17:4 Then a champion came out from the armies of the Philistines named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was clothed with scale-armor which weighed five thousand shekels of bronze. 6 He also had bronze greaves on his legs and a bronze javelin slung between his shoulders. 7 The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the head of his spear weighed six hundred shekels of iron; his shield-carrier also walked before him. (NASB 1995)

To recap the stature and armaments of Goliath of Gath:

• Height: Six cubits (=6 x 18”) and a span (=9”) or 9 feet, 9 inches
• Bronze Helmet: No weight provided
• Bronze Scale Armor: 5,000 shekels (~125 pounds)
• Bronze Greaves: No weight provided
• Bronze Javelin: No weight provided
• Iron Spearhead (excluding the shaft): 600 shekels (~15 pounds)

Plus, he had his own shield carrier. Think of the strength it would take to wield such an enormous spear – much less wearing/carrying 125+ pounds of armaments.

Next, there is King Og of Bashan:

Deuteronomy 3:8 “Thus we took the land at that time from the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, from the valley of Arnon to Mount Hermon 9 (Sidonians call Hermon Sirion, and the Amorites call it Senir): 10 all the cities of the plateau and all Gilead and all Bashan, as far as Salecah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. 11 (For only Og king of Bashan was left of the remnant of the Rephaim. Behold, his bedstead was an iron bedstead; it is in Rabbah of the sons of Ammon. Its length was nine cubits and its width four cubits by a man’s forearm.) (NASB 1995)

According to this account, King Og’s bed was 13-1/2 feet long and six feet wide. The Bible certainly serves as a historical record as the following explicit geographical locations from just this one passage exist to this day:

• Valley of Arnon,
• Mount Hermon,
• Gilead,
• Bashan,
• Salecah,
• Edrei, and
• Rabbah.

A wave of skeletal remains of giants had been discovered worldwide in the mid-1800s through the early 1900s – even in America. Oftentimes, these remains were allegedly turned over to the Smithsonian Institution, other museums, law enforcement, or historical preservationists from whom nothing was ever heard again. But, that path leads down a trail of conspiracy theory. The fact remains that numerous discoveries were reported – even by the New York Times – but during a time when yellow journalism was rampant. The Bible and extrabiblical texts attest to fallen angels/Watchers and giants, but modern journalistic sources regarding skeletal remains of giants are unconfirmed at best. The truth will be made known on Judgment Day, which will be discussed in a later article. Until then, investigate books such as Giants on Record: America’s Hidden History, Secrets in the Mounds and the Smithsonian Files by Jim Vieira and Hugh Newman.

The purpose of this digression was to explore phenomenon beyond our everyday experiences that defy scientific explanation. Some may liken that to the paranormal, but empirical evidence exists for the progeny of angelic beings with human women as is discussed in Biblical and parabiblical texts. If it can be definitively determined that these giants existed, then the cause for this gigantism must be discerned as well. For it to be a worldwide phenomenon precludes chance genetic mutations; those would be localized within a small population at best. Further proof lies in the high places (Heb. bamah) – or pagan temples – found throughout the world (with some now submerged); the Most High detested these. The first instance is found in Leviticus 26:27-33 concentrating on v30. Oftentimes, these were constructed in a pyramid or step-pyramidal design aligned astronomically with the vernal and autumnal equinoxes and various constellations.

1 Enoch 8:1 Moreover Azazyel taught men to make swords, knives, shields, breastplates, the fabrication of mirrors [lit. made them see which was behind them], and the workmanship of bracelets and ornaments, the use of paint, the beautifying of the eyebrows, [the use of] stones of every valuable and select kind, and of all sorts of dyes, so that the world became altered. 2 Impiety increased; fornication multiplied; and they transgressed and corrupted all their ways. 3 Amazarak taught all the sorcerers, and dividers of roots; 4 Armers [taught] the solution of sorcery; 5 Barkayal [taught] the observers of the stars; 6 Akibeel [taught] signs; 7 Tamiel taught astronomy; 8 And Asaradel taught the motion of the moon; 9 And men, being destroyed, cried out; and their voice reached to heaven.

While all of this was ongoing, all mankind and the animal kingdom became corrupted via forbidden knowledge and possible genetic manipulation, and it was the reason for the Great Flood in the time of Noah.

For another perspective, examine the Editors’ Note regarding angels and the creation in “The Israelite Samaritan Version of the Torah:”

“Israelite Samaritan tradition distinguishes between angels and humans. In this tradition, the angels are considered as ‘living’ and humans as ‘dead,’ in that angels are living forever and humans eventually die. At the foundation of the Israelite Samaritan belief in angels is the reasoning that the angels were created during the six days of creation (Gen 1:26): ‘Let us make man in our image,’ in which humans are said to be made in the image of the angels, and not of the Almighty.”

The following passage stresses the multitude of angels residing in Heaven (focusing on v53):

Matthew 26:51 And behold, one of those who were with Jesus reached and drew out his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear. 52 Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. 53 Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? (NASB 1995)

In Christ’s time, a Roman legion consisted of 5- to 6,000 infantry (=foot soldiers) and cavalry (=horsemen); therefore, the 12 legions referenced in v53 would be between 60- and 72,000 angels. Other passages allude to the vast number of angels and/or heavenly host: 1 Chronicles 12:22, Isaiah 13:3-5, Luke 2:13-14, Jude 1:14-15, Revelation 5:11-12, and Revelation 19:19.

Returning to Colossians 1:16, there is much that most humans cannot perceive with the naked eye. Perception is typically limited to visible light in the electromagnetic spectrum unless one has a medical condition such as aphakia; others have seen infrared light under certain experimental conditions. Just as the passage in Colossians states, humans cannot perceive the invisible – including television and radio waves, microwaves, infrared light, ultraviolet light, X-rays, and gamma rays; perhaps the spiritual realm naturally exists within these wavelengths. Perhaps the Holy Spirit communicates in extremely low frequency (ELF) in accordance with Romans 8:26-27 concentrating on v26; human hearing is typically limited to the 20 Hz to 20 kHz range. There is still much that is unexplained from the Creation – wonders that cannot be detected with our five senses nor understood until revealed.

---

Be sure to read the companion articles in the Creation Week and Mo’edim (appointed times) series:

• Yom Sheni (Second Day)
• Yom Shlishi (Third Day) – The True Vernal Equinox
• Yom Revi’i (Fourth Day) – The REAL New Year (1 Abib)
• Yom Chamishi (Fifth Day)
• Yom Shishi (Sixth Day) – The Last Day of Creation
• Mo’ed: Shabbat (Weekly Sabbath)

Shema Yisrael! (Hear, Israel!)

Copyright (C) 1995-2018, L. Alan Schuetz. All rights reserved.

---

2 Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. (NASB 1995)

Follow @alan_schuetz