GENESIS.

"In the beginning"-with these words sublime,
Lo, Genesis unfolds the gates of time.

TIME AND ETERNITY.

TIME began when God created the heavens and the earth. Duration before this period is called Eternity; and when time shall be no more, eternity will remain.

Years are numbered from the commencement of time, but chronology computes from the birth of Christ; giving a date to all historical events, according to the years before or after that era in which they took place.

Look backward, and you find Creation's morn
Four thousand years and four ere Christ was born.
Four thousand years and four had filled their span,
When Christ the Lord came down to dwell with man.

"Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?"

"When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." Job 38:4, 7.

Who are the Angels?

Angels were created before men. They are God's host, standing around the throne of his glory; a multitude that no man can number. They are the sons of God that shouted for joy when the earth was created.

"And I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands." REV. 5:11.

The angels of light sin not, neither do they die. God often sends them to the aid of good men. They bear the souls of the saints, at their death, to their eternal home in heaven.

"The beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom." LUKE 16:22. "Neither can they die any more; for they are equal unto the angels." LUKE 20:36.

Who are the fallen Angels?

The angels were all made holy, but some of them sinned against God, and were cast out of heaven. These are now angels of darkness. They are called evil spirits, fallen angels, and devils. They are abhorred by God, and their name should never be thoughtlessly or heedlessly spoken.

The prince of the fallen angels is known in the Bible by various names: Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub, Abaddon, and Apollyon. He is called also the Evil One, the Adversary, the Accuser, the Tempter, the Destroyer, the Serpent, the Dragon, and the Angel of the bottomless pit.

"And the angels that kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day." JUDE 6. "Sending evil angels among them." PSALM 78:49.

Which of the angels of light are known by name?
Michael and Gabriel.

Michael is called the archangel and prince of the angels. He is opposed to Satan, the prince of the powers of darkness.

Gabriel appears as a messenger from heaven. He is sent to explain the meaning of a vision to the prophet Daniel; and in the New Testament he announces the birth of John the Baptist, and afterwards that of Christ.

How was the work of creation performed?

It pleased the almighty Maker of heaven and earth to divide the work of creation into six

parts, or periods. This was for the benefit of mankind, to give us, from the beginning, a division of time into weeks, which should last to the end of the world; and also to show us, by his great example, that we should work six days and rest one.

THE SIX DAYS' WORK; OR, SONG OF
THE CREATION.

When the void sea and earth
Lay formless in their birth,
To darkness God gave light,
And made the day and night.
So passed eve and morn,

And the second day was born.

He spread the starry sky,

A firmament on high;

Clouds above, and mists below,

At his word began to flow.

So passed eve and morn,

And the third day was born.

The waters and the land
Came forth at his command:
Trees, waving golden fruit;
Earth, rich with seed and root.
So passed eve and morn,
And the fourth day was born.

Bib Prim

He set the rolling spheres,
To number days and years;
The sun's transcendent ray,
For the blessing of the day;
And the moon's familiar light,
For the blessing of the night.
So passed eve and morn,
And the fifth day was born.

Now life on earth began:
Great whales of mighty span,
With the swarming finny race,
In the waters took their place;
And the countless feathered throng
Filled the atmosphere with song.
God blessed them from on high,
Saying, Live, and multiply.

So passed eve and morn,

And the sixth day was born.

Then the quadrupeds came forth,
And the creeping things of earth;
Till in final beauty stood
Man, erect before his God:
A shape of godlike form,
With living spirit warm;
And dominion to him given,
Of all things under heaven.

So passed eve and morn,
And the seventh day was born.

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