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

Was the Universe Created?