We know that this world in which we exist will be renewed, that it will be preserved for the fire to come, and that all works in it will be burned up, and there will be a new heaven and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:7-10). By the way, why not compare the biblical revelation about the end of the world with the data of science? But such studies are practically non-existent.

In this regard, of course, we must be quite cautious both in attempts to reconcile or, on the contrary, to identify discrepancies between scientific data and the biblical narrative, and to the conclusions about the truth or falsity of faith that are drawn on the basis of these attempts.

1.3. The Creation of Man

At the beginning of the Book of Genesis we see two accounts of the creation of man (Gen. 1:26-28; 2:7, 18-25). Why is that? In one of these stories (Gen. 1:26-28), the creation of man is placed in the general outline of the biblical narrative of creation, and we see that man is created on the same day as other animals. In this sense, man is not honored by the fact that he is given a special day on which he would be created, man fully belongs to this created world, on the one hand. On the other hand, the creation of man is preceded by a certain Council, because we see that in the entire narrative of the creation of the world it is said first: "And God said, Let it be... and it became so," and even sometimes interpreters note that the verb "bara" used in the first verse of the book, that is, "we will create", which denotes a fundamentally new creation, is mentioned twice more in this narrative, namely in connection with the creation of life and in connection with the creation of man. So, at the creation of man, a stop is made and it is said: "Let us make man in Our image /and/ in Our likeness", and the purpose is determined: "And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air... And over all the earth... And God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him" (Gen. 1:26-27). Here the difference between man and the rest of creation is clearly emphasized. Why? Because it is man who is vouchsafed the honor of being the bearer of the image of God. Sometimes attention is drawn to the fact that it is originally said: "Let us make man in our image and after our likeness," but man is created "in our image." Sometimes it is believed that image and likeness are simply synonyms, and sometimes it is believed that different things are still denoted here, and the image relates, say, more to the inner essence of this or that phenomenon, and the likeness to the external. St. Basil the Great commented on this passage as follows: "We have one thing as a result of creation, and we acquire the other of our own free will. At the first creation we are granted to be born in the image of God; but by our own will we acquire existence in the likeness of God" [10, p. 16]. That is, likeness to God is the task that this created man receives and for the sake of which all the other commandments are given to him in paradise.

The second account of the creation of man (Gen. 2:7, 18-25) is more detailed. And we also see in him the duality of man, that is, his belonging both to the material world, and to the spiritual world: God took the finger of the earth, and created man from it, and breathed into him the breath of life (Gen. 2:7). In a conversation with Motovilov, St. Seraphim of Sarov (and other fathers have this) says that before God breathed the breath of life into man, Adam was like a cattle. That is, the materiality of man, on the one hand, is noted, and on the other hand, his sublime dignity, when man is honored with the breath of life from God Himself. It is no accident that in the Psalms David says: "What is man, that Thou rememberest him, and the son of man, that Thou visitest him? Thou hast humbled him not much before the angels: Thou hast crowned him with glory and honor; Thou hast made him ruler over the works of Thy hands; He put all things under his feet" (Psalm 8:5-7). That is, man is the concentration of two worlds: within himself he must bring and bring the entire material world closer to God.

Sometimes one hears the opinion that the words "breathed into him the breath of life" (Gen. 2:7) mean that the human soul is divine by nature.

The term "inhaled", of course, can be interpreted in different ways. It is clear that it is one of the anthropomorphisms of the Holy Scriptures, that is, when the same words are used in relation to God as to man. Say, "and God looked," "and God smelled the fragrance of the sacrifice," or, say, "God covered with His hand," or "their voice came to My ears." All of this, of course, does not mean that God has hands, feet, and ears. This is done to designate certain actions of God. The Church has never considered that the human soul is divine in nature. Man is a creature completely, including the human soul is also created. That is, it cannot be said that any part of the Divine nature came out and became the human soul.

The Word of God shows us that a state of grace is natural for man, that there is no "pure" human nature independent of God. A person deprived of grace is no longer a person in the full sense of the word. He is again made "like cattle".

The next divine act was the creation of Eve. For the first time we encounter "not good" in the Bible in connection with the fact that Adam does not find a "helper like him" (Gen. 2:20), among all creation, and God says that "it is not good for the man to be alone" (Gen. 2:18). Thus, the need of a person to have his own kind is emphasized. For what? Let us recall the Savior's answer to the question of what is the greatest commandment in the Law. Its Savior indicates two parts: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy might" and "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matt. 22:37).

It should be noted that when it is said about the appearance of Eve, another word is used, that "the Lord God created from a rib" (Gen. 2:22), as if he did not "create". Eve is not a fundamentally new creation, different from Adam – it is precisely here that the unity of the human race and the complete unity and identity of this nature, which henceforth begins to exist in two sexes, is indicated. But there is a certain primacy and secondariness in the fact that Eve is taken from her husband, although Adam says: "Behold, this is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh" (Gen. 2:23), that is, it is actually alter ego, the other I. Eve is called a "helper" to Adam like him (2:18). In the opinion of St. Philaret, "this is done in commemoration of the same nature as him, in contrast to other kinds of animals; the ministry closest to him (1 Cor. 1:9); Constant conversation with him and inseparable cohabitation" [81, part 1, p. 46].

The appearance of Eve is also preceded by the Divine Council (Gen. 2:18). The need for separation of the sexes can be explained in different ways. The ascetic tradition asserts that the creation of Eve took place in anticipation of the Fall and the need for further reproduction of people. In modern theological literature, greater emphasis is placed on the realization in marriage of the possibility of communication and perfection in love. These interpretations are not mutually exclusive.

One might wonder: Did marriage exist in Paradise, or did the appearance of offspring to be fruitful and multiply and inhabit the earth have to happen in some other way? Here, too, opinions differ. Referring to the early works of St. John Chrysostom, it is argued that marriage did not exist in paradise and is a consequence of sin. Here it is worth turning to the words of the saint himself. He says: "The primordial one lived in paradise, and there was no question of marriage. He needed an assistant, and he appeared; and at the same time, marriage did not yet seem necessary. It would not have existed until now, and people would have remained without it, living in paradise, as in heaven, and enjoying conversation with God; carnal lust, conception, childbearing sickness, and all corruption in general would not have access to their souls, but, like a bright stream flowing from a pure source, people would dwell in that dwelling, adorned with virginity<... >What marriage, tell me, begat Adam, what diseases of childbearing produced Eve? You can't say anything about it. Why do you fear and fear in vain, lest with the termination of marriage the human race also cease? Thousands of angels serve God, and thousands upon thousands of archangels stand before Him (Dan, VII, 10), and not one of them has descended by succession, from childbirth, childbearing, and conception. In this way, God could have created people without marriage, just as He created the first, from whom all people have descended" [29, vol. 1, pp. 307-308].

From these words it is clear that the word "marriage" can be understood in different ways. In this case, the saint speaks not about the spiritual side of marriage, but about its carnal component, polemicizing with those who objected to virginity, referring to the need to continue the human race. Many holy fathers believed that in paradise it should have been different, but the present one was established after the Fall. However, in his commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians, where the Apostle Paul likens the relationship between Christ and the Church to marriage, the same St. John Chrysostom speaks of marriage as a mystery, which "was pointed out as something great and wondrous by the blessed Moses, or rather God" [29, vol. 11, p. 172]. That is, marriage can also be understood as an image of pure communion in love, devoid of any sin and passion. That is why there is a ban in the Church to abhor marriage, which was confirmed by the Councils. In the Church, marriage in its earthly sense is not obligatory, since the unity of human hypostases can be realized directly through the Church, bypassing marriage. Monasticism is another way of realizing this unity.

The union of husband and wife in the Book of Genesis is presented as indissoluble, eternal, which is associated with the immortality of man, since he was not supposed to die, but was created for eternity.