This is exactly what the writer of these lines had to go through, when he necessarily listened to anti-religious lectures at school. The question of the days of creation, in the conditions of our time, cannot be ignored. Moreover, we find an explanation of this question as early as the 4th century in the Holy Scriptures. Basil the Great, in his book "The Six Days", in St. John of Damascus, as well as in St. John Chrysostom, in St. Clement of Alexandria, at St. Athanasius the Great, in Bl. Augustine and others. Our day (day)

depends on the sun, and in the first three days of creation, there was no sun itself, which means that our days were not ours. It is not known what the days of creation were, for "with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day" (2 Peter 3:8). But one thing we can assume is that these days were not instants, this is evidenced by the consistency, the gradualness of creation.

And the Holy Fathers call the "seventh day" the entire period from the creation of the world to the present day and continuing until the end of the world. But, having experienced a spiritual crisis, we find ourselves abroad. Here, the talented writer Mintslov, with his book "Dreams of the Earth", again evokes painful days of perplexity and doubt. The fact is that Mintslov, describing the dispute between the students of the St. Petersburg Dukh.

Academy, through the mouth of the student Krestovozdvizhensky, says: " We cannot close our eyes to the achievements of science in the study of the Bible: it is three-quarters a falsification of the priests! " And for example?" " For example, the story of the exodus of the Jews from Egypt – the Bible tells that they themselves left there, that the army of the Egyptians perished together with Pharaoh Mernefta in the Red Sea, and recently the tomb of this very pharaoh was found in Egypt, and from the inscriptions in it it is clear that he did not even think of dying anywhere, but died at home..." We do not intend to argue with Mr.

 Mintslov said that Pharaoh Mernefta was the Pharaoh under whom the Jews came out of Egypt. For this is a matter for historians, especially since the Bible does not mention the name of Pharaoh. But we want to say that on this question Mr. Mintslov turned out to be completely ignorant, but at the same time, without hesitation, he boldly throws the "poison" of doubt into the authenticity of the Word of God.

In the Holy Scriptures there is no definitely accurate historical indication of the death of the pharaoh himself. In the book of Exodus, in which there is a historical account of the Israelites' crossing of the Red Sea, in chapter 14 of this book it is said as follows: — 23. The Egyptians pursued, and all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and all his horsemen went after them (the Israelites) into the middle of the sea. 24.

 And in the morning watch the Lord looked upon the camp of the Egyptians from a pillar of fire and cloud, and threw the camp of the Egyptians into confusion. 25. And he took away the wheels from their chariots, so that they could hardly draw them. And the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the Israelites, for the Lord will fight for them against the Egyptians. 26. And the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand on the sea, and let the waters turn on the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen." 27.

 And Moses stretched out his hand upon the sea, and by morning the waters returned to their place; and the Egyptians fled towards the water. Thus the Lord drowned the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. 28. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots and horsemen of all Pharaoh's army that had followed them into the sea; none of them remained. As can be seen from the above text, nothing is said about the pharaoh himself that he died.

But at the same time it is quite clearly stated that the entire army of Pharaoh perished; at the same time, Moses specifies that the water "covered the chariots and horsemen of all Pharaoh's army, who entered the sea after them." Also, in other places of the Bible where this event is mentioned, there is no mention of the death of Pharaoh himself. Only in the 135th Psalm of Praise, in which the omnipotence of God is sung, is it said: "And He cast Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea, for His mercy endures forever" (verse 15).

But there is no historical description of the event. This is a psalm-hymn, which speaks of the casting of Pharaoh himself into the sea figuratively, symbolically, as the final overthrow of his power and authority over the people of Israel. For the Israelites themselves, Pharaoh died, "drowned." The power of God is expressed in the same figurative and symbolic way in the previous verses of this psalm, when it is said that the Lord brought Israel out "with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, for His mercy endures forever" (Psalm 135:12).

In the same way, symbolically and figuratively, the Church sings about the death of Pharaoh at sea. Just as on Sundays she sings the victorious power of Christ: "For thou hast broken the gates of brass, and hast erased the cords of iron"... (Tone 2, stichera on the Lord I have cried). No one will understand these words in the literal sense, for everyone knows that in the spiritual, heavenly world, there is neither copper nor iron, but it is clear and understandable to everyone that these words are a symbol, an image.

In the historical description, in the book of Exodus, the pharaoh himself did not drown. Thus, we , Christians , believe and know that "All Scripture is inspired by God" and is the immutable truth. Often the atheists, taking advantage of the faithful's ignorance of the Word of God, boldly begin to ridicule what is said in the Holy Scriptures. The Scriptures say nothing. For example, they like to assert that the Bible says that the earth stands on four whales, that God made man out of clay, and so on.

The writer Mintslov did the same, perhaps without knowing it. Therefore, if the atheists try to refute the truth of God in the name of supposedly science, then let each of us first carefully check whether this atheist knows what he says and what he refutes. It is quite clear whether the tomb of Pharaoh, in which the Jews came out of Egypt, was found or not, this does not in the least refute the truth of the Word of God.

Unfortunately, there are many inaccuracies in the retellings of the Holy Scriptures. These inaccuracies, for the most part, are the "stumbling blocks" that play a fatal role for the unapproved. In compiling our textbook, we tried, with God's help, to remove all these "stumbling blocks" and to convey as accurately as possible the words of Divine Revelation.