What does 'not made out of things that appear' mean?
It means the visible, tangible creation was not made from pre-existing visible things. The universe was framed by the Word of God, who spoke it into being, so everything we can now see and handle came out of nothing. This is understood through faith.
Les explains that this phrase means creation did not come from any visible, tangible source. Through faith, taking God at His Word, believers understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God. He spoke, and it all came into being. Therefore, the things that are seen and handled were not made out of things that appear; everything created came out of nothing. Les notes that the unbeliever cannot comprehend this, but the believer can. He also mentions that if astronomers are right that creation is still moving further and further, that fits because God is infinite and His creation has no outer shell.
Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.