I have a FB friend that recently expressed a desire to know my thoughts concerning the account of creation given in the book of Genesis. I'm always cautious about sharing what I believe in this area because it puts me at odds with the long standing traditions of most of the evangelical church. However, if someone asks me because they generally want to know what I believe, I never shy away from answering honest questions to the best of my ability. That being stated...
Genesis 1
1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
I believe that when God created this earth He created it perfect. The Holy Spirit testifies by the Word that the Heavenly Father's work and ways are perfect.
Deuteronomy 32
4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.
Psalm 18
30 As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.
According to Scripture, God does not create anything imperfect.
Perfect:
1. having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be.
2. absolute; complete (used for emphasis)
So just in looking at the definition of the word perfect, and the Scriptures that testify of God's work and ways being perfect... I think I can say with confidence, that when God created this earth it was a complete and finished creation. Nothing to be added, changed, or shaped. It was perfect. Now the Holy Spirit reveals more about the creation of the heavens and earth through the prophet Isaiah. God did not create the earth in vain. That is, He did not create it without purpose. God also created the earth to be inhabited.
Isaiah 45
18 For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else.
The Scriptures also proclaim that God has made everything beautiful.
11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.
Also in Genesis 1:1 the Hebrew word from which the word heaven was translated from, is the word shamiim. This word is plural not singular. This same "im" ending appears in the word Elohim. This is one of the revealed names of God and as the name has the im ending it denotes a plurality. One God yet three. So a more accurate translation of the text will read heavens (plural) not heaven (singular). I believe there are versions of the bible out there that have opted for a more precise translation. However, I do not believe this constitutes an error... but this is an interpretation brought about by the influences of that day's religious culture. The Scriptures do not support the idea of a single heaven, as there are three mentioned.
The first heaven is the sky that we can see... our atmosphere. This is mentioned Genesis 1:7,8.
Genesis 1
7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
The second heaven is the realm between earth and the throne of God where principalities and powers are located.
Epehesians 6
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
The third heaven is spoken of by Paul the apostle.
2 Corinthians 12
2 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out f the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such a one caught up to the third heaven.
So with this translation in mind we read... In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now take a look at Genesis 1:2
Genesis 1
2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
And the earth was without form and void?
The word void means useless; ineffectual; vain. It also means completely empty. We also see an earth without form. Shapeless. This is not perfection, this is chaos. Darkness upon the face of the deep... darkness so deep and so perfect that there is nothing that can be seen so there is no beauty. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. Friends, I've come to the conclusion that those waters were frozen... think about it for a moment. There is no light or source of heat, so how would these waters maintain a liquid form? Furthermore, where did these waters come from? Something cataclysmic had to have happened here to change the earth from its state of perfection and beauty. To this uninhabitable state... there is no form, no shape, no life, only emptiness... a frozen, lifeless, chaotic, empty, mass in perfect darkness.
TO BE CONTINUED...
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