Genesis
Genesis 1:1 - 1:5
What better place to start in
God's Word than in Genesis, especially for the new student. The word
Genesis means in the Greek, 'generation', 'creation'. The word Genesis is
not originally the Hebrew title, but Bereshith instead, which is "in
the beginning", the first words of The Book. All Scripture is taken
from the King James Authorized Version of 1611.
We're going to move slow, digging deep and hard in
these first few Chapters, so stay with me, and check me out with your Strong's
Concordance.
Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the
earth.
The
Hebrew has 'eth' before heaven and earth, emphasising each "the"
article before both. This treatment makes a distinction between the state of
the earth in Genesis 1:2. In other words, as we'll find out in the next verse,
this creation of the heaven (heavens, plural in the Hebrew), and the earth, is
the very first forming of the universe by God (Elohiym here in
Hebrew). When God accomplished this, no one truly knows how long ago, but
scientists can document that this old earth is literally thousands and
thousands of years old. There is no disagreement here with God's Word.1
Gen 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.
This
verse speaks of a different condition of the earth than in Genesis
1:1. Stay with me, I'm going to document it. The word 'was'
in Hebrew is 'hayah', meaning "to become, to exist, or come
to pass". This word 'was' is in italics in much of The
Old Testament, as it was added by the King James translators, because there is
no verb 'to be' in the Hebrew. (This is another subject for another time.)
2 So this word 'hayah' in the Hebrew should
be interpreted as 'became', i.e., past tense. The phrase
'without form' in the Hebrew is 'tohuw',
meaning to 'lie waste, a desolation, vain' (Strong's
no.8414). And the word 'void' is 'bohuw'
in the Hebrew, meaning 'an undistinguishable ruin'.(Strong's
no. 922).
In other words, the earth became a 'desolation',
a 'ruin'. You'll find in Isaiah 45:18 that God said He did not
create the earth "tohuw" (the Hebrew word tohuw
appears there again as 'in vain', meaning a waste,
a desolation). Well what does this mean? It means that something caused
that 'desolate' condition upon the ancient earth. God did not make
it that way. What could have caused the beautiful earth that God
originally set up in the beginning to become a 'waste', a 'desolation'?
The Books of 2 Peter and Jeremiah give us more clues as to this state of
ruin. In 2 Peter 3, Peter makes a distinction between 'the
world that then was' verses 'the heavens and earth which
are now.' Let's turn to 2 Peter 3:5.
2 Pet 3:5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that
by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing
out of the water and in the water:
Peter
is explaining that in the latter days scoffers at The Word would be saying:
"It's not going to happen, Jesus isn't going to come, everything continues
just as before," kind of like, "Ah yeah, every new millennium we get
the same old bunch saying the end is near...". But Peter wished for
God's people not to be ignorant of The Word, and he's explaining that the first
creation of the heavens and the earth (of old), were by The Word (Logos), that
is to say through Christ (see John 1), and that the earth was 'standing' (sat
in place) out of water and in water. This means that the earth then existed, it
had already been created, as in Gen.1:1. I know that these verses are taught by
many to mean the time of Noah's flood, but stay with me, for Peter is going to
show us the difference, in the Greek.
2 Pet 3:6. Whereby the world that then was,
being overflowed with water, perished:
This
word 'world' is kosmos in the Greek, which does
not mean soil like the earth, but an 'orderly arrangement' or
order of things, i.e., the first creation, a time, an age that God referred to
in Isaiah 45:18 (see Strong's no.2889). Well what is this word 'perished'?
It is apollumi in the Greek, and means 'to destroy fully, a
ruin', roughly equal to the word tohuw in Hebrew (Strong's
no.622). This is not speaking of Noah's flood, for apollumi means
everything was destroyed, the earth literally wiped clean of all its
inhabitants, no man, no birds, no Ark, nothing, a desolation. This Greek word apollumi
was used all throughout the New Testament to also mean those who will be
'blotted' out in the eternity, in the lake of fire. The word Apollyon,
which is another name for Satan written in Rev.9:11, is derived from the root
of apollumi, 'to perish', and furthermore, that's how we know
that 'the son of perdition' as written in 2 Thess.2 is Satan
himself, not Judas. (Strong's nos.623 & 622. Are you checking me out in
a Strong's Concordance yet?). It was the rebellion of Satan during that first
earth age that caused God to destroy that time. That's why one of
Satan's nicknames (Apollyon) is tied to 2 Peter 3:6, and 'the
world that then was'.
The interpretation is
this:
Genesis
1:1 is the first
setting up of the universe in the beginning, the first earth age, the time of
dinosaurs and fossil remains. This is when The Elohiym created everything, all
souls included.
Genesis
1:2 is the
desolate condition caused by 'the overthrow', or rebellion of Satan
against God. It is written in Ezekiel 28 that Satan (his symbolic name
there is the King of Tyrus, and prince of Tyrus), was originally 'perfect
in his ways' before 'iniquity' was found in him. It also states
that Satan was a covering cherub, and corrupted because of his beauty, and that
he coveted the position of God's Throne. You'll find in
Revelation
12:3-4, that a
third of the stars (angels) followed him during that period of overthrow. This
condition of ruin over the earth is what caused God to 'scrub' or destroy
that first earth age, and end the original first state of all creation, on
the earth.
The Truth is that God's Word must account for
discoveries and anomalies dealing with prehistoric remains, fossils and
dinosaur bones, ancient buried civilizations, mammoths found in Alaska with
buttercups in their mouths, frozen instantly in time, etc., and God's Word does
account for them. The discrepancy is in traditions and old folk tales
handed down from generation to generation by the uneducated in God's Word. Am I
being too harsh on those who keep handing down the same old false traditions?
Not really, because our Father has revealed His Truth to us in His
Letter. He accounts for all time. So try to understand that there was a
previous earth age, even before the flood of Noah, when this whole earth was a
paradise, the original state that God intended his creation to remain. In
that verse of Isaiah 45:18, God said that He created the earth 'to
be inhabited'. The myth that the eternity is going to be a brand new
universe, living up in the clouds instead of on the earth, is not in The Word
(God's dwelling place will still be on this earth in the eternity, although the
'height' of The New Jerusalem situated on earth will ascend up to heaven from
earth in the form of a cube. See Ezekiel and Rev.21:16 for the
dimensions). God is merely going to 'cleanse', or 'renew' this earth
again, as He did after the time of Satan's rebellion. Let's turn to Jeremiah
4 to find out more about the destruction of that first earth age.
Jer 4:22 For My people is foolish, they have not known Me;
they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to
do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
This
fourth Chapter of Jeremiah is about God being angry with His children, because
they were following all sorts of idols and abominations, instead of
Him. He is saying that since His people don't search for Him in truth,
etc., they thus have no knowledge of the Truth, for to know God's Truth,
including that first earth age, is to want to do good. They don't even remember
that first 'desolate' state of the earth of old times, and He's getting ready
to give them a little reminding of that wasted condition that was a result of
Satan's rebellion, to let them know that He's going to put this old earth
through another 'trembling' again.
If you began reading this fourth Chapter of Jeremiah,
and then get to these next few verses and feel a big subject change or shift
just happened, that means it's time to really think about what our Father is
trying to tell us.
Jer 4:23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was
without form, and void; and the heavens,
and they had no light.
Here's
the words 'without form' and 'void' again, the 'tohuw
va bohuw' covered in Genesis 1:2! So God is bringing into
remembrance that time of Genesis 1:2, to them, and to you, if you have 'eyes
to see'. That there was 'no light' means that
Satan's rebellion had caused a state of utter darkness, spiritually.
Consider this verse in…
Jer.13:16: "Give glory to the LORD your God, before He cause
darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye
look for light, He turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross
darkness."
You
will find in Rev.6:8 and Hebrews 2:14, that another name for Satan, the
devil, is 'Death', so this phrase 'the shadow of death'
is referring to Satan, so again, remember that the earth's state of
'desolation' in that first earth age was due to Satan's mutiny against God.
Jer 4:24 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they
trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.
The
Lord really shook the earth to end that first earth age. Might this
'trembling' have caused the 16-21 degree tilt of the earth's axis that caused
that instant arctic freeze, and the 90 mile error between the geographic
and magnetic pole? 'All the hills moved lightly' means the whole
earth was affected, not just partly. Since God's Word is 'Perfect', it accounts
for all natural phenomena that happened in the past history of this old earth,
and for what is to come.
Some might be thinking these Scriptures are talking
about the flood of Noah's time. Indeed God cleansed the earth from the filth on
it with a flood during Noah's day, but not with a trembling that made all the
hills move lightly. The latter part of Hebrews 12 gives a hint to a future time
when God will bring another destruction upon this earth similar to the one of
Genesis 1:2. Let's go to Hebrews 12 for a moment:
Heb 12:25 See that ye refuse not Him That
speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused Him That spake on earth, much
more shall not we escape, if we turn away from Him That speaketh from heaven:
26
Whose voice then shook the earth: but now He hath promised, saying, "Yet
once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven."
(KJV)
Paul is quoting this from Haggai 2:6, which also has parallel passages
in Joel 3:16, Isaiah 13:13. It's about a yet future shaking of this
earth at Christ's second coming (see Zech.14; Rev.16:18).
Heb 12:27 And this word, "Yet once more", signifieth
the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that
those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be
moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence
and godly fear:
(KJV)
The event Paul is talking about in that Hebrews Scripture is about the future
coming of the Day of The LORD, when Christ comes to rule on earth with a rod of
iron. The "Yet once more" phrase reveals there was
another previous shaking of this earth, and it was on the same level of
destruction that is to occur at Christ's future second coming. That did not
happen in Noah's time. It happened before, when Satan fell from Heaven in
rebellion against God and drew one-third of the angels into rebellion with him.
That is the connection our Heavenly Father is also making with these Jeremiah
4:23-28 verses.
Jer 4:25 I beheld, and, lo, there
was no man, and all the birds
of the heavens were fled.
This
verse is letting us know that man, and all creation that existed during that
first earth age, was gone from the earth, even all the birds. No Noah's ark, no
animals, absolutely nothing, thus this was an event that took place long before
the days of Noah.
Jer 4:26 I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all
the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by His fierce anger.
All
the cities of that first earth age were destroyed, and the 'fruitful place'
was a 'wilderness' (desert). Again, this is not the flood of
Noah's time, especially since the previous verse tells us that 'there
was no man', i.e., not even Noah's ark. Possibly the reason
why it is difficult for most people to understand the existence of cities and
people living on the earth, in spiritual bodies and not flesh, during the first
earth age, is due to tradition, and the fact that many people can't think in
the spiritual. Many traditions teach in a way that heaven in God's
eternity is not upon this earth, when The Word says that it is.
Many would also teach that God's people are just going
to 'fly away' into the sky, when that word 'air' in I Thess.4:17
should be properly translated 'spirit', the 'breath', i.e.,
the spiritual body, which represents the casting off of this flesh age, and the
destruction of all works by man on this earth when Christ returns for the
second coming. (Take a Strong's Concordance and translate that word 'air'
in I Thess.4:17 for yourself, then read Gen.2:7 again.) The translation of 'air'
to 'spirit', or 'breath of life', is supported by Paul in
I Corinthians 15 where he taught that on the "last trump"
we shall all be changed into a spiritual body, casting off this flesh, as also
written in 2 Peter 3:10, Psalms 97, and Nahum 1.
You'll find a more graphic version of the casting off
of the flesh body of the deceived in Zechariah 14. There are many more
Old Testament references to The Lord's Day when this 'change' takes
place. They all point to the destruction of this world (second earth age) by 'fire',
for you'll find in Hebrews 12 that God is a 'consuming fire'.
Satan's little propaganda department works overtime in trying to teach that
this day of destruction by fire is caused by all other means except what is
written. God is The One Who will do it, and not man. If you remember in
the Book of Daniel how Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were protected by The
Lord in that furnace, heated seven times hotter (spiritual completion) than
necessary, then don't worry if you're in Christ, for we shall not be
harmed. Their garments didn't even smell of smoke when they came out of
that hot furnace.
Don't confuse God's 'consuming fire' with the 'lake
of fire'. The 'lake of fire' happens at the end of God's
Millennium, the thousand-year reign of Christ and His elect on earth that
begins when Christ returns for the second Advent. Those who hear The Word
then, without any distraction or obstruction, and still choose to follow Satan
instead of our Father, will be cast into that 'lake of fire' along with the
'dragon', or Satan. (See Rev.20 - 22). Let's continue back in Genesis
1.
Back
to Gen.1:2, and let's cover the last part of that verse:
Gen 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.
This
word 'Spirit' is 'ruwach' in Hebrew, and
It means 'wind, by resemblance breath' (Strong's no. 7307).
This is when God's Spirit 'spoke', starting the cleansing of that state
of 'ruin' and began this earth age we are now in. This act is also
referred to in John 3:3-8, Romans 8. You'll also see this 'ruwach'
translated as the 'four winds' in several places in the King
James Version.
I call your attention to this phrase "the
face of the waters". The word 'face' is simply the Hebrew
word 'paniym' meaning 'in the presence of' (Strong's 6440). God's Spirit
was before the presence of the waters. This is important, because you'll find
there is no mention of God creating earth matter past Genesis 1:1. These "waters"
were outstreched over the whole earth, covering all of it, and that's how God
destroyed that time of old to end Satan's rebellion. Even at this verse, the
earth is under all those "waters".
Gen. 1:3 And God said, "Let there be light:" and
there was light.
Gen. 1:4 And God saw the light, that it
was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
Gen. 1:5 And God called the light Day,
and the darkness He called Night. And the evening
and the morning were the first day.
Many of you may not understand this, but, this 'light' and 'darkness'
here, is not the dividing of a 24-hour period that we all know in this
life. You'll notice that God didn't create the separation between earth
'day' and 'night' yet, that is to say, the star called our 'sun' and the planet
that orbits the earth called the 'moon', until Gen.1: 14. We're
still here in Gen.1: 5 on the first 'day' or God's period of time (to
God, a 'day' is equal to...see 2 Peter 3:8). Notice that 'Day'
and 'Night' are in capitals. Here in verse 5, 'Day' and 'Night'
should be understood as separations between 'good' and 'evil', i.e., Christ and Satan, for Christ is that
Light, and Satan is that 'darkness'. Well how can this be, you
may ask? Turn with me to Isaiah 60:19:
Isa 60:19 The sun shall be no more thy light by day;
neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall
be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.
Isa 60:20 Thy sun shall no more go down; neither
shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be thine everlasting
light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.
Hey,
this hasn't happened yet friend! It's too bad that many refuse to believe
that there will be no 'sun' or 'moon' in the LORD's eternity. I guess God's
Word is just too 'far out' for them. This is mentioned again in Rev.21
and 22. The eternity, or last earth age will be the 'putting back' of
the original state which God made His creation, therefore, in that first earth
age, there was no 'sun' or 'moon', because God
was that 'Light'. There was no 'darkness',
literally! Try to imagine dividing 'time' when you don't have a sun or moon, no
sunlight, no moonlight, only 'Light'. You have to think with your spiritual
mind to understand this. You can go on a long philosophical trip to
nowhere thinking about this with the 'flesh' mind. The flesh can't comprehend
it. That's why our Father hid this message about the three earth ages from
those who don't care to work in our Father's Word. Chances are, unless you
dig for yourselves in The Word, checking me out, you won't get It either. Nor
will you get it just by asking someone else.
I'm going to stop here for now. Here's an
assignment if your interested: Read the following sections and verses to
understand more about this 'Light' talked about here in Genesis 1:3
through 1:5.
1
John 1:5; Job 38; Isaiah 45:1-12; John 1; John 3:17-21;
II Cor.4:6; Ephesians 5:8.