Creation - Segment 3

Well, let's continue on with Segment 3!


So the scriptures agree that the original creation was perfect, formed to be inhabited. It stands to reason that a perfect God would only create a perfect creation. The word here says that the heavens and the earth were created “not in vain”, so what happened? Why does verse 2 of Genesis 1 say

1 “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.”

At first glance, it would seem we have a contradiction. Creation cannot be “created not in vain” and “without form and void” at the same time. Logic demands that it be one or the other.
The answer again lies in the original Hebrew, where the word translated “was” in verse two should be rendered “became” as it was in Genesis 19:26, where Lot’s wife looked back upon the judgment of God upon Sodom and Gomorrah and “became a pillar of salt.” The sense of what actually happened is clear when the word “became” is restored to the verse.

2 “And the earth became without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.”

Something clearly happened between verses 1 and 2, creating a “gap” of untold duration of purpose. I believe scripture records the event- the entrance of sin into a perfect creation! Again the curtain is drawn back, and we can begin to see the story unfold. The word records these events in Ezekiel 28:12-19 where Lucifer, “the anointed cherub that covereth”, by reason of his own beauty, wills himself to be more than he was created to be. At this time Lucifer was full of wisdom, perfect in beauty, and held a position in God’s created order of angelic beings above all. The word records that he was in Eden, the garden of God in heaven, and that he had literally “walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.” All was perfect- until “iniquity was found in thee.” At this crisis point in God’s purpose, for the first time, we have 2 “wills” in the creation instead of just one. Lucifer’s 5 “I wills” are also a matter of scripture record in Isaiah 14:12-14:

12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of GOD: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.’

Because of this, God’s judgment is swift and sure. Ezekiel 28:16-17 records that God cast him as profane out of the mountain of God, and that he was destroyed from the midst of the stones of fire. He was also cast to the earth- the word in vs. 17 is “ground”, but again the Hebrew text corrects us, and the true translation is “earth”. I believe at this point Lucifer, his home the earth, and at least a portion of the created angels residing in heaven (probably some as captives and some voluntarily) were all imprisoned. This brings us back to Genesis 1, and the “deep”.

2 “And the earth became without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.”...

The creation of the deep, like the creation of Lucifer and the angels, is not recorded here in Genesis. The deep is created by God as a means of judgment upon his disobedient creation. It is remarkable that as of verse 2 we are no longer talking about darkness on the face of the earth or in heaven, but darkness upon the face of the deep. This word enters the story much like Satan does in chapter 3, almost as an uninvited intruder. The Hebrew word for deep here is again of significance. Tehowm (pronounced teh-home’) comes from the root word Huwm which means “to make an uproar, or agitate greatly; destroy, move, make noise”. Tehowm means “an abyss, as a surging mass of water”. “Water of judgment” would be a good description of the word.

To summarize to this point, God creates the heavens and the earth, which were perfect and inhabited by the angelic order and Lucifer, the capstone of created perfection. Lucifer is likely the “prime minister” of creation, and has access to heaven and the earth as it suits God’s purposes. All is well in creation until the day God knows that Lucifer in his heart has sinned by reason of his own pride, and now two “wills” and division replace the single perfect will of the Creator. As a result of the entrance of sin and the resultant rebellion in heaven, God casts Lucifer to the earth along with the rebels, and locks them inside the massive body of water called the deep. This “separation” from God is necessary because God cannot and will not tolerate sin in his presence, and the duration of this “judgment” likely lasted for a period of time that the human mind can’t fathom. During this time, the earth is both “in the water” and “out of the water” at different times, and to this period belong all fossil remains and relics that we find today.


Think on these things.....more next time!
Ronnie