As my own scripture journey into creation deepened, one thing soon became clear- the bulk of scripture certainly did not seem to center on creation before or after what I’ll refer to as "age times", i.e., the record of Adam’s race. In fact, only a very small percentage of Holy Writ is devoted to shining light into this darkness and we, as Paul, see details of these events only "as through a glass darkly". God reveals the scriptural equivalent of only glimpses of these times, much like pulling a curtain aside to give a peek. The vast majority of the book centers on Adam and the history of his progeny, most notably God’s chosen people Israel. One such "peek" is provided by the Apostle Peter in 2Peter 3: 1-13. Here, Peter stirs up the minds of the believers by way of "remembrance" and makes these statements in verses 5-7 and 13:
5 "For this they are willingly ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens wereof old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
7 But the heavens and the earth which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men."
13 "Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness."
Amazingly, the entire history of creation itself is contained within these four verses. Peter mentions three distinct periods of the heavens and the earth, and these can be listed as:
Remember, as we have already stated, the world that then was and the new heavens and the new earth are not the main focus of scripture. All that may be gleaned from the word concerning these time periods come from scant few scattered references. Let’s consider first "the world that then was" as referenced in vs. 6. This world of old was, at least at one time, "standing in the water and out of the water". It was also "overflowed with water" and perished. This word "perish" is the key to understanding that this flood is not the flood of Genesis 6. It is the Greek word appolumi, which means to utterly destroy, total ruin or loss. This word is one of the strongest words in the Greek language to express the idea of final and irretrievable destruction. This ancient world experienced a flood of such intensity and duration that the earth still bears the scars in its surface today. This flood transformed the original earth by a literal "baptism of judgment" that had a duration that only God knows. The flood of Genesis 6 certainly was a catastrophe, but Noah’s flood began and ended in the space of a year- a fact that clearly opposes the definition of appolumi. In addition the book of Genesis, in perfect harmony, only briefly introduces us to the earth in the first two verses before adding "and darkness was upon
the face of the deep." What is this deep, where did it come from, and why darkness in a perfect creation?
More about the deep later. For now, let’s concentrate on Genesis 1:1:
1 "In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth."
Let’s stop here. "Heaven" here is the Hebrew word shamayim, and is always plural. It comes from the root word shameh (pronounced shaw-meh’), which means "to be high, lofty. " Shamayim means "the sky, alluding to the visible arch in which the clouds move as well as to the higher space where the celestial bodies revolve." The earth is created here also, at the same point in purpose called beginning. The idea that this scripture teaches is in perfect harmony once again with Isaiah 45:18:
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."
More next time........God Bless!
Ronnie
