Genesis 1:1 – The First Verse of the First Chapter of the First Book of the Bible.
Such a short verse of Scripture, with so much meaning, time and history behind it.
Let us explore the mysteries of this verse in great detail.
(Genesis 1:1)
In English translation:
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
In Hebrew:
בראשׁית ברא אלהים את השׁמים ואת הארץ׃
“In the beginnig”
Hebrew-7225
ראשׁית
rê’shîyth
ray-sheeth’
From the same as Hebrew-7218; the first, in place, time, order or rank (specifically a firstfruit): – beginning, chief (-est), first (-fruits, part, time), principal thing.
“God”
Hebrew-430
אלהים
‘elôhîym
el-o-heem’
Plural of Hebrew-433; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative: – angels, X exceeding, God (gods) (-dess, -ly), X (very) great, judges, X mighty.
“created”
Hebrew-1254
בּרא
bârâ’
baw-raw’
A primitive root; (absolutely) to create; (qualified) to cut down (a wood), select, feed (as formative processes): – choose, create (creator), cut down, dispatch, do, make (fat).
“the heaven”
Hebrew-8064
שׁמה שׁמים
shâmayim shâmeh
shaw-mah’-yim, shaw-meh’
The second form being dual of an unused singular; from an unused root meaning to be lofty; the sky (as aloft; the dual perhaps alluding to the visible arch in which the clouds move, as well as to the higher ether where the celestial bodies revolve): – air, X astrologer, heaven (-s).
“and the earth”
Hebrew-776
ארץ
‘erets
eh’-rets
From an unused root probably meaning to be firm; the earth (at large, or partitively a land): – X common, country, earth, field, ground, land, X nations, way, + wilderness, world.
The usual concept of Genesis 1:1
“In the the Beginning of Time, God created the Universe (Heaven and Earth).”
Various interpretations of this verse lead people to have different thoughts on the timing of evens that took place.
It is popularly believed that Genesis 1:1 describes an event that happened the time-frame of:
1) 1 day
2) An instant
3) An indefinite period of time (can be millions of years).
It is commonly believed that God created a Universe that was (without form and void) as “described” in Genesis 1:2.
That God created a Universe that was out of Order, without shape or structure.
This is what people usually interpret to happen between the Genesis Chapter 1: verses 1 and 2.
But so much more goes on between these 2 verses that has gone untold.
In this teaching, we will discover how much more history and truth lies within the time frame of this one verse of the Bible.
The 'Three' periods of Heavens and Earths
The words “In the beginning” means “origin”, bereshith in Hebrew, and or gennesis in Greek.
The word “God”, Elohim in that context is plural to emphasize his greatness.
The word “Heaven” is shamayim and is in plural form to represent its vastness.-
This verse is referring to the creation of the first ‘heaven and earth’ of the three that is to exist in God’s foreknowledge.
(The biblical significance of the number 3 is complete.)
In Peter II, it explains that there are three periods of Heavens and Earths.
(2 Peter 3:5 KJVR)
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:
(2 Peter 3:6 KJVR)
Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished.
(2 Peter 3:7 KJVR)
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.
This extract talks about the original Heaven and Earth, which existed in Genesis 1:1.
Then it mentions the Heaven and Earth which exist now, this one will last until the Judgment day.
And the third Heaven and Earth…
(2 Peter 3:13 KJVR)
Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
-In The book of Revelation of Jesus Christ-
(Revelation 21:1 KJVR)
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Where it reads, ‘first’ heaven and the ‘first’ earth, may be better translated as: ‘former’ heaven and the ‘former’ earth .
(Revelation 21:1)
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the [former] heaven and the [former] earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
The second Heaven and Earth begins with Genesis 1:3 and it’s formation is completed when it states in Genesis 2:1:
(Genesis 2:1 KJVR)
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
Was the Earth made without form, and void?
To further understand Genesis 1:1; Genesis 1:2-3 must also be included to understand what is taking place.
(Genesis 1:2 KJVR)
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.
When God Created the first Heaven and Earth, the earth was not made “without form and void”.
(Isaiah 45:18 KJVR)
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.
This “destructive state of the Earth” was the work of Satan in his rebellion against God.
God does NOT create disorderly things.
God said…via Paul
(1 Corinthians 14:40 KJVR)
Let all things be done decently and in order.
God would not create the Earth in such a destructive state
(1 Corinthians 14:33 KJVR)
For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
Satan is the author of confusion.
In the original Estrangelo Aramaic and Hebrew, there was no verb “to be”; but instead there was the verb “to become”. Also in Genesis 1:2, notice that the second “was” is italicized, because it was added and was not in the original text.
This gives the verse a totally different meaning than it should.
The second “was” does however serve to make the verse grammatically correct in English.
The first “was”, was improperly translated,
“was”
Hebrew-1961
היה
hâyâh
haw-yaw’
A primitive root (compare H1933); to exist, that is, be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary): – beacon, X altogether, be (-come, accomplished, committed, like), break, cause, come (to pass), continue, do, faint, fall, + follow, happen, X have, last, pertain, quit (one-) self, require, X use.
The word used in place of “was” in Genesis 1:2 should be “became”
The verse Genesis 1:2 should be better read:
(Genesis 1:2 KJVR)
And the earth [became] 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 then suggests that the earth was not made without form, and void, but it became that way afterwards.
If the verse was supposed to mean what is usually thought, then Genesis 1:1 would have probably written…
(Genesis 1:1)
In the beginning God created the heavens, and the earth without form, and void.
But the verses should be correctly separated, as the time frame between the two verses could be many years apart, but we do not know exactly how long this period was.
Note that a completely new heaven and earth was never formed.
In all three Heavens and Earths, this planet Earth we are on right now, is probably the same earth as the first one was and the last one will be.
When was light first created?
(Genesis 1:3 KJVR)
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
In Genesis 1:3, God never said that he had just created light at that point, he only said “Let there be light”
(1 John 1:5 KJVR)
This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
God himself may have provided the light in the first Heaven and Earth.
If our God is a God of light, he would not create such a dark and dismantled world.
(Genesis 1:4 KJVR)
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
(Genesis 1:5 KJVR)
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
God had a purpose for this new source of light which was the sun, it would allow for a “Day time” and a “Night time”.
We do not know, but God’s light could have been everlasting. Hence there may not have been a Day and Night period before and only then gave it a name.
“Replenish the earth”
This is a very important phrase to notice in our study!
“Replenish”
Hebrew-1961
היה
hâyâh
haw-yaw’
Only Twice in the entire Bible is the word “Replenish” used. In both cases God says the same phrase: “replenish the earth”.
#1) (Genesis 1:28 KJVR)
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
#2) (Genesis 9:1 KJVR)
And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
Notice firstly how the phrase is used in context with Noah (#2).
God tells Noah to replenish the earth just after it has been wiped out of life (by The Great Flood).
He tells Noah to replenish the earth because there was life on earth before, Noah would only be “re-filling” the earth with more life.
In Adam’s case (#1), if God tells Adam to replenish the earth, that would thus mean that there were living things on the earth before.
He cannot replenish the earth if there was never anything living on the earth before him. Otherwise, God may have simply said, “fill the earth”.
If God is telling Adam to replenish the earth, what does this mean?…
It means, that there were living things on this Earth BEFORE Adam was put on this Earth.
It has been established by many Biblical Scholars already, that Adam Existed only about 6000 years ago.
Yet…
Science Proves that life existed on this very earth, Millions of years ago!
Having looked at why there were probably living creatures on this earth before God created Adam and Eve (in this second Heaven and Earth), this leaves us with evidence that dinosaurs have truly existed back then. Their fossils were discovered on this earth.
We do not know what lived on the earth before Adam and Eve were created, but what ever it was, by scientific proof, there were creatures that existed millions of years ago. That would be a much longer time ago than when God created Adam and Eve.
There may have even been “cave men” in what ever form they looked like, but they surely were not human beings like us.
“And the earth brought forth grass”
(Genesis 1:11 KJVR)
And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
(Genesis 1:12 KJVR)
And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
In these 2 Verses above, the Bible does not say that God is creating Grass for the first time.
The Earth is being Replenished after its destruction.
As opposed to:
“And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth,”
“And God made the beast of the earth after his kind,”
“So God created man in his own image,”
Where Modern day Animals and Humans are being created for the first time.
This suggests that he is bringing forth grass that once existed before.
That grass could have been one of the food supplies for Dinosaurs, or other creatures that may have existed in Genesis 1:1.
Scientific research is very accurate at many times; this then could fit both the Bible and Science in its corrective place of not contradicting each other.
In the topic (Genesis 1:2), I shall explain that the earth was actually frozen over.
The “darkness that was upon the face of the deep” caused the earth to be without light, thus it froze up, killing probably all forms of life on earth.
This would also perfectly explain why scientist in research discovered that there was a devastating “Ice Age” that killed out the Prehistoric beasts.
If this “Ice Age” was so powerful to kill out all living things on the earth, would cavemen have survived to be able to evolve into human beings?…
Most likely not.
THE CREATION
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." – Genesis 1:1
It is a well known and generally acceptable fact that the heaven and the earth were created in six days. But the earth on which we are now living was a recreation after some ćons of time since it was first created by God. Prior to the recreation, the earth was in a state of desolation, emptiness, and darkness.
Why was it so? And, what were the causes?
PREHISTORIC ERA
Let's examine the Biblical records of the chronology of events pertaining to the heaven and the earth which God had created. From Genesis 1:1 we believe that God created the heaven and the earth in a period called THE BEGINNING which was millions of years in the past. This is THE BEGINNING of the Creation of the Heaven and the Earth. Prophet Isaiah said that God "hath established it and created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited" (Isa.45:18). And archeological discoveries have proved to us that there was an era when dinosaurs and upright man-like creatures roamed the earth. It was an era which spanned millions of years before "the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep" (Gen.1:2a). It is simply known as the Prehistoric Era.
ANGELIC BEINGS
The earth, being created in a good state and condition, was meant to be an habitation for all creatures to live harmoniously together during that Prehistoric Era.
Now, let us take a further step beyond THE BEGINNING of the heaven and the earth to THE BEGINNING of the angels.
In Job 38:4-7, God exposed Job's ignorance when He questioned him:
"Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? ...when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"
Yes, the stars of God (angelic messengers) were there with God when He laid the foundations of the earth. Every Seed-Word son of God was there in the infinite Mind of God shouting for joy. [Note: God often spoke of non-existent things as if they (already) existed (Rom.4:17).]
Every creature created in the image and likeness of God is endowed with the power to choose between right and wrong. None of them is programmed to be a robot. The angels, being in God's image and likeness, had to be tested regarding their choice. And what better place for their testing could there be than the planet earth. The heaven was never meant to serve any purpose other than God's dwelling place.
FALLEN ANGELS
Satan was already a fallen angel when he entered the Garden of Eden made for Adam and Eve. Evidently, he had been tested at some point of time in ages past and, having failed the test, was cast to the ground as recorded in Isaiah 14:12-14 and Ezekiel 28:11-17.
In John 8:44, Jesus said (to the unbelieving Jews):
"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."
In saying that, Jesus was neither referring to the murder of Abel by Cain, the seed of the Serpent, nor the lie that the Serpent had told Eve. Christ was pointing back to the origin and testing of Satan when he had his own Garden of Eden on this same earth.
In Ezekiel 28, when Prophet Ezekiel was prophesying, He was not only rebuking the king of Tyrus, a man of glory, who loved to glorify and exalt himself, but also Satan, when he said, "Thou hast been in Eden the Garden of God" (v.13). But please note carefully that this Garden of Eden, which was made for that Angelic Prince before his fall, was a garden of precious stones and not a garden of vegetation. Adam's garden was a garden of fruit trees and plants. The word "Eden" simply means "a delight" or "paradise". Everything in that garden of precious stones was made for that anointed cherub; every precious stone was his covering – his glory. He was elevated to a position of authority – "thou was upon the holy mountain of God" (v.14). He was perfect in his ways until iniquity was found in him (v.15). He failed his test and fell. Then Lucifer – "son of the morning" – became Satan, the adversary of God.
When the seventy disciples returned to Jesus Christ after their successful mission, they were filled with great jubilation that the Lord cautioned them, saying: "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven" (Lk.10:17-18). Yes, Satan exalted himself and he fell from his first estate, and was "cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations" (Isa.14:12).
It is evident that Lucifer, who previously had power and control over this planet earth, has been fighting very hard to regain control of the earth from man, the new ruler, who has been appointed to rule in his stead since the recreation. He has been trying, by all ways and means, to achieve his ambition. His lies and wicked schemes have filled the earth with all forms of violence and sins. O that devil! He is all out to destroy everything that God had created! Yes, he is the god of this evil age!
Yes, Lucifer was perfect when he was created. But he was not contented with his possessions and status. It seemed that he got bored with his position and began to harbour a secret ambition to be like the Most High (Isa.14:14). God knew it and began to deal with him. That was when iniquity was found in him and he began to cause a 'war' among the mammoth creatures of the earth. Kill! Murder! Destroy! Thus, Lucifer became a murderer!
And when God confronted him, he told his first lie. He did not abide in the truth. That's right. "He was a murderer from the beginning and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him."
The earth was in a state of turmoil and chaos. All the creatures were fighting among themselves and killing one another which wreaked havoc on the environment around them. The wreckages, together with decomposed carcasses, caused a change in the climatic condition of the earth and lands laid waste. Finally, God decided to stop the widespread destruction. All He did was to cause glaciers to cover and freeze the whole earth. Then the fallen angelic prince was stripped of his authority and dominion over the earth.
All the angels that followed Satan's evil leadership fell with him. They left their first estate by choice. Angels that proved loyal to God remained at God's right hand to carry out and execute His plan.
The 'great' educated theologians can never figure out the profound truth that has been hidden in God's Word. God will only reveal the truth to babes and such as would learn. Yes, the Word of the Lord is given unto us, precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little and there a little that we may receive the truth.
Even today, there are people (especially those who believe that the earth was only about 6,000 years old) who teach that the dinosaurs existed in Adam's days and that they all perished in the great deluge of Noah's day. That's sheer foolishness! If dinosaurs existed in Noah's day, why were they not in the ark when God had specifically commanded Noah to take with him "two of every sort" of animals before He destroyed the world by the flood? And if they were brought into the ark, why are they not here with us today? (Some preachers speculate that because of their size the dinosaurs lived only for a short while after the Flood due to a lack of food.) In the first place, could "two of every sort" of dinosaurs and gigantic birds (even young matured ones) be carried in the ark? Think about it. The Flood in Noah's day (about 4,400 years ago) was not the cause of the death of the dinosaurs.
Archeology has proved that they existed millions of years ago and not merely 6,000 years ago in Adam's era. If the Flood was the cause of the extinction of the dinosaurs and other land creatures, then why the trilobites, and certain other arthropods, living in the seas, could not survive the Flood? How and why did they become extinct in the deluge? The answer is that they were not existing in Adam's era but ćons before that. They perished when God froze the earth after He had passed His judgment on Satan and the fallen angels.
No time limit is recorded in Genesis 1:1 regarding God's creation of the heaven and the earth. The events that occurred are not recorded in that one verse. (Obviously to hide the truth from the wise and prudent men.) The process could have easily covered ćons of time.
Yes, Lucifer had his Eden. Adam had his Eden. And in the Regeneration when our Lord Jesus Christ shall sit on the throne of His glory to reign with His Bride, He will have His Eden (Matt.19:28; Isa.65:18-25). The future "New Heaven and New Earth" that will be created out of the present one is the true Eden (Rev.21:22)..
RECREATION
The Fall of Satan had brought about the dismal condition of the earth as recorded in Genesis 1:2a. There was no light. It was empty and laid waste. "And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters" and God began to recreate the earth (in six days) to be inhabited once again. This time the animals were created smaller than before.
"And God said, Let us make man in our own image and after our likeness..." (Gen.1:26). And MAN was given dominion over every living thing that moved upon the earth. This is THE BEGINNING of man who was created a little lower than the angels yet was crowned with glory and honour, and set over the works of God's hands.
In John 1:1, there's another word translated as the "beginning". This "beginning" is before the "beginning" in Genesis 1:1.
"MONOGENE" –
THE BEGINNING OF THE CREATION OF GOD
In the Barclay translation, the first five verses of the Gospel of John read:
"When the world began, THE WORD was already there. THE WORD was with God, and the nature of THE WORD was the same as the nature of God.
THE WORD was there in the beginning with God.
It was through the agency of THE WORD that everything else came into being. Without THE WORD not one single thing came into being.
As for the whole creation, THE WORD was the life principle in it, and that life was the light of men.
The light continues to shine in the darkness, and the darkness has never extinguished it."
THE WORD (Grk: LOGOS) was the very agency by which all things came into existence. Without THE WORD nothing could exist or be created. For "THE WORD was God". The WORD couldn't be anything less since IT was there in the beginning with God. Undoubtedly, LIFE was in THE WORD. It still is. Jesus said, "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life" (Jhn.6:63).
Since all things came forth from this WORD (the centre theme of Life) Which was the Beginning of the Creation of God, we can simply say that IT was the SEED OF LIFE. We can term IT the MONOGENE OF GOD. And if we know our Bible, we would have noticed that this WORD was expressed unto the Patriarchs by (Grk: in) the prophets throughout the Old Testament "in many separate revelations – each of which set forth a portion of the TRUTH – and in different ways" (Heb.1:1, Amplified). But God "hath in these last days spoken unto us by (Grk: in) His Son....Who being the brightness of His Glory, and the express image of His person (Grk: hupostasis – substance; essence; real nature" (Heb.1:2-3). The word "person" is a mistranslation.
Right, THE WORD of God was revealed unto the Old Testament prophets in different manners and in various ways, not only expressed and heard but manifested and seen by those holy men of God. And in each of those REVELATIONS, THE WORD was revealed in a certain manner and way that would portray or prefigure THE CHRIST (Jesus) Who was to come as the FULLNESS of THE WORD, to fulfill ALL that THE SCRIPTURES (THE WORD) had spoken of Him. Therefore, right in the MONOGENE was the spirit of Sonship (the germ of the SEED) that was later manifested as Jesus, the only begotten Son of God.
"IN THE BEGINNING was THE WORD, and THE WORD was with God and THE WORD was God." – John 1:1
The term "in the beginning" does not mean "in eternity" nor "without a beginning". Just as the heaven and the earth, and the angels had their beginnings, "THE WORD" also had ITS BEGINNING. And this "WORD" later became flesh and dwelt among men.
The word "WORD" came from the Greek word LOGOS which means the EXPRESSION OF THOUGHT and not merely the thinking of a thought (Grk: noema) or the reasoning (Grk: dialogismos). One cannot separate man from his mind (Grk: nouns) wherein are his thoughts. So, as long as the Almighty is, His Mind is in Him.
In eternity past, before anything came into existence, there was only the Almighty. He was Self-sufficient. All His THOUGHTS were in His MIND. But they were not EXPRESSED. THE WORD was not manifested. IT was only in His MIND.
A thought is a word unspoken or unexpressed. It's merely in the mind. On the other hand, a word is a thought expressed or spoken. And an expression is a thought in words or acts. THE LOGOS is therefore the THOUGHT plus ITS EXPRESSION (OR REVELATION). Simply, the LOGOS stands for the WORD SPOKEN, as well as THE SPEAKER BEHIND THE WORD.
With this in mind we can see why John wrote – "IN THE BEGINNING was THE WORD (THE LOGOS)". Before that period of THE BEGINNING, there was just the Almighty with His Thoughts (not LOGOS). But after He had finished counselling with Himself and purposed in His Mind, He began to express them accordingly "after the counsel (Grk: boule) of His Own will" (Eph.1:11). That was then THE BEGINNING OF THE LOGOS or the expression of His inward thoughts. Elohim began to form a SPIRIT BODY, called the WORD, a body very similar to the angelic beings which later were created. But unlike the spirit body of angels, the SPIRIT BODY which came forth out of Elohim was LIFE ITSELF because it carried the Revelation of the Word of God which is Life. Hence, "In him was life;..." (Jhn.1:4a). And as God began to speak His Thoughts through this Word Body, things began to happen!
[Note: Certain theologians who believe in Two Gods are teaching that the word "God" in the phrase "the Word was with God" (Jhn.1:1) came through as "Yahweh" in the Hebrew language. And because the word "Yahweh" is used instead of "Elohim", they would override the phrase "in the beginning", and contend that the Logos was a separate Spirit Being who co-existed with the Almighty Spirit (Elohim) "in eternity". Like the Trinitarians, they call the Logos the "Second Member of the Elohim Family". (We will see later why such polytheistic doctrines fail to reflect the type of the Tabernacle of Moses.)]
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