Creation, chaos and restoration

The book of beginnings

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth (Gen. 1:1).

When the first Greek translation (the Septuagint) was made from the Hebrew manuscripts, the word bereshith, translated “in the beginning” in Genesis 1:1, was rendered biblos genesis. This means “history of the origin,” and in that sense is a good title for the first book of the Bible. The English word, genesis, is simply a transliteration of the Greek phrase. biblos genesis is found in Genesis 2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:27; 25:12,13; 36:1; 37:2 and Matthew 1:1, and it is always the same: “These are the generations of ...”

The content of Genesis is the seedpod of the Bible. The embryo of every major doctrine is found in this first book of the Scripture: the origin of the universe, the earth, Homo sapiens, right man - right woman, dispensations, sin, death, redemption, divine institutions, the laws of establishment, nations, civilisations, and the nation Israel. In Genesis we find two of the four dispensations: the Age of the Gentiles, covered by the first eleven chapters, and the first section of the Age of the Jews (the patriarchs). The origin of Israel begins in chapter 12 and goes through chapter 50. These chapters present the history of one family: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. God always places the emphasis on the individual, because salvation and grace provision are always personal and available to each member of the human race.

The main concept of this book is God’s blessing and provision for man, and man’s failure to appropriate this grace. Genesis begins with God: bereshith bara elohim - “In the beginning [which was not a beginning] God created ...” (Gen. 1:1), and ends with a man’s coffin: ba aron b’mitzrain - “… In a coffin in Egypt” (Gen. 50:26).

Also contained in the Book of Genesis are five Satanic attacks: Satan’s distortion of doctrine in the Garden (Gen. 3:4,5); Satan’s attack on the Laws of Divine Establishment (Gen. 3); the attack on Volition through angelic infiltration (Gen. 6:1-5); the attack on the principle of right man - right woman and the family (Gen. 2:23); and, finally, the attack on nationalism (Gen. 11).

God comes forward with grace, and man goes down by his own volition in the rejection of grace. Genesis reveals the failure, the weakness, the insufficiency of man, and at the same time reveals the love, the stability and the faithfulness of God - the wisdom of God and the foolishness of man. Genesis sets the pace for the entire Bible. It presents the magnificent grace of God the Father, the celebrityship of God the Son, and the sustaining ministry of God the Holy Spirit.

All right, let’s look at the location of Genesis in the Pentateuch. Genesis is the book of beginnings; therefore, it records man’s first failures before God. The main theme of the balance of the Pentateuch is as follows: Exodus is the book of deliverance, or man’s being “graced out” - rescued from his failures by God. Leviticus is the book of worship, or man’s relationship with God. Numbers is the book of reversionism, or man’s discipline by God because of carnality. Deuteronomy is the book of doctrine, or God’s laws for mankind.

Moses, the human author

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness ( 2 Tim. 3:16).

Under the principle of inspiration, as stated in 2 Timothy 3:16, the human author of this book is of some importance. The Greek word theopneustos, translated “inspiration,” is literally “God-breathed,” i.e., inhale and exhale. The inhale is God the Holy Spirit’s communicating information about the unknown past to the human author, Moses, a man with the gift of prophecy and the office of prophet. God’s complete and coherent message, defining creation and covering human history from its beginning to the time of Moses, is recorded in this book with perfect accuracy. In the exhale, Moses, as the human author, recorded the information given him directly from God. Without waiving Moses’ human genius, without waiving his fantastic vocabulary, his personality, or changing his individuality or his personal feelings, God’s complete message to mankind was permanently recorded in the original language - which is Hebrew, not King James English!

God the Holy Spirit “carried Moses along” (2 Pet. 1:21), so that the “mind of Christ” was inhaled through doctrine learned by Moses (the function of GAP), and exhaled through writing! The mind of Christ is the Word of God (1 Cor. 2:16: Psa. 138:2). Since only God was present at creation, this passage in His eyewitness account which He communicated to Moses and also to other writers of Scripture (Job 38:1-9; Prov. 8:22-31; Isa. 45:12; John 1:1-3). I hasten to add that science was not present at creation. Science knows nothing of the origin of the universe and becomes philosophical when it begins to speculate on the origin of the earth and the universe. Philosophy is never an exact science: philosophy is speculation! Exact science must be mathematical in its precision; therefore, science is not qualified to present any facts on how the universe originated. This is no way neutralises academic science nor discredits any of the great scientists. It merely points out that some scientists have become speculative in the field of evolution, and their conclusions are no more valid than their premise. Therefore, we are not interested in the speculations of science, but only what God communicated to Moses concerning the events of creation.

“In the beginning ...”

The outline of Genesis, Chapter 1 is threefold:

1. Creation - Verse 1.

2. Chaos - Verse 2.

3. Restoration - Verse 3 and following.

In the beginning God created heaven [’heavens’] and the earth (Gen. 1:1).

This is an approximate translation from the Hebrew, but for the sake of correct interpretation, it is not complete. When you have a summary of the origin of the entire universe in one short phrase, great accuracy must be observed. It was not God’s intention in Genesis 1:1 to go into a detailed account of how the universe came into existence, but to merely provide sufficient information for man’s understanding of God’s power in creation.

The Hebrew prepositional phrase bereshith is made up of the preposition be, meaning “in,” plus the object of the preposition, the noun rishah, feminine singular, meaning “beginning.” Now, what is remarkable about “In the beginning” ?There is no definite article in the Hebrew; therefore, it is the exact equivalent of the phrase that John used in John 1:1, en arche!

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1).

en plus the vocabulary form of arche in the locative case means: “In a beginning which was not a beginning.” The absence of the definite article from both bereshith and arche means “eternity past.” Now, bereshith does not mean “in the beginning,” but it means “in eternity past something began.” Both passages, John 1:1 and Genesis 1:1, refer to a segment of time in eternity past. John talks about the existence of God in eternity past, and Moses talks about the creation of the entire universe in eternity past. Genesis 1:1 is the only verse in this passage that presents the creation of the universe. That is why it is so important to understand the interpretation based on Hebrew exegesis. There are not six or seven days involved in creation. Creation of the universe was instantaneous and occurred long before man was created, perhaps a billion or more years! Again, we have: “In a beginning which was not a beginning, in eternity past.”

Operation “G-U-A-M”

The dotted line of the G-U-A-M chart represents the arche span, or eternity past. The solid line indicates time after the point of creation. The arche span for God is continuos: there never was a time when God did not exist; there never will be a time when God will not exist. There is no point of creation for the Godhead - therefore, the Trinity is not limited by time. There was a time when the universe did not exist; but we have learned from the word bereshith that in a beginning which was not a beginning, the universe was created, including the planet Earth. In eternity past, there were no angels; but at a point in eternity, angels were created. Time began for the angels, as indicated by the solid line. Time is still going on for the angels, thanks to the creation of man.

There was an indefinite period of time between the creation of angels and the creation of man. During that period of time, the earth became chaotic due to events that occurred among the angels (Isa. 14:12-17). Now, look at the G-U-A-M chart again. Before the creation of man, the earth was restored by God, as we will see in Genesis 1:2. The last line on the chart indicates the creation of man. And during the time that these creations were taking place, eternity went right on for God. Notice the top line. The dotted line is eternity. The concept of time does not apply to God.

The order of beginnings

There are four “beginnings.” Each beginning is in the arche span. arche is used to mean “eternity,” but eternity is going on while time is going on. First, there never was a time when the Members of the Godhead did not exist: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, each have identical essence, coequal and coeternal. Second, “in a beginning which was not a beginning,” in a segment of eternity past, God created the heavens and the earth and original animal and plant life. Third, in the eternity past span, angels were created. And fourth, man and woman were created.

In the chronological order of beginnings, three points are taken from the Greek of the New Testament, and one from our passage in Genesis.

1. God, Jesus Christ

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1).

In the Greek this reads, en arche he ho logos. en arche refers to the pre-existence of God, to the fact that Jesus Christ is God and pre-existed creation of any type. So, first in the chronological order of beginnings is the existence of God without beginning. “In a beginning which was not a beginning, He always was.” There never was a time when He wasn’t ho logos, the Word. Jesus Christ! From the standpoint of chronology, John 1:1 is the oldest verse in the Bible. There is nothing older than the existence of Jesus Christ as a Member of the Godhead. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit have always existed.

2. The Universe

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1).

This is the next beginning and refers to the creation of the universe, including all the galaxies and one little planet “Earth.” The antiquity of the universe is unknown. Neither carbon dating, fossil study nor any other system can give us the information.

3. Angels

Ye are of your father the devil, 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 (John 8:44).

The phrase aparches is the preposition apo plus the genitive singular of the noun arche and refers to the creation of angels. Notice, the devil was a murderer, not “from the beginning,” but “from a beginning which was not a beginning.” Therefore, going back to the first part of verse 44: “Ye [religious Jews] are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer in eternity past.”

4. Man

And he [Jesus] answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which maketh them at the beginning [aparches] made them male and female (Matt. 19:4)?

There is no definite article with aparches because it refers to some segment of eternity past. It should be translated, “from a beginning which was not a beginning, in eternity past.”

Original creation

We have in Genesis 1:1 the instantaneous creation of the entire universe - not angels, not man - just the universe. The emphasis is on the earth as the battleground for the angelic conflict. God did not see fit to furnish any additional information on original creation.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1)

Elohim is the Hebrew word for God. The suffix im is the Hebrew plural, thus indicating the Trinity, the three coequal and coeternal Persons of the Godhead. This is God from the standpoint of essence, according to Deuteronomy 6:4 and 1 Timothy 2:5. All Members of the Godhead are identical in their essence; they have the same sovereignty, righteousness, justice, eternal life, omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, love, immutability and veracity. They are coequal and coeternal! All three Members of the Godhead were involved in creation, although Jesus Christ, the Son, was the actual Executor of creation, according to John 1:3 and Colossians 1:16.

“In a beginning which was not a beginning, in eternity past, elohim created.” bara means “to create something out of nothing.” This is comparable to ex nihilo in the Latin. You must understand that only in the qal stem does bara means “to create out of nothing.” In the niphal stem, bara means “to cut, to carve, to polish”; and in the hiphil stem, it means “to feed, to make fat,” as it is used in reference to feeding animals.

Next we have ha shamajim. Again, notice the plural ending of im. This should be translated “the heavens,” and that includes everything but the planet Earth. The whole universe with all its galaxies were created instantaneously out of nothing! Finally, we have ha aretz, the planet Earth. When we get down to “Planet Earth” at the end of verse 1, the rest of our passage is devoted to the earth. No further reference is made to the rest of the universe. So our expanded translation should read:

In a beginning which was not a beginning, in eternity past, elohim created out of nothing the entire universe, including Planet Earth (Gen. 1:1).

Three words for “creation”

There are three different Hebrew words for creation:

(1) bara - created. bara means to “create something out of nothing”; furthermore, the “something created” is not necessarily visibile or observed.

(2) jatsar - formed. This word is used folr fashioning something on the exterior, as a sculptor molding an object.

(3) asah - made. This word has the concept of building out of something already in existence.

We will look at two different verses that use these Hebrew verbs.

For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself formed the earth and made it; he hath established it (Isa. 45:18).

“For thus saith the Lord [jehovah],” is a Hebrew phrase which refers to Jesus Christ, a Member of the Trinity, as the actual Creator of the universe. This is correctly translated and needs no amplification. “Created” is the qal active participle of bara and should be rendered “the One creating out of nothing the heavens.” This refers to the same original creation which we are discussing in Genesis 1:1. Isaiah 45:18, compared with Colossians 1:16, proves that Jesus Christ is God. “He is the God, the elohim Himself [the essene of the Trinity] that formed the earth.” This is the qal active participle of jatsar and means, “the one fashioning” as a potter molds the clay).

The formation of the earth is very important because we must have a certain type of topography for man to survive. Since the water helps to purify the air, there must be more water than land mass. Prevailing winds, which blow in from the oceans, purify the earth’s land mass. They pick up the excess carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide traces, and the winds return to the ocean where these chemicals are absorbed by the water as bicarbonates. You see, the ocean takes an “Alka Seltzer”! To keep water within a boundary and to set up a land-water ratio. So here is Jesus Christ jatsaring the topography of Planet Earth.

“God Himself formed the eath and made it.” “Made” is the qal active participle of our third word, asah, meaning “to manufacture out of existing materials.” At some point following the creation of the universe, God made plant and animal life.

“He hath established it,” is literally, “He stabilised [the earth].” This refers to the relationship between the earth and the other planets, as well as the relationship between the earth and God. The earth is established so as to continue in an orbital pattern without being destroyed by any other planet or celestial bodies in space. The earth is just a little planet in space, but it is stabilised and nondestructable until God gives the word. At that point it will self-destruct, thorugh nuclear fission or fusion (2 Pet. 3:10).

Now, notice another verse:

Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him (Isa. 43:7).

Again, we have the same three Hebrew verbs, except that this time the passage is referring to the creation of the first man, Adam. A literal translation of this verse should read:

Even every one that is called by my name: for I, Jesus Christ, have created out of nothing the soul of man for my glory, I have fashioned the outer features of his body; yea, I have made his body out of the existing materials of the chemicals of the ground.

Summary of creation

1. The creation of the universe did not occur over a long period of time, i.e. the Archaeozoic thru the Cenozoic ages of geology. Original creation was instantaneous from the hand of God, and occurred as rapidly as you can pronounce the word “creation” or snap your fingers (Psa. 19:1; 33:6; Heb. 11:3; 2 Pet. 3:5).

2. The six-day period recorded in Genesis 1:3-31 is not a description of original creation. This refers to the preparation of the earth for habitation.

3. The time of creation is unknown. The antiquity of the universe is unknown. But what is known is that God did it! You will note in Genesis 1:1 that there is no argument for the existence of God. God does not have to justify His existence to anyone!

Look again at 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.

Our next important point is” “He created it not in vain.” Again we have bara with a third feminine singular suffix, which refers to Planet Earth. not the whole universe! Notice, “He created it not in vain [lo tohu].” The best translation of tohu is “waste or desolation.”

“He formed her [jatsar - sculpting topography] to be inhabited.” “To be inhabited” is the qal infinitive construct of jashab and means “to dwell in blessing.” Finally, “I am the Lord [Jesus Christ] and there is none else [no other celebrity].”

Chaos

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep (Gen. 1:2a).

This should be translated “But the earth,” not “And the earth.” We have the word “was,” which is the qal perfect of hajah, meaning “had become.” Since we know that God is perfect and His works are perfect (Deut. 32:4; Matt. 5:48), we know that the earth was not created imperfect. The earth “had become” something it was not before - the Hebrew says tohu waw bohu, translated here “without form, and void.” We hav just seem tohu translated, “in vain” in Isaiah 45:18; but in both places it should be rendered, “waste or desolation.” “Void” as a translation of bohu, is not incorrect, but it is better rendered “empty.” tohu aplies to the original animal life on the earth. All we have left of this type of life are some fossils and a few bones to show evidence of their existence. “But the earth had become desolate and empty.”

After the creation of angels and before the creation of man, there was an indefinite period of time in which tohu waw bohu occurred. Why? Angels were also created perfect, but through negative volition many rebelled against God (Satan’s fall - Ezek. 28:15,16; Isa. 14:12-17). The angelic conflict and God’s judgement of the rebellious angels resulted in chaos: “and darkness was upon the face of the deep.”

Raging waters

But the earth had become desolate and empty; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters (literal translation of Gen. 1:2).

Next, we have “darkness,” which means the absence of light and heat. The Hebrew word choshek means “a darkness that keeps out light,” and therefore it keeps out heat. The word for “deep” is tehom, which means “raging waters, disturbed waters, stormy waters.” This indicates that raging water was used to destroy the earth. The water was then frozen. We know this because the word for “water” is hamajim, which is “melted water.”

“And the darkness was upon the face of the deep” indicates some of the destruction of the pre-Adamic earth’s surface by the flooding of raging water. Later on. the earth will have another flood, and in that one civilisation will be wiped out, but the earth will be preserved (Gen. 6-8).

At this point I want you to stop for a moment and reflect. The earth was in a totally helpless, bound state. There was no way that anything could evolve. no possibility for micro-organisms to become man, so possibility for any evolution! The earth was in darkness, covered by an ice pack. There was tohu waw bohu, and there was no longer animal nor plant life. There was nothing! And that “nothing” would have remained except for the grace of God! The very restoration of the earth was grace.

Now, a brief summary of what happened between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2.

1. Between verses 1 and 2, a catastrophe occurred in the universe which had an effect on Plenet Earth.

2. This catastrophe included the fall of Satan in Isaiah 14:12-17 and Ezekiel 28:11-19.

3. The course of the angelic conflict turned the pre-Adamic world into desolation and chaos.

4. Therefore, between verses 1 and 2, the angelic conflict began its course and eventually overflowed into human history.

5. In Isaiah 14:17, the destruction of the pre-Adamic earth is directly related to the fall of Satan and the angelic conflict.

6. However, the earth was not originally chaotic (Isa. 45:18).

7. By the time of the restoration of the earth, the divine judgement of fallen angels (Matt. 25:41) had been pronounced.

8. Between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2, the earth was packed in ice. Underneath the ice was tohu waw bohu - over the ice, darkness! Darkness covered the top of the ice so that the ice would not melt. This was a hopeless situation for the earth, just as we are helpless prior to salvation - totally helpless! We cannot save ourselves, even as the earth could not do anything for itself.

Restoration

And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters (Gen. 1:2b)

When a hopeless situation exists, only God can solve it. ruach elohim is correctly translated, “the Spirit of God” (the Holy Spirit). God had the only solution to the chaotic condition of the earth (John 6:63; Psa. 104:30). Because the earth continued to be packed in ice and could not change or improve itself, God the Holy Spirit moved upon the earth, and grace changed chaos into blessing. What God did for the earth in restoration, the Holy Spirit does for the individual in regeneration!

The word “moved” is rachaph and literally means “to incubate.” Birds are said “to brood” over their eggs: when warmth from the mother’s body incubates the eg, out pops a baby whatever it is - sparrow, swan or buzzard! In Deuteronomy 32:11, rachaph is the verb used for a bird brooding over her young to warm them and to give them vitality. What this word really implies is this: remember, darkness covered the earth - no light, no heat! God the Holy Spirit didn’t “move,” but He “provided heat.” The best translation is: “He incubated the ice pack.” The Spirit of God radiated heat, producing melted water.” When the Spirit applied heat, the ice pack melted.

Just as asah was used in the original creation for manufacturing something out of something. so asah will be used for the ministry of the Godhead in restoring the earth. In six literal days, the earth, as man knew it before the flood, was manufactured out of tohu waw bohu - an ice pack, plus total darkness, minus heat, minus light. The condition of chaotic earth was ,ike the present condition of unregenerate man. Like the ruined primitive earth, man under spiritual death is enshrouded in darkness (2 Cor. 4:3,4), and only the regenerating ministry of God the Holy Spirit can bring life through relationship with God (Matt. 19:28; John chap. 3; Titus 3:5).

“Let there be light”

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light (Gen. 1:3).

Again, the word for “God” is elohim. You will recall that the im includes all three members of the Godhead. While the Holy Spirit was the primary Agent in the first acts of restoration, the Father and the Son also played a part. The word “said” is the qal imperfect of amar, which means “to communicate with a voice.” amar is in the thrid masculine singular; therefore, we know that only one Member of the Godhead - the Father - spoke, although all three Members were present.

“Let there be” is the qal imperfect of hajah, which is used here as a command. So the literal translation reads: “And elohim said, Light, be! And light was!”

At this time we are dealing with elementary light from God, not light from a container or reflector as we know it today. Elementary light is a material substance which is in contrast to darkness. Darkness had its origin in Satan. God did not bring darkness on the earth; Satan brought it through his fall and the resultant angelic conflict. That is why darkness is used so many times in the Scriptures to illustrate sinfulness, Satan’s kingdom, and the absence of man’s relationship with God. Darkness cannot sustain life - neither plant, animal or human. God solves the problem of darkness with light because light as heat and energy makes it possible for life to exist. Verse 2 showed us that the ice pack, which acted as a swaddling band around the earth, had been melted. To maintain this status, concentrated light, containing heat, was necessary. Hence: “elohim said, Light be! And light was!”

The doctrine of light

1. God is light. Light demonstrates both the essence and then personalities of the Godhead (1 John 1:5).

2. Light is necessary for man’s existence on the earth (Eccl. 11:7; Jer. 31:35).

3. Divine guidance of Israel was provided by God through light (Ex. 14:20).

4. Jesus Christ, as the manifest Person of the Godhead, is light (John 8:12; 1 Timothy 6:16).

5. Bible doctrine in the soul through the function of GAP is portrayed by light (Psa. 119:105, 130).

6. The edification complex of the soul is constructed from the light of Bible doctrine (Psa. 43:3; 119:130; Rom. 13:12; Eph. 5:8; 1 John 2:8).

7. The gospel is called light (2 Cor. 4:3,4; 2 Tim. 1:10).

8. Salvation brings the believer out of darkness into light, just as the planet earth was brought out of darkness into light by God (Luke 1:79; 1 Peter 2:9).

9. The believer in supergrace reflects the light of doctrine (2 Cor. 4:6).

The perfect light

And God saw the light, that it was good (Gen. 1:4a)

Man does not see light in all its forms. He sees colours because of light, and he is able to do many things with refraction and polarisation of light. The qal imperfect of ra-ah says that God “always does see.” Now, there is no verb before “good.” You simply have an eliptical phrase here, and the omissiion of the verb puts great emphasis on the following word, tobh. Consequently, we have “light - good!” The “seeing” of elohim is an anthropopathism to explain God’s attitude toward His own creation on the first day of restoration.

The evil darkness

And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness (Gen. 1:4)

Darkness belongs to the devil. The devil cannot produce light, create life, nor can he provide regeneration. The devil can do nothing constructive for this earth or for the universe. So there must be a separation, and we find it in the next phrase, “And elohim divided.” The hiphil imperfect of badhal means “to cause to separate.” “elohim caused to separate the light from the darkness.” God does not obliterate darkness at this point, but allows it to coexist so that there will always be a perfect illustration of good and evil. If God had obliterated the darkness, He would also have obliterated the fallen angels and terminated the angelic conflict. It was God’s purpose that man’s volition would resolve the angelic conflict; therefore, man must always have the opportunity to choose between the Kingdon of Darkness and the Kingdom of Light. At the time of the Second Advent there will be all light and no darkness (Isa. 60:19; Zech. 14:5-7).

Literally, we now have, “And elohim saw that the light - good! And elohim caused to separate between light and darkness.” Keep in mind that the darkness was caused by the angelic fall and not by God. God corrected the situation with light, just as God would solve the sin problem with salvation. Furthermore, the light will keep all surface water from refreezing and destroying the earth by ice again. The earth was destroyed a second time by water (Gen. 7) and will be destroyed a third time by fire (2 Pet. 3:10).

Day and night

And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day (Gen. 1:5)

This is elohim plus the qal imperfect of qara. And elohim called the light jom - “day,” that portion of the day where there was darkness, He called “night.”

All created things must have nomenclature from God. This phrase, “God called the light Day,” emphasises the importance words and nomenclature in the Scripture. It also stresses the importance of the right lobe where you have vocabulary and categories. You can’t think without words. The name of a thing is the expression of its nature. While something named by man expresses the impressios made on his human mind, a thing named by God expresses the exact reality of the thing. God used vocabulary; and whether you are aware of it or not, words, vocabulary and categories are the invention of God so that you can use your mind for its proper and intended purpose - to think. Even Augustine observed that all light is not day, nor all darkness night, but light and darkness alternating.

And the evening and the morning were the first day (Gen. 1:5b)

Now, as we move on, we run into another problem: “And the evening.” The Hebrew arabh means “to become dark,” not “to be dark.” The English says, “And the evening and the morning were the first day.” That isn’t what the Hebrew says. The qal imperfect of hajah should be translated, “And the evening became.” In other words, it became dark. Why? The earth was rotating; light had energised its motion - a dead thing doesn’t rotate. When the earth was suspended in ice, it did not rotate because there was no heat in the ice pack. Now, a very interesting thing began to happen. Because the earth was covered with fluids, fluid dynamics began to shape the earth.

Up to this point there was concentrated light only in one spot. As the earth began to rotate, it left the concentration of light and became dark. That’s all “evening” means - “it’s getting dark.” It should be translated, “So it became evening,” or “so it became dark.” As the earth continued its rotation, it became morning. This is one complete revolution. Literally, we have, “So it became evening, and then it became dawn - Day One.”

During the first three days of restoration, light was concentrated above the earth so that evening and dawn could reoccur every twenty-four hours as the earth rotated on its axis. It was not until the fourth day that God dispersed the concentrated light into the sun, the moon and the stars.

The atmosphere

And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters (Gen. 1:6)

The word for “firmament” is raqija. It refers to atmosphere and occasionally to the expanse of heaven beyond the atmosphere. raqija is used four ways in the Old Testament: (1) it is translated “a Transparent work of sapphire,” in Exodus 24:10. In that sense, we see the colour of the sky. (2) The sky is called a mirror, “a molten looking glass,” in Job 37:18. (3) it is described as “a carpet spread over the earth” in Isaiah 40:22. (4) In Psalm 104:2, it is a “curtain of gauze” spread over the heavens. This presents the transparency of the atmosphere, illustrating the fact that the atmosphere is made up of gases.

So, literally, “And elohim [the Father as the Planner] said, Atmosphere be!” Remember, the earth had rotated once while it was completely covered with water. Now, the water on the earth was going to be divided by the atmosphere. Some of the water on the earth will be above the atmosphere, and some will be on the surface of the earth below the atmosphere. Therefore, the atmosphere would be between the waters. The lower waters would be stored on the surface and below the surface of the earth; the upper waters would be stored above the atmosphere. There swould be no rainfall on the earth until after the Flood of Noah’s day. During the period before the Flood, all moisture would be provided by a system of evaporation. Most of the waters for the Flood would come from below the earth. The earth’s surface could not have been covered with water in just forty days of rainfall if vast amounts had not poured forth from the depths of the earth.

The band of atmosphere around the earth, which God provided on Day Two, is vital to human, animal and plant existence; we could not have life without it. The moon, which is a satellite, is a dead world because it has no atmopshere. The band of atmosphere around the earth is composed of a mixture of gases in a more or less stabilised form, such as oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, helium, neon, etc. We call this “air”; the Bible calls it “atmosphere.” The composition of air or atmosphere changes with regard to the amount of moisture and the amount of carbon dioxide, but the other components remain constant.

Atmosphere has an important effect on our climate, radiation, weather, and even our comfort. The relationship between water and atmosphere is very important. Winds are a part of the atmosphere and were created with it on the second day. God originally established a perfect balance between these things.

And God made the frimament, and divided the waters which were under trhe firmament from waters which were above the firmament: and it was so (Gen. 1:7).

Literally, verse 7 says, “And God manufactured the atmosphere.” Now, this is elohim the Son, the creator. When elohim the Father gave the command in verse 6, elohim the Son executed it - there was no time lapse! The Father said, “Atmosphere be in the middle of the water!” The Son manufactured the atmosphere instantly!

The word “made” is the qal imperfect of asah, indicating that the atmosphere was manufactured out of already existing material. “And divided” is literally, “He caused to separate.” At the end of the verse we read, “And it was so.” This is a Hebrew idiom meaning that something previously described was done - “And so it came to pass.” So our expanded translation reads:

“elohim [the Son] manufactured the atmosphere out of already existing material and caused to separate between the waters under the atmosphere and between the waters above the atmosphere, and so it came to pass as previously described.”

And God called the firmament heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day (Gen. 1:8).

“And elohim called” - again we have qara, which means that He provided nomenclature, vocabulary, a system for technical and categorical thinking: God designated the atmosphere “Heaven.” “And [the same as in verse 5] it became evening, getting darker, and it became dawn, getting lighter - Day Two.”

Summary

A literal translation of the activities of Creation, Chaos and the first two days of Restoration reads as follows:

In the beginning which was not a beginning, in eternity past, elohim (the Son) created out of nothing the entire universe, including Planet Earth (Gen. 1:1).

But the earth had become desolate and empty with darkness on the face of the raging waters. And the Spirit of God radiated heat, producing melted waters (Gen. 1:2).

And elohim (the Father) said, Light be! And light was (Gen. 1:3)!

And elohim saw that the light - good And elohim caused to separate between the light and between the darkness (Gen. 1:4).

And elohim called the light Day, but the darkness he called Night. So it became evening, getting darker, and it became dawn, getting lighter - Day One (Gen. 1:5).

And elohim (the Father) said, Atmosphere be in the middle of the waters, and cause to divide between the waters under the atmosphere and the waters above the atmosphere (Gen. 1:6).

And elohim (the Son) manufactured the atmosphere out of already existing material and caused to separate between the waters under the atmosphere and between the waters above the atmosphere, and so it came to pass as previously described (Gen. 1:7).