Between the Verses

Chapter 5

Between The Verses

“Where were you when I laid the foundations

of the earth? TellMe if you have understanding.”

Job 38:4

“B’reshiyt bara Elohiym et hashameh et haareth.”

“In the beginning (B’reshiyt) created (bara) God (Elohiym) the (ha) heavens (shameh) and (w) the (ha) earth (areth).” (Genesis 1:1).

The earth was without form and void and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved over the face of the waters.” (Genesis 1:2).

The Hebrew word B’reshiyt means in the beginning. However, B’reshiyt or in the beginning, in itself is a non-time oriented event. Therefore, if B’reshiyt has no specific time relationship, then how long ago was this “in the beginning”? We have no ability to determine or to define when this event took place. But, we do know from the Scriptures there was a beginning, and we also know from Scripture that the heavens and the earth were created at that time. God so states that in Genesis chapter one, verse one. Although we know there was a beginning one thing we definitely do not know in regards to that beginning is that how long before the start of the six days of creation was “B’reshiyt” - this “In the beginning”? Also, what is the difference, if any, between Genesis chapter one, verse one and the creation story we read in the remainder of Genesis chapter one?

One thing we do have, that being the time frame for the creation story beginning in Genesis chapter one, verse five where God called the light day and the dark night. That was the first day of what we call creation - the evening and the morning of the first day. This is the initial generation of time, as we know it. It is the first twenty-four hour period in creation and is the same twenty-four hours we have today. Most people of the world measure the twenty-four hour period of a day from twelve o’clock midnight to twelve o’clock midnight. However, the Jews measure the twenty four-hour period of a day from six PM to six PM, which is in accordance with Genesis – the evening and the morning. In other words, night is from six PM to six AM with day being from six AM to six PM. Regardless which form is used, from this time forward, we have a time frame, and a standard, with which to measure, and date events. So, if the initial twenty-hour time frame was created on the first day of the six days of creation of our present world (Genesis chapter one, verse five), then what was the time frame before this initial twenty- four-hour period? There was none. There was no measurement of time as we know it, or have an ability to discern it. We therefore have no ability to determine when “In the beginning” actually took place. This is a key point to remember, as we will discuss the time before the first day of creation, and its relevance to the science of carbon dating in later paragraphs. This is also critical in the understanding of Second Peter chapter three, which supports this analysis.

The theme of this text is not intended to present an argument of creation versus evolution, as evolution has no basis of proof, even though most of the world embraces it as fact. The design of this presentation is to bring out some basic truths regarding what happened before the six days of creation. Many have missed or have not accepted this truth as a result of belief in man-made doctrines, traditions or secular positions on the subject. Thus, this text will detail what happened between Genesis chapter one, verses one and two, which when read properly gives an indication that something is missing in the text. Additionally, a discussion is presented regarding man’s relationship to time, God’s relationship to time, and what caused the problem defined in Genesis chapter one, verse two – “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep.” Hopefully these arguments will require you to question your belief in some scientific statements, and finally may even test your knowledge of the Scriptures. In any case, the intent of this subject is to make you think, and hopefully urge you to study the Word in a different light, and with renewed intensity.

Traditions and Doctrines

In the Book of Acts, chapter seventeen, verse eleven, we are told that the Bereans searched the Scriptures daily. “These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the Word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” We too need to search the Scriptures daily to see if what we hear is the truth, if it is indeed the Word of God. Based on this direction, we need to question man-made doctrine by a careful and detailed search of the Word of God in order to ascertain its true meaning, and the meaning of that Word in relationship to our every day life. Yes, there are many commonly held doctrines in Christian circles that are not in total alignment with the Word of God. Some of these doctrines even conflict with Scripture. In Matthew chapter fifteen, verse three Jesus said to the Pharisees, “Why do you transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?” Then again in verses eight and nine, “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as false doctrines the commandments of men.”

Back in the 1960’s, a lady in the church I attended made a statement that shocked me. She said she believed in both God and evolution. The Pastor of that same church told a group of young people that the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis was just that, a story, it did not really happen that way. He never did provide clarification of his statement, so the young church members were left believing this to be the truth. Are statements such as these man-made doctrines or simply traditions of men? In most cases, those who make statements like this accept both man-made doctrines and traditions. Then again most people who apply this application to Scripture have never truly studied the Word to ascertain the real truth. They are either satisfied with their traditions or believe false doctrines as gospel or have enlisted them to deceive. They are not like the Bereans who study the Scriptures daily to verify what they read and hear align with the Word of God. They aren’t really concerned with truth, and are satisfied with error, false doctrines, and traditions of men. Either way, they are in trouble, and you are in trouble if you follow them. Therefore, the intent of the presentation on this subject is to provide an element of truth relating to Genesis, and to dispel man made doctrines and traditions one may have relating to the creation story. God gave us the ability to reason – the ability to separate fact from fiction – the ability to separate truth from deception. We need to make sure that the doctrines the churches adhere to, and the traditions they espouse align with the Word of God. Our spiritual lives are literally at stake!

There are some additional reasons for writing on this subject, and that is that many in the Christian realm do not believe in Satan:

• They really don’t know the origin of sin. But, do believe the story that Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden – supposedly an apple.

• They believe that the serpent in the Garden was really a snake that had the ability to speak and walk upright, and this was the origin of the snake. However, snakes were created on the sixth day of creation along with other creepy, crawly things.

• They don’t believe that Satan is real and freely roams the earth. First Peter chapter five, verse eight tells us otherwise, “Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the Devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

• They don’t want to connect the origin of sin with the Adversary. Revelation chapter twelve, verse nine, “So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world, he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”

The Creation Story

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was not made.” (John 1:1-3). “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1). This is the sequence. The Word, who is Christ, was with God before the creation of the heavens and the earth; and according to John chapter one, verses one through three, it was Christ that did the creating, as He is the Word. In his book, God’s Master Plan, Peter Michas states, “Yehoshua is referred to as ‘the Word’.Therefore, before timebeganYehosua existed as God, withGod, i.e., as a distinctPerson of the Godhead. Heexisted before theworld wascreated and, throughHim all things were created. InJewish thought, the Word of God is the same as God. Therefore, before time began, not only wasthe universecreated by theWord (Yehoshua),but it is held togethermoment by momentby Him.” Isaiah chapter forty-five, verse seven states, “I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the Lord, do all these things.”

The Jewish Torah Anthology provides two different perspectives on the creation; both differ slightly from what will be presented herein relative to the first two verses in Genesis. But, I think they are well worth reviewing in order to present research from a different perspective. According to Rabbi Yehudah, the order of creation took place in the literal six days as stated in Genesis chapter one. But, according to Rabbi Nehemiah creation occurred the instant God spoke the words, and therefore believes that the succeeding days in the Genesis creation story are merely the specifics of that initial creation. Then again, Rabbi Yehudah never does explain the meaning of the first verse in Genesis; “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” On the other hand, Rabbi Nehemiah does explain the first verse somewhat by stating these were God’s plans and blueprints for the creation. He goes on to state that the physical manifestation of the plans began on day two. However, I think his position is based on the analysis that Genesis chapter two is a more detailed presentation of the creation of man initially cited in chapter one verse twenty-six. In essence, Rabbi Nehemiah is saying that the heavens and the earth were created in verse one then all the rest of Genesis chapter one is nothing but what God did in the various acts of creating the heavens and the earth. In other words he is stating that the rest of chapter one is nothing but a detailed account of the creation.

The problems I have with these concepts are twofold. One is that neither rabbi really explains the meaning of Genesis one, verse one, and its true relationship to the rest of the chapter. The second is that I do not believe that God needs to make plans and create blueprints in order to create anything. Scriptures states otherwise: “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the hosts of them by the breath of His mouth.” (Psalms 33:6). “Let all the earth fear the lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For he spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” (Psalms 33:8-9). This does not sound as though God needed to make plans and blueprints before He created the heavens and the earth. So, by definition of the differences between the first two verses, there must be an explanation that makes sense, one that can be substantiated by other Biblical text. There is, and that is the essence of this presentation.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1). Did God partially create the heavens and the earth in the beginning? Did He create plans and blueprints for review before construction could begin? Did he start creation and then go off to do something else before finishing the project? No, He did not create each thing in stages until it was finished. Everything was created in its fullness when it was created. He created the firmament in its fullness, the beasts in their fullness and man in his fullness. Look at it this way, if God created the heavens and the earth in a step-by-step process would He not have created everything in the same manner? In Genesis chapter one, verse one we find that He created the heavens and the earth. Then in Genesis one, verse two we find it is covered by water, void and dark. If this is God’s step-by-step process in creating the earth, then why didn’t He create man the same way? If this were to be the case, we might find the creation of man reading thusly: “On the sixth day He created man; he was lifeless, void of features, and still covered with mud”. No, God created everything in its fullness when He created it. There is nothing in Scripture that suggests anything but the fact that each act of creation was complete when the object was created. He spoke and it was created in its fullness. Deuteronomy chapter thirty-two, verse four states, “He is the Rock, His work is perfect.” Then Psalms, chapter eighteen, verse thirty states, “As for God, His way is perfect.” God does not do things half way. His initial work is perfection. Therefore, in the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth they were created perfect. So, we must assume that the heavens and the earth in Genesis 1:1 were created perfect when they were created. If they were perfect, and Scripture says they were, then why do we find the earth in such disarray in Genesis chapter one, verse two? Before I answer this perplexing question, I want to review the six days of creation found in Genesis chapter one, verses three through thirty-one.

Six Days of Creation

This may come as a surprise to many, but everything listed in the so-called six days of creation was not created during that six-day period. There is no such term in Scripture as “the six days of creation.”The Lord spoke to Moses and said, “It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.” (Exodus 31:17).This phrase does not imply that all things were created in the six days, but that the Lord made the heavens and the earth in those six days.In other words, He created some things, and He caused some things to be arranged in order.As can be seen in some of the verses in Genesis chapter one, some things Godcommanded and were created, and some things were just divided, such as in verseseven. “Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament.”

Part of the above position is the result a detailed analysis of the text, the other being based on the analysis of creation and made. In Exodus chapter thirty-one, verse seventeen, the Hebrew word translated as mademeans in a broad sense to accomplish, to do or to make, whereas createmeans to bring about something through a formative process. In relation to the English Language, Webster defines make as bringing something into being by putting parts or ingredients together.On the other hand create is defined as causing something to come into existence, to bring into being, to originate.Therefore, this leaves us in a quandary. If all things were not created during the six days of creation when were they created? And, secondly how do we know what was created and what was not created during this six-day period?

The evidence of this is supplied by one small word in Genesis, which is not translatable from the original Hebrew to English. Therefore, it does not appear in our Bibles. However, in the original Hebrew this one small word is used every time something is created. “B’reshiyt bara Elohiym et hashmayim w ethaarets.” This is the transliteration of the Hebrew of Genesis chapter one verse one. With the translation into English it becomes, “In the beginning created God the heavens and the earth.”Notice that the letters et are omitted in the translation. They are not translatable.In this regard, Bill Cloud states, “Therefore, the word et serves as a sign of the direct object, ‘the heavens’. What makes the word et so special is that it is not translatable. The purpose of the word is to serve as a sign of the direct object. For instance, the first time it appears in Scripture is in Genesis 1:1. It comes before the word hashmayim, being translated ‘the heavens’. This word et is made up of the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet – alef and tav, thus there is no word in English to describe the meaning of these two letters. But, they have a significant meaning in regards to understanding the creation story. Bill Cloud states, “In Revelation 1:11, Jesus told John, ‘I am the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last’. This passage was translated from Greek, hence, the term alpha, the first Greek letter, and omega, the last Greek letter. If Jesus spoke to John in his native tongue, Hebrew, Jesus would have said, ‘Ani haalef ve hatav’. ‘I am the Alef and the Tav.” Therefore, byimplication, Jesus was saying, ‘I am et’. Hence, He was the sign before the creation of the heavens and the sign before the creation of the earth in Genesis chapter one verse one.