Please help me understand

[KeithAB]

Genesis 1:1&2

Verse 1. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Verse 2. And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.

My question is; Does the bible start off with a lie or do I just not understand some things? Give me a chance to point out some places that make it seem that way.



Isaiah 45 verse 18 for thus sayeth 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 in habitat: I am the Lord; And there is none else.

Isaiah 55:11 So shall My word that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto me void but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Please help me understand. Thankyou

 

[Ceph]

Genesis 1:1&2

Verse 1. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Verse 2. And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.

My question is; Does the bible start off with a lie or do I just not understand some things? Give me a chance to point out some places that make it seem that way.



Isaiah 45 verse 18 for thus sayeth 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 in habitat: I am the Lord; And there is none else.

Isaiah 55:11 So shall My word that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto me void but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Please help me understand. Thankyou

Do you think that because it says the earth was formless and void? Because it had to be that way before it was formed and filled.
Just like every clay pot started out as raw ground, so the earth was.

 

[ChristRoseFromTheDead]

Verse 1. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Verse 2. And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.

My question is; Does the bible start off with a lie or do I just not understand some things? Give me a chance to point out some places that make it seem that way.

Not sure what your issue is, but if it's not understanding the earth was without form and void, those words mean it was desolate and empty. Basically a rock covered with water

 

[posthuman]

the angels were created first, and Satan fell, and there was judgement.

i believe this all happened between verse 1 and 2

then God restored the earth, and created biological life, while the angels watched. we are in part, a lesson to the fallen angels - - a lesson in redemption, trust, compassion and grace.

and we will therefore judge them, as we are a sign to them.

 

[KeithAB]

the angels were created first, and Satan fell, and there was judgement.

i believe this all happened between verse 1 and 2

then God restored the earth, and created biological life, while the angels watched. we are in part, a lesson to the fallen angels - - a lesson in redemption, trust, compassion and grace.

and we will therefore judge them, as we are a sign to them.

Ok enteresting going to dig on that thank you

 

[KeithAB]

Do you think that because it says the earth was formless and void? Because it had to be that way before it was formed and filled.
Just like every clay pot started out as raw ground, so the earth was.

 

[KeithAB]

As it says in the verses in Isaiah it is imposable for God to create anything void and without form. So something had to happen.

 

[HealthAndHappiness]

Genesis 1:1&2

Verse 1. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Verse 2. And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.

My question is; Does the bible start off with a lie or do I just not understand some things? Give me a chance to point out some places that make it seem that way.



Isaiah 45 verse 18 for thus sayeth 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 in habitat: I am the Lord; And there is none else.

Isaiah 55:11 So shall My word that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto me void but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Please help me understand. Thankyou

You quoted foundational verses.
There's a lot there. What is your specific question?

 

[Gideon300]

Genesis 1:1&2

Verse 1. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Verse 2. And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.

My question is; Does the bible start off with a lie or do I just not understand some things? Give me a chance to point out some places that make it seem that way.



Isaiah 45 verse 18 for thus sayeth 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 in habitat: I am the Lord; And there is none else.

Isaiah 55:11 So shall My word that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto me void but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Please help me understand. Thankyou

There is a theory that there was a creation prior to to what is seen in Genesis 1:2. This theory is implied by Isaiah 45:18. It is also possible to translate "Was without form" as "Became without form".

God did not give us a nice neat structured Bible. There is much that has to be searched out. I've read a book by Watchman Nee and watched preaching by Larry Ollison. I am convinced that there was a creation that was ruled by Lucifer, who rebelled and became Satan. Lucifer means light bearer. When he rebelled, he fell like lightning, as Jesus said. Lucifer's light was extinguished and so the earth was plunged into darkness. Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 refer to Satan's fall.

The original creation was destroyed by flood, hence the state of the earth when God began to restore it.

I first came across this idea in "The Mystery of Creation" by Watchman Nee. I rings true with me. And no, God cannot lie. If He did, He would cease to be God and we would all be in big trouble. If we have a problem, it is always with our understanding, not with God's word.

 

[birdie]

Genesis 1:1&2

Verse 1. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Verse 2. And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.

My question is; Does the bible start off with a lie or do I just not understand some things? Give me a chance to point out some places that make it seem that way.



Isaiah 45 verse 18 for thus sayeth 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 in habitat: I am the Lord; And there is none else.

Isaiah 55:11 So shall My word that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto me void but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Please help me understand. Thankyou

Thanks KeithAB, for your mention of Genesis 1. I am not sure I immediately understand what you are asking as a question. One thing I do know is that the Bible does not start out with a lie. Most Christians understand that the Bible is completely true. There are numerous scriptures that speak of this. For example, 2 Timothy 3:16: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness". In Jeremiah 30:2, we read, "Thus speaketh the LORD God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book. " This is how we are to see the Bible, as being God's words, and not from someone else, though men wrote them down. And it is impossible for God to lie, as we can read about in Hebrews 6:16-20, if we have time.

The thing that most people leave out, however, is that the Bible is not only completely true, but it is written in an interesting style, parable language. We read about that in Psalm 78: "Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable... " Again, in Mark 4, we read: "But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples. " In these scriptures we find that the Bible is written in a manner that Jesus can expound upon as believers spend time alone with Jesus. A parable is an earthly sort of story, that has a spiritual meaning that must be realized to get at the true meaning. For example, we learn in the Bible that a sower who sows in the ground is really someone who shares the word of God. Good ground is not physical dirt, but it is someone who hears the word, receives it and bears fruit. The fruit is not like a physical pear or orange or such thing, but is spiritual fruit. In like manner, when we hear of a lamb or a lion in the Bible, it is not talking about a physical animal, but these are words describing Jesus. I encourage you to approach Genesis 1 in the same way.

For example, Genesis 1 talks about heaven: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. " Perhaps you imagine heaven to mean the physcial big blue sky above or perhaps that sky going all the way through outer space. But parable words have parable meanings. The Bible says: "Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne... " If heaven is God's throne, is the big blue sky exactly what we are talking about? The Bible goes on to describe that the lamb (that's Jesus) is in the midst of the throne. We know that true believers have God as the ruler in their hearts, Christ is on the throne so to speak for each true believer. Perhaps that is why the believers are described as heaven: "they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. " So is heaven really the big blue sky? We can read about Jesus as being the daystar in the Bible. But is Jesus really a physical star like the sun? How, then can we fit Jesus into our hearts if he is the sun? We read, "We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: "

I really appreciate your question about Genesis 1 and I encourage you to ask the Lord to give you insight into its parable meaning, which you may find to be a bit different than a surface text story.

 

[God-fearing]

As it says in the verses in Isaiah it is imposable for God to create anything void and without form. So something had to happen.

Glad you asked that word create is the Hebrew word Bara which means created out of nothing. You can look at the formless void as nothing or look at it as a progression from a formless void. Imo a formless void is nothing.

 

[God-fearing]

"Formless" is an adjective describing something that lacks a definite, regular, or coherent form or shape, such as fog, smoke, or ideas. It can also refer to a lack of order or physical existence, and in spiritual or metaphysical contexts, it can denote an incorporeal, bodiless, or immaterial state, like a formless void from which the universe was created.

 

[awelight]

Genesis 1:1&2

Verse 1. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Verse 2. And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.

My question is; Does the bible start off with a lie or do I just not understand some things? Give me a chance to point out some places that make it seem that way.



Isaiah 45 verse 18 for thus sayeth 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 in habitat: I am the Lord; And there is none else.

Isaiah 55:11 So shall My word that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto me void but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Please help me understand. Thankyou

Your exact question is not well defined in this post. Also, as a follower of Christ, you should never have a thought, enter your head, that would imply that the Bible has lies. within it.

Nevertheless, it would appear you are wrestling with what is called the "Gap Theory" or "The Old Earth Theory". The two are very similar, with some slight differences. The "Old Earth" concept is more of an attempt to match human sciences record of age and the young earth idea is the one usually held by most of professing Christendom. I personally find, that the Old Earth motive - that is to match Biblical Creation to the so-called scientific age of the Earth - to be somewhat distasteful. Christians should never compromise correct Biblical understanding because of human sciences.

Therefore, the Gap Theory, more closely seems to follow your line of questioning. This theory does believe in an older Earth (older than 6,000 years), but is not interested in human science or their conclusions. Instead, it is attempting to bring other verses of Scripture into harmony, such as Isaiah 45:18 and others that discuss the fall of Lucifer (The Devil), and a third of the Angels. These events had to take place before the "Fall" of Adam in the Garden are there would have been no "Tempter". In this "Gap" concept, an unknown amount of time passes between Genesis 1 verse 1 and verse 2. Starting in verse 2, all of God's renovation work are literal 24 hour days.

However, just to muddy the waters a little further, Genesis 1:1 may not be translated correctly. According to some Jewish sources, Genesis 1:1 should have been translated this way: (1) When God began to create the Heavens and the earth. (2) And the earth was waste and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

This translation would seem to add fuel to the "Gap" concept - - - or --- did it shut the "gap" completely. This now forces us to get into the study of the Hebrew word "bara". Does it mean: To create something out of nothing or to remake something from something or possibly both depending upon the context. Example: Adam was created (bara) by God but we know Adam was created from the dirt - so something from something.

Are we having fun yet?

 

[sawdust]

Genesis 1:1&2

Verse 1. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Verse 2. And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.

My question is; Does the bible start off with a lie or do I just not understand some things? Give me a chance to point out some places that make it seem that way.



Isaiah 45 verse 18 for thus sayeth 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 in habitat: I am the Lord; And there is none else.

Isaiah 55:11 So shall My word that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto me void but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Please help me understand. Thankyou

There are scholars who would say a better translation is it "became" without form and void. The only other place the phrase is used is in Jeremiah and he is speaking of the earth being that way due to God's judgement. It is considered the Earth became desolate due to judgement on Satan as it was given to him to rule at that time which is also why he could use the test against Jesus in Matt.4:8-9 as Adam lost dominion when he sinned and it reverted back to Satan.

Jeremiah 4:23
I beheld the earth, and indeed it was without form, and void; And the heavens, they had no light.

 

[birdie]

Genesis 1 is a chapter that has, in my opinion, been subject to a lot of man's surface interpretation, without taking a look at it in parable form, the very form that the Bible says that it is written in (Psalm 78:1-2, Mark 4). If we let the Bible define the words used, things become clearer, at least in my opinion. People frequently imagine that the terms 'in the beginning', 'heaven', and 'earth' are of their own interpretation. Why not let the Bible define those terms and have God's interpretation? Heaven, as I have already mentioned, is described in the Bible as God's throne (with Jesus in the midst), and it is used to describe the believers as well as Jesus. So we may not be looking at a big blue sky or outer space, as so many people who read Genesis 1 simply assume. Further, earth is described as God's footstool. That is a place where he rests his feet. But does the term 'earth' mean planet earth, as so many assume the word to mean? In addressing the term footstool, we encounter feet and we encounter rest. "Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? " Why a footstool? First of all, we know that the rest spoken of in the Bible is the sabbath rest for God's people. That is the rest of being saved by God doing all the work of salvation, whilst we only rest in that regard, not being able to add to it with our own works. Indeed, Romans 3 tells us that everyone is under sin, so that salvation is God's work, and we have faith in what he has done. A faith and belief which is from him, which he gives us. If we look further at the incidence of 'feet' in the Bible, we find that it is those who bring the good news of the gospel that have beautiful feet: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation... " Thus, the earth, the footstool, the place of foot rest, should be the place where the gospel is. That place where the gospel is should be the true believers I think. So perhaps the term 'earth' in Genesis 1 is not really meaning planet earth. Indeed, if the term is denoting where the gospel is, then the 2nd and third verses make sense, at least to me. The gospel speaks of Jesus being on the cross, a time when certainly darkness was on the face of the judgment (deep). The term deep is spoken of as being the same as judgment in Psalm 36:6 ("thy judgments are a great deep"). And it follows that after this judgment the spirit moved (Jesus was resurrected and gave the Holy Spirit to his people. There was light.

 

[homwardbound]

Genesis 1:1&2

Verse 1. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Verse 2. And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.

My question is; Does the bible start off with a lie or do I just not understand some things? Give me a chance to point out some places that make it seem that way.



Isaiah 45 verse 18 for thus sayeth 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 in habitat: I am the Lord; And there is none else.

Isaiah 55:11 So shall My word that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto me void but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Please help me understand. Thankyou

Gen 1:1-2
King James Version

1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
2 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.

How much time in between verse 1 and 2
A day, a thousand years, a million? Who knows it does not say. We all reading this are left with conjectures

Could it be the Evil one, satan was here on earth. Was here to do work to get it going and make it well? And Satan did not do what he was called to do, said he will and did not do it? As now, God came to earth in the Holy Spirit and saw it was dark with no light?
Said let there be light and light was here on earth and darkness was and is over come by the light
Yet darkness has fought ever since, to win and be God
See when Eve and Adam fell, that age old serpent deceived Eve and Adam.
Said to them, Adam heard also was with Eve then Genesis 3, when this happened
This serpent however it communicated to them, said you will not die, you will be like God and know good from evil. What????????? So she ate tempted to be God herself, everyone else in first birth since dies to flesh the first birth of man. Man needs a second birth from God for them. This gets done by belief to God for them in risen Son Jesus, to see new in God for them in love and mercy to all not a few anymore

 

[KeithAB]

Thankyou everyone for your replies. I have found another passage as someone posted to muddy up the water or maybe clear it up.
2nd Peter 3:1-8 This second Epistle I write unto you; in both that I stir up your pour mindsby way of remembrance; 2. That you may be mindful of the words spoken before by the holy prophets, and the comandment us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: 3. Knowing this first, that in the last days scoffers, walking after there own lusts, 4.Where is the promiseof His coming?
More to come

 

[KeithAB]

Part 2 0f 2nd Peter 3. Verse4. And saying "where is the promise of his coming? for since t

Thankyou everyone for your replies. I have found another passage as someone posted to muddy up the water or maybe clear it up.
2nd Peter 3:1-8 This second Epistle I write unto you; in both that I stir up your pour mindsby way of remembrance; 2. That you may be mindful of the words spoken before by the holy prophets, and the comandment us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: 3. Knowing this first, that in the last days scoffers, walking after there own lusts, 4.Where is the promiseof His coming?
More to come

 

[Ceph]

I see 'heaven & earth' as 'the intangible & tangible';
Things like time, intuition, understanding, and imagination are heaven, and the things that are manifest and perceivable with flesh are earth.
I see 'the darkness' being like brain fog, and 'the light' being a clear revelation; 'the darkness' not knowing what you're going to mold from something, and 'the light' knowing exactly what you want to mold; 'the darkness' not knowing how something can be perfect, and 'the light' is having it perfect.

 

[Ceph]

For example, the atheists who say "there is no answer" are in darkness, but those who recognise that the way of Christ is life are in light.