THE EARTH THAT WAS, AND IS, AND IS TO COME
(by brother Tarran Dookie)
Gen 1:1-2 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep...
The first verse of Genesis tells us that God created the heaven and the earth. But the very next verse says that the earth was without form and void. Also darkness was upon the face of the deep. Did the perfect God, in whom is no darkness at all, create the earth without form and void and covered with darkness?
The perfect God created an earth that possessed shape and form. It was not empty but was inhabited. It was not shrouded in darkness but was illuminated with the very light of God. But something happened and the beauty and brilliance of the earth was marred. The earth became formless, void and enveloped in darkness.
It should be noted that the Hebrew word 'hayah' translated 'was' in Gen 1:2 is also translated 'became' as in Gen 19:26 'But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.'
THE EARTH BEFORE ADAM
Ezek 28:11-15 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
Isa 14:12-15 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
Lucifer, the son of the morning, was perfect in beauty, full of wisdom; he was the anointed cherub and in the very mountain of God. Also, he was in Eden the garden of God. Lucifer and all the angels were created before Adam. There was an Eden before Adam's time. Lucifer was in that garden and he also had access to the mountain of God. He was perfect from the day he was created until iniquity was found in him. He exalted himself and wanted to be like the Most High God. He had led the angels in worship of God but now led some of them in rebellion against God.
Sin always displeases God and this rebellion of Lucifer, the first sin, incurred the wrath of God. The original earth that the angels and Lucifer walked upon and that contained the Eden of God came under the judgmental hand of God. The earth was submerged under water. The perfect earth of God was now without form and void and God who is light covered it with darkness. Gen 1:3-31 and chapter 2 describe the work of God in bringing forth the submerged earth, making it habitable again, and the creation of man. Notice that God did not create the earth and waters on the third day. The earth and the waters were already there. God simply separated the two so that the dry land could appear.
The pre-Adamic earth (the earth that existed before the fall of Lucifer) had no sun or moon. There was no presence of sin and God, who is light, was the light that illuminated the heaven and the earth. Lucifer himself radiated splendor.
Before the fall of Lucifer and some of the angels there was easy access to heaven from the earth. There was no firmament that separated heaven from earth. Lucifer may have thought it would have been simple to dethrone God by ascending the heights of the clouds. According to the passage in Ezekiel chapter 28 he was upon the mountain of God.
Before the rebellion of Lucifer earth was truly a paradise. God communed freely with His created beings, the angels. The angels dwelt in this perfect earth and the glorious presence of God was among them. Unlike man who was created later, the angels beheld the face of God. Heaven and earth blended in wondrous unison.
THE FALL OF MAN
Gen 1:27-28 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 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.
God told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth. They had to replenish or refill the earth that was made void because of Lucifer's rebellion. Adam's commission was to obey God's commands. God gave Adam dominion over all creatures.
Gen 3:17-19 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Genesis chapter 3 describes the fall of man. Adam fell when he yielded to the temptation of Satan. God allowed Satan to be on the earth as he would be the instrument to test Adam. Adam failed the test and the earth became cursed again, judged again. Satan now gained control of the earth and is in high places (see Luke 4:5-6; Eph 6:12). Satan could once again ascend to heaven and there he accuses man before God (see Job 1:6-12; Rev 12:10). Sin again caused the earth to be judgmentally submerged under water in the time of Noah.
THE GROANING OF CREATION
Rom 8:18-22 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
Genesis chapter 1 tells us that the earth was without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep. God caused light to appear and He told Adam and Eve to replenish the earth so it would no longer be void. But nowhere in Genesis are we told that God gave form to the earth. God only separated the dry land from the waters and the dry land appeared. Therefore we conclude that the earth has remained substantially in the same shape and form as it was when it came under God's judgment after the fall of Lucifer. Furthermore, after the fall of man the earth became cursed again and yielded thorns and thistles (Gen 3:17-18).
Today the wolf is against the lamb, changes in temperature and climate in many parts of the world are causing alarm, and there is chaos in the environment. Various species of plants and animals have become extinct or are facing extinction. The creation is in travail and is groaning.
THE EARTH IN THE MILLENNIAL REIGN OF CHRIST
Isa 11:6-9 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
Isa 40:4-5 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
During the millennial reign of Christ God shall give a foretaste of the perfect earth. The book of Revelation shows that there will be cosmic disturbances prior to the reign of Christ. The mountains and the islands shall be moved out of their places (Rev 6:14; Rev 16:20). Isaiah says every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill shall be made low.
In the millennial reign of Christ God will reshape the earth. The groaning creation will enter into the glorious liberty of the sons of God. Then shall the trees of the field clap their hands and the hills rejoice (Isa 55:12-13). The whole earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord.
A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH
Job 1:6-7 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
Luke 10:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
Rev 12:7-8 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 21:1 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.
Satan was able to accuse Job before God. He did so in the presence of the sons of God (the angels) in heaven itself. Rev 12:10 tells us that he accuses the brethren before God day and night. Satan has access to heaven. There he accuses us before God. The word of God tells us there is spiritual wickedness in high places (Eph 6:12). Let us understand that heaven itself is tainted with the presence of Satan and his angels.
However, a time is coming when Satan and his angels shall be cast out of heaven and their place in heaven found no more. There is rejoicing in the heavens when this occurs.
But even though Satan is thrown out of heaven and during the millennium he is bound and kept in the bottomless pit this does not give God perfect satisfaction as far as heaven is concerned. Heaven would have been partially judged when the stars fall from heaven and the powers of the heaven are shaken (Mat 24:29; Rev 6:13-14). But even as the earth must be judged resulting in a new earth, God's heart is after a new heaven. Not only must He shake the earth but He must also shake heaven (Heb 12:26-29).
After the millennium Satan is loosed for a little season. Even though the earth would have experienced one thousand years of the reign of Christ, Satan is still able to find souls to deceive, whose number is as the sand of the sea. Once again there is rebellion on earth led by Satan. Satan is finally defeated and cast into the lake of fire to be joined by those whose names are not found in the book of life. The earth and heaven flee away before the face of God and there is found no place for them.
Peter says that the heavens shall pass away with a great noise and the earth also and the works therein shall be burned up (2 Pet 3:10). 'Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness' (2Pet 3:13). Our God is a consuming fire. Sin is an abomination and rebellion a displeasure to God. Seeing that the heavens shall be dissolved and the elements melt with fervent heat, what manner of persons ought we to be? Let us not be found wanting but let us be without spot that we may behold the new heaven and the new earth in God's eternal presence.
John saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away. In the new heaven and new earth there shall be once again a restitution of the unison of heaven and earth as in the pre-Adamic earth. New Jerusalem comes down to the earth out of heaven and the throne of God and of the Lamb is in the city (Rev 21:2; Rev 22:3). God makes His tabernacle with men and dwells among them. There shall be a blessed union and communion between God and His creation forevermore.
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Email contact: tarrandookie53@gmail.com
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