The Earth That Was, And Is, And Is To Come

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.