The World Before Man: The Biblical Explanation

Contemporary research (Ken Hamm, Brett Beamer) finds one of the main reasons young people abandon God, scripture, church is confusion and doubt about Genesis 1. In the classroom kids are taught about geology, astronomy, paleontology (read Dinosaurs)…

The problem is these scientific discoveries are taught in a setting that categorically denies any design or purpose to the material universe. Phrases like is “natural selection” or “random mutation” promote a belief that reality is meaningless and without purpose.

A second problem more specifically related to God and His word to humanity, is misunderstanding about what Genesis 1 says and does not say about the creation of the earth and the universe. It is not God’s purpose to use the bible to explain the mechanics of how the earth & universe were formed. Big Bang, gaseous clouds, planetary rotation, quantum mechanics, dinosaurs, sedimentary rock layers… There is nothing wrong with exploring nature, history, physics, biology… but none of these help us understand or to fulfill God’s purpose for our lives… that is what the Bible is all about. PURPOSE & HOPE.

In Genesis 1 God tells us what we need to know about the created universe. The universe is His, He made it, He controls it, He sustains it, He brings forth life on it, and especially that He created it as a home for mankind to work out His plan for bringing many children into His family as fully formed spiritual beings blessed with the gift of eternal life.

The popular Sunday school version of Genesis 1 is that the earth was created 6,000 years ago in a matter of 6 days. However, it is very difficult to fit all those dinosaurs, fossils and sedimentary rock layers in there… let alone an expanding universe of billions of planets. This is a major source of doubt among young people and a cause for questioning the reliability and authority of scripture.

How old is the earth (or universe)? 6,000 years? Where’s that from?

Based on observation the earth and universe appear to be millions or billions of years old. While many believe the bible says is all happened 6,000 years ago. The 6,000 year came from adding up the ages of the biblical patriarchs backward to the first human parents, Adam and Eve. This sequence of grandparents, great grandparents, great great great great grandparents etc. leads all the way back to the sixth day of creation found in Genesis 1:31. The number of years is not explicit in scripture. It could be more, it could be less, I believe the 6,000 number seems very reasonable. But the main point is…

Planet Earth Existed Before The Six Days Recorded in Genesis 1

Genesis 1:1-2 – the material form of planet earth was clearly in existence before verse 3. The “6 days of creation” that follow describe activity taking place on an already formed planet. These remaining verses describe the process of God setting things in order, appointing and ordaining and as we will see renewing the face of the earth to the beautiful, life-sustaining environment we live in and enjoy right now.

Create = Bara (26x) – This verb is of profound theological significance since it has only God as its subject. Only God can "create" in the sense implied by bara'. The verb expresses creation out of nothing - Vines Hebrew Dictionary

Make = Asah (2600)—“do, make, appoint, affix” the word itself does not indicate the object was created out of nothing, it can only be taken as such when clearly used as a synonym for bara

1. God separates light and dark creating the first “day”… establishing time, declaring them by name
2. God separates waters of the seas from the waters of the skies… establishing the atmosphere, weather
3. God separates dry land from the seas vegetation could grow
4. God appoints (asah) the Sun & the Moon as the method for establishing the seasons, days and years
5. God decrees life – creates (bara) the creatures of the seas & of the air (creation of life)
6. God appoints land animals… and finally “creates” man (creation of life)
7. God blesses and sets apart (sanctifies) the seventh day

For the most part God was working with the material that was already there. Bara, the word for “creation out of nothing” reserved for the vital ingredient of life.

What, if anything, was going on in the period spoken of in verses 1 and 2?

To find out we have to look in few other places in scripture.

John 1:1-3—The real beginning goes back to before anything was created. It was God the Father and the Word (the One who became Jesus verse 14). And through Him everything that was going to be made would be made.

Job 38:4, 6-7 somewhere along the way the angelic beings were created and were with God when the material stuff of the universe was formed. Big Bang – Fireworks show etc… "morning stars" and "sons of God" = Angels

What were angels doing before man? - The angelic revolt

• Ezekiel 28:12-17 Lucifer in Eden indicates he was stationed on earth the “garden of God”
• Isaiah 14:12-14 - Lucifer had a throne, representing a position of leadership and authority. He rose from somewhere below to try to overthrow God, but was "cut down to the ground."… i.e. earth
• Luke 10:18—Jesus referring to this same event (which had taken place in the past). Lucifer, who became Satan (meaning Adversary) at his rebellion, was cast down from heaven—to the earth!

Satan retains his authority over planet earth

• Luke 4:5-6 Jesus resisted this temptation but did not dispute the assertion of Satan's present authority
• John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11 in multiple places calling him "the ruler of this world
• 2 Corinthians 4:4 elsewhere referred to as “the god of this world”
• God continues to allow Lucifer to retain His authority until his appointed time runs out Matt 8:29

When Adam and Eve come on the scene they’re showing up on a world where there’s already been a lot of bad stuff going on. Lucifer, disgraced, beaten, cast down is already there. The garden of Eden is in effect an outpost in the adversary’s territory. Man, who God ordained to exercise dominion earth is actually a competitor of Satan… the great spiritual battle taking place on earth is not between God and Satan (that’s no contest)… the battle’s between Satan and Mankind. But that’s another story…

When Adam is given dominion over the earth Satan is right there… a serpent in the Garden... ready to reassert his authority over the planet by trickery and deceit. Earth is his realm and he is not giving it up before he has to.

What condition was the earth in before Genesis 1

Genesis 1:2 tells us the world was without form and empty… tohu bohu… without purpose, vain, chaotic, also refer to word study (tohu used to describe a destroyed,  desolate city) Isaiah 34:11 and Jeremiah 4:23

An alternate translation: "Now the earth was [or possibly became] formless and empty . . ."

Either way chaos, disorder and purposelessness are not characteristic of God. I Cor 14:33

Isaiah 45:18—Earth was created as a habitat for…man. Earth’s purpose is to be a material place for man to live while going through the material phase of his development leading to his ultimate spiritual birth born in the spiritual image of God.

How or Why Did the Earth Become Void, Waste, Purposeless?

The simplest explanation is that the earth was devastated by a rebellious war started by Satan.

• We have established that actual creation of the planet took place before the 6 days of Genesis 1.
• We know the Angels were around when the material earth was created before Genesis 1
• We know that Lucifer had been given a throne, or authority on primordial earth.
• We know he rebelled against God attempting to grab the supreme authority for himself.
• We know Lucifer was cast down to earth as the adversary of God (meaning of the name Satan)
• We know Satan was ready & waiting in Eden to trick mankind into sin

 The Genesis account simply does not provide all the details. But the Bible as a whole fills in other parts of the story. The missing pieces are given in other scriptures, which tell us of Satan's rebellion against God that resulted in his being cast back down to earth similar to what we read in Revelation 12:7-9.

How long did the angels exist before man was created? How long ago was Lucifer given authority over planet earth? How long did it take Lucifer to persuade as many as a third of the angels to rebel with him? …We don’t know but for spirit beings like angels aging is of no consequence (Luke 20:36) so the duration could be millions or billions of years.

• Are geological and fossil findings evidence of God’s preparation of the earth for mankind?
• Are hominids early or discarded prototypes in the development of Adam?
• Did Lucifer’s pre-Adamic authority on earth mean he had a role in assisting God in preparing earth?
• Did Lucifer have anything to do with the death, suffering, sub-optimal "design" and waste we see in the material creation?
• Was this part of the reason why Lucifer ended up attacking and trying to overthrow God?

Fascinating questions… worth pondering. But unanswerable until Christ’s return… and when that day comes will it really matter so much to us?. I Cor 13:9-13

Earth renewed and restored

Psalm 104:24 Genesis 1 depicts God’s restoration of earth to prepare it for the pinnacle of His physical creation… Mankind.

This is not the only "ancient earth" explanation available, but it seems to make the most biblical sense while also being highly compatible with the observations of science. It accepts the literal 24-hour days of the Genesis 1 and, at the same time, allows for fossils, dinosaurs, geological rock formations, hominids… these are all relics of the age of earth prior to the record of Genesis 1 and the advent of man.

A believer is not afraid of science, in fact to a believer these things help display the wonders of God’s handiwork as creator. A believer looks at the same data but with a different set of assumptions.

Instead of looking only at the material stuff of the universe and stubbornly choosing to see only random collisions of molecules, atoms, protons, and quarks… a believer looks at the same facts from the perspective of purpose and hope. But really all that is extra-curricular activity.

In Genesis 1 God tells us what we need to know about the created universe. The universe is His, He made it, He controls it, He sustains it, He brings forth life on it, and especially that He created it as a home for mankind to work out His plan for bringing many children into His family as fully formed spiritual beings blessed with the gift of eternal life.