All Comments for Chapter 1

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In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

This was before time or the beginning of time. The creation then was complete, but something happened between verses 1 and 2. This is known as the gap theory and teaches that the earth came under judgment and was recreated in the Genesis account. This is thought to link with the fall of Satan from heaven.

And the earth became an empty, formless, waste; and darkness covered the surface of the depths. And the Spirit of God brooded over the waters.

The earth became like this but was not created this way originally. How do we know this? Because we are told in Isaiah 45:18 that God did not create the earth like this. The Hebrew word 'tohuw' is used in both of these passages but is translated differently in each. Here in Genesis 1:2, it is translated as, 'without form' but in some versions of Isaiah 45:18 it is translated differently. What is important is that the passage in Isaiah tells us God did not create the earth this way originally.

The Spirit of God hovered over the earth like a dove, waiting for God's Word of creation. It was then the Holy Spirit that reformed the earth as described in this chapter.

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

Light was created first because all matter is made up of electromagnetic energy contained in light. After that everything created was made from the foundational matter of light.

And God saw that the light was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

God lives in the realm of light and His Kingdom is known as the Kingdom of Light. Everything related to Satan is darkness, and his realm is known as the realm of darkness. Sometimes it is referred to as the Kingdom of Darkness, but in reality, it is not a kingdom, because Satan is not a king, he is only a prince.