| Back | Contents | Next |
Doubtless, you have questions. So do we all; some of the more obvious questions are: What is meant by the heavens and the earth? Does this mean the universe? Probably. But this universe, like the earth, was obviously empty since the sun, moon, and stars (including planets, known then as wandering stars) were created later. So is this referring to the underlying structure of the universe? Maybe. Maybe not. It would make sense according to current scientific theories. We now believe the universe is a structure in higher dimensions than the three spatial dimensions and one time dimension we normally experience as humans. In other words, empty space and time did not “naturally” exist; God had to create space-time so there would be a universe into which to put the solar system and other stars.35 Similarly, what is meant by light? Does this mean light as we see it with our eyes, or, given that there were yet no sources of light, such as the sun, some kind of primal energy from which God made all kinds of light and energy later?
These are interesting questions, but Scripture does not answer them. And if we make guesses about them, we will never know for certain if we are right or wrong because there is no way to go back and look or otherwise test our thinking. Thus, since there are many other works on Genesis that attempt to answer these kinds of scientific questions, let us consider them outside of the scope of this book and focus on our main themes. Let us exercise our God-given faith and trust that God did everything correctly. We are here on a finished Earth, are we not? “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Deuteronomy 29:29).
Scientific questions are not the only questions. For example, the Holy Spirit is the first Person of the Trinity explicitly mentioned in the Bible. What exactly was His role in creation? What does this teach us about the work of the Holy Spirit today? Although Genesis 1–2 is a simple narrative, what it teaches profoundly affects our understanding of all of Scripture. Thus, many volumes have been written on Genesis, and for good reason: a basic understanding of Genesis is important for understanding Scripture as a whole, and there are many links to other parts of Scripture, both from and to Genesis. There is therefore no reason for this small book to try to duplicate what others have already done better, and thus such theological topics also fall outside the narrow scope of this writing. As a result, we are going to deliberately pass over many questions about how and why God did some things and focus on what God did, and on what day; as such, there will be limited need for commentary.
35General Relativity obviously would not have occurred to Moses’ readers. Still, since the stars were created later, the idea of an initially empty container, that is, empty space, would not necessarily been foreign to them. It is also entirely possible that God made further changes to the basic structure of the universe after the first day, for example, when He created the stars. Although General Relativity has stood up to much experimental verification, it need not be true in order for the point to be valid that before God began His creation, there were not only no stars, planets, Earth, and so on, but also there was no universe in which to put them. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:1–3), and that includes universes, empty or otherwise.
| Back | Contents | Next |