The First Earth Age
The first Earth age was a time before flesh man was present on this Earth. All of us were in our spiritual bodies and were in the presence of God here on planet Earth. To begin to understand about the first Earth age, we will start with the very first verse of the Bible and try to figure out how old the Earth is.
How Old is the Earth?
Genesis 1:1 - In the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth.
Please note that God created one earth and one Heaven. When the three earth ages are spoken of, it is not talking about three different Earth's and three different Heaven's. There is, has been and will always be one Heaven and one Earth. When did this creation take place? Does the Bible tell us when creation actually took place? Some will say that the creation took place about 6000 years ago. They get this figure by doing the math on biblical and historical events throughout history. Basically they figure out the years from Adam and Eve up until our present time. They are not to be knocked by anyone for their figures as they may be correct in the 6000 year figure that they get from Adam and Eve to our present time, but they are way off if they think that the Earth is only 6000 years old. Geologist have proven that the Earth is billions of years old. For many believers this is very confusing. They believe in God and have so called Bible experts telling them that the Earth is 6000 years old, but then science is telling them that the Earth is 4.6 billion years old. Many believers will brush off what science has proven and practice their faith and just believe in what the so called Bible scholars have told them. After all, if they side with science they will be going against God's word (So they think.)
Fortunately, the Earth being billions of years old goes hand in hand with God's word. Although God does not let us know the exact amount of time that has passed since he created the Earth, he does let us know that it was created way before he created flesh man. God did not create the Earth six or seven days before he created man. He created the Earth billions of years before he created man in the flesh.
Genesis 1:1 - In the beginning God (elohiym - the one true God) created the heaven (shamayim) and the earth (erets)
To try to figure out when the beginning was we have to study the word "Beginning" in the Strong's Concordance.
"Hebrew number H7223 ri'shown = rē·shone" means first, former, former things, beginning, before, old time, foremost, aforetime.
No exact time is given as to when the beginning was. We just know that is was a very long time ago.
We now look deeper into the word "Created." "H1254 - bara'to create, shape, form (Qal) to shape, fashion, create (always with God as subject). This gives us an idea of how God created the Earth. Still, there is no date as to when this occurred.
If we look up two other keywords in Genesis 1:1, we come up with the following:
Heaven - H8064( heaven, heavens, sky, as the visible universe, the sky, atmosphere, etc. Heaven (as the abode of God).
Earth - H776 - 'erets land, earth, whole earth (as opposed to a part) earth (as opposed to heaven) )earth (inhabitants).
What we get from all of this is that in the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth "PERIOD." This was a time when God created the Heaven and the Earth, but we do not know exactly how long ago that was as God does not reveal that to us. It must be noted that there was also a long gap of time in between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. How long that gap was is also not revealed. We will get more into that later.
Through geological science, it has been proven that the Earth is billions of years old. The best estimate that science gives us is 4.6 billion years old. Scientist have found rocks that are 3.9 billion years old. The process of figuring out a rock's age often falls to the scientific techniques of radiometric dating, the most famous of which is radiocarbon dating. With that said, the earth can be much older than the 4.6 billion figure as we can only go back as far as the oldest rocks on Earth. Believers in God will be comforted in knowing that just because it has been proven that the Earth is billions of years old does not contradict the Bible. In fact, it does exactly the opposite and proves the Bible to be the holy word of God. If a Bible teacher is teaching that the Earth is only thousands of years old, he or she may not be intentionally leading you from the truth. They themselves may be lacking biblical truth about the three earth ages.
Genesis 2:1 - And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
This verse is pretty self explanatory. From this second verse of the Bible we learn that the Earth was without form, void and darkness was upon the face of the deep. When God created the earth was it a big old mess? Without form? Did he create it a mess and fix it up beautifully little by little? Of course he didn't! Earlier it was mentioned that there was a great amount of time between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. We will go further into explaining why that gap occurred. First though, how do we know that God did not create the Earth without form and void? First off, we need to look at Genesis 2:1 more carefully. If we read the verse in English, it sounds like God created the Earth void and without form. That is simply not the case though.
If we look up the word "WAS" in the Strong's Concordance, we find that the word "Was" is "Havah." This word "Havah" means to become. You might also want to note that this word "HAVAH" is also the same word that is used when Lot's wife "WAS" (HAVAH) turned into a pillar of salt. So Genesis 1:2 should actually be read by the English reader as "the earth became without form, and void. Just as Lot's wife had became a pillar of salt and was not created that way. So it is with the Earth. The earth was not created without form and void. It became void and without form. In the Septuagint, the translation of this verse is "But the earth became without form, and void".
In Genesis 1:2 we also find the words "without form and void." This has been translated from the Hebrew phrase "Tohu Va Bohu."
This phrase "Tohu Va Bohu" can also be found in the book of Jeremiah 4:23 - I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form (tohu) and void (bohu; and they had no light.
God here is speaking of the first earth age. The Bible continues with:
Jeremiah 4:24 - I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.
Jeremiah 4:25 - I beheld, and lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.
Jeremiah 4:26 - I beheld, and lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce anger.
Jeremiah 4:27 - For thus hath the Lord said, "The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.
We should all be thankful to God that he did not make a full end. You will notice that the description here given is as the Earth would have been at Genesis 1:2. The Earth is formless and void at this point of time, there is no man and there are no birds. You surely noticed though that the Lord mentions cities in Jeremiah 4:26.. What former cities could God be talking about? If there was no flesh man yet (As God creates flesh man later in Genesis) then how could there be cities? Apparently there was some kind of judgment on these cities and the lord broke them down with fierce anger.
The Lord here is speaking of the first Earth age when all of God's children lived in his presence. This included you, me and every other child of God. This also includes those that we call angels and demons. Angels and demons are spiritual beings just as we were. Of course we will be in our spiritual bodies once again when we pass on from our flesh life. Angels of course choose to serve almighty God just as we should. Demons, who are basically evil spirits choose not to and instead follow Satin. Do not think for one moment that we are what we normally think of as angels. The word "Angel" only means messenger. When God uses one of his spiritual children to deliver a message they are an angel. The spirits that we think of as angels hold an honorable position with almighty God.
So what happened during that first Earth age? Why did God get angry with his children and destroy it along with his children as spoken of in the book of Jeremiah?
Please note that God created one earth and one Heaven. When the three earth ages are spoken of, it is not talking about three different Earth's and three different Heaven's. There is, has been and will always be one Heaven and one Earth. When did this creation take place? Does the Bible tell us when creation actually took place? Some will say that the creation took place about 6000 years ago. They get this figure by doing the math on biblical and historical events throughout history. Basically they figure out the years from Adam and Eve up until our present time. They are not to be knocked by anyone for their figures as they may be correct in the 6000 year figure that they get from Adam and Eve to our present time, but they are way off if they think that the Earth is only 6000 years old. Geologist have proven that the Earth is billions of years old. For many believers this is very confusing. They believe in God and have so called Bible experts telling them that the Earth is 6000 years old, but then science is telling them that the Earth is 4.6 billion years old. Many believers will brush off what science has proven and practice their faith and just believe in what the so called Bible scholars have told them. After all, if they side with science they will be going against God's word (So they think.)
Fortunately, the Earth being billions of years old goes hand in hand with God's word. Although God does not let us know the exact amount of time that has passed since he created the Earth, he does let us know that it was created way before he created flesh man. God did not create the Earth six or seven days before he created man. He created the Earth billions of years before he created man in the flesh.
Genesis 1:1 - In the beginning God (elohiym - the one true God) created the heaven (shamayim) and the earth (erets)
To try to figure out when the beginning was we have to study the word "Beginning" in the Strong's Concordance.
"Hebrew number H7223 ri'shown = rē·shone" means first, former, former things, beginning, before, old time, foremost, aforetime.
No exact time is given as to when the beginning was. We just know that is was a very long time ago.
We now look deeper into the word "Created." "H1254 - bara'to create, shape, form (Qal) to shape, fashion, create (always with God as subject). This gives us an idea of how God created the Earth. Still, there is no date as to when this occurred.
If we look up two other keywords in Genesis 1:1, we come up with the following:
Heaven - H8064( heaven, heavens, sky, as the visible universe, the sky, atmosphere, etc. Heaven (as the abode of God).
Earth - H776 - 'erets land, earth, whole earth (as opposed to a part) earth (as opposed to heaven) )earth (inhabitants).
What we get from all of this is that in the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth "PERIOD." This was a time when God created the Heaven and the Earth, but we do not know exactly how long ago that was as God does not reveal that to us. It must be noted that there was also a long gap of time in between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. How long that gap was is also not revealed. We will get more into that later.
Through geological science, it has been proven that the Earth is billions of years old. The best estimate that science gives us is 4.6 billion years old. Scientist have found rocks that are 3.9 billion years old. The process of figuring out a rock's age often falls to the scientific techniques of radiometric dating, the most famous of which is radiocarbon dating. With that said, the earth can be much older than the 4.6 billion figure as we can only go back as far as the oldest rocks on Earth. Believers in God will be comforted in knowing that just because it has been proven that the Earth is billions of years old does not contradict the Bible. In fact, it does exactly the opposite and proves the Bible to be the holy word of God. If a Bible teacher is teaching that the Earth is only thousands of years old, he or she may not be intentionally leading you from the truth. They themselves may be lacking biblical truth about the three earth ages.
Genesis 2:1 - And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
This verse is pretty self explanatory. From this second verse of the Bible we learn that the Earth was without form, void and darkness was upon the face of the deep. When God created the earth was it a big old mess? Without form? Did he create it a mess and fix it up beautifully little by little? Of course he didn't! Earlier it was mentioned that there was a great amount of time between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. We will go further into explaining why that gap occurred. First though, how do we know that God did not create the Earth without form and void? First off, we need to look at Genesis 2:1 more carefully. If we read the verse in English, it sounds like God created the Earth void and without form. That is simply not the case though.
If we look up the word "WAS" in the Strong's Concordance, we find that the word "Was" is "Havah." This word "Havah" means to become. You might also want to note that this word "HAVAH" is also the same word that is used when Lot's wife "WAS" (HAVAH) turned into a pillar of salt. So Genesis 1:2 should actually be read by the English reader as "the earth became without form, and void. Just as Lot's wife had became a pillar of salt and was not created that way. So it is with the Earth. The earth was not created without form and void. It became void and without form. In the Septuagint, the translation of this verse is "But the earth became without form, and void".
In Genesis 1:2 we also find the words "without form and void." This has been translated from the Hebrew phrase "Tohu Va Bohu."
This phrase "Tohu Va Bohu" can also be found in the book of Jeremiah 4:23 - I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form (tohu) and void (bohu; and they had no light.
God here is speaking of the first earth age. The Bible continues with:
Jeremiah 4:24 - I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.
Jeremiah 4:25 - I beheld, and lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.
Jeremiah 4:26 - I beheld, and lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce anger.
Jeremiah 4:27 - For thus hath the Lord said, "The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.
We should all be thankful to God that he did not make a full end. You will notice that the description here given is as the Earth would have been at Genesis 1:2. The Earth is formless and void at this point of time, there is no man and there are no birds. You surely noticed though that the Lord mentions cities in Jeremiah 4:26.. What former cities could God be talking about? If there was no flesh man yet (As God creates flesh man later in Genesis) then how could there be cities? Apparently there was some kind of judgment on these cities and the lord broke them down with fierce anger.
The Lord here is speaking of the first Earth age when all of God's children lived in his presence. This included you, me and every other child of God. This also includes those that we call angels and demons. Angels and demons are spiritual beings just as we were. Of course we will be in our spiritual bodies once again when we pass on from our flesh life. Angels of course choose to serve almighty God just as we should. Demons, who are basically evil spirits choose not to and instead follow Satin. Do not think for one moment that we are what we normally think of as angels. The word "Angel" only means messenger. When God uses one of his spiritual children to deliver a message they are an angel. The spirits that we think of as angels hold an honorable position with almighty God.
So what happened during that first Earth age? Why did God get angry with his children and destroy it along with his children as spoken of in the book of Jeremiah?