Creation, or Re-Creation? by Rav Sha'ul Ok, I will make this quick and as easy to understand as possible.  The truth is the YHWH created the Universe untold ages ago.  Lucifer and the Angelic Realm were part of that creation.  Lucifer was given the Earth to rule over.  Lucifer deceived the nations at that time and led a rebellion against YHWH.  Lucifer ascended to Heaven from earth waged war in the Heavens with Michael/Gabriel, was defeated and cast back down to Earth as Satan.  And there Satan was, already fallen at the time of Adam's creation.   Now with that summary in mind, let us look at some facts (I'll use the NIV, although I do not approve of it):   LUCIFER EXISTED ON EARTH PRIOR TO THE FALL AND THE EARTH WAS INHABITED   Lucifer was the Anointed Cherub that was given dominion over Earth prior to her fall.  Let's look at some facts concerning Lucifer's fall.  We see that Lucifer was ON EARTH in the Garden of Eden and the Earth was given to Lucifer, to cover and protect it.  We see that at the time of Lucifer's fall, their were nations and kings on this Earth all prior to Adam (as has been demonstrated through science and the fossil record). Ezekiel 28:   13 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. 14 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. 15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. 16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. 17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. 18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. Ok, so Ezekiel gave us a prophetic vision of Lucifer's fall and it is very clear Lucifer was on this Earth prior to the fall and their were nations and Kings as well... all prior to Adam.   Now let's look at what Isaiah has to say about this same event in his prophetic vision of the fall of Lucifer.  Isaiah 14 12 How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!     13 You said in your heart,  "I will ascend to heaven;  I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. [c]  14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High."  15 But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit. We see that Isaiah saw the EXACT same event, Lucifer ascended to Heaven (vs. 14) from Earth and was cast back down to Earth (vs. 12).  Lucifer deceived the nations that existed at that time (vs. 12).  So again, we see Lucifer was on Earth prior to the fall and there were nations and kings, and Satan was cast back down to Earth after her defeat.  So Isaiah tells us in a nutshell Lucifer deceived the nations of Earth while in charge over the Earth, ascended to Heaven from Earth through the clouds to challenge the Most High.  Was defeated and cast back down to Earth.   Now it must become obvious that the Universe is much older than 6,000 years when Adam was created, enough time for Lucifer to cover the Earth, lead a rebellion, and fall from Grace.  There was an entire age prior this Present Age which is from Adam until the end of the Millennial Reign (7,000 years) as I will prove later.  But first, we need to take a closer look at Genesis to see if there is proof that something catastrophic occurred before Adam that would validate the visions of Ezekiel and Isaiah.   THE EARTH WAS DESTROYED AND RECREATED IN GENESIS   Genesis 1 is a story of RE-creation: Genesis 1 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Sounds pretty simple.  However, this is where the Gap Theory comes in.  You see, YHWH's creation was originally PERFECT, or so YHWH told Isaiah. Isaiah 45:18 18 For thus says the LORD, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: "I am the LORD, and there is no other. First, to the translated word, "vain". the original Hebrew word is "tohuw", described in Strong's as, "empty, formless and chaos".  The original Hebrew word "kuwn", translated "established", is described by Strong's as, "to be set up, stable, having order".  So here we plainly see that God created the heavens and The Earth, not formless and in chaos, but set them up with stability, structure and in order. We can now be so bold at this point to say that God created the heavens and the Earth in "perfection", as he created the first humans we have come to know as Adam and Eve. Here it seems necessary to point out that throughout the Bible, we are taught that God doesn't create things in a state of imperfection - when things become "imperfect", there is always another being at work, making this happen (ie: man, satan, fallen angels, etc...).   Now here is the key...  YHWH created the Heavens and the Earth perfect in Gen 1:1... HOWEVER... by Gen 1:2 we find the Earth in the exact opposite state YHWH said He created it... IT WAS FORMLESS AND VOID...  Now we get back to the MISTRANSLATION of the English Bible.  Let's look at what "was formless and empty/void" REALLY meant in Hebrew and should have translated for more understanding.  The original Hebrew word "hayah" had been translated to "was".  However, Strong's indicates that "hayah" means "to become" or "to come to pass".  Hmmmm.  What about "formless and empty"?  The Hebrew words for "formless and empty' according to the Hebrew Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament by Julius Furst, page 1460 indicates that these words should have been translated "chaos, a vain worthless thing, full of god (angel) worship".  Exactly what the Earth would have been like per the fall of Lucifer described by Isaiah and Ezekiel!   So, we have a Gap between Gen 1:1 and 1:2.  And if the English Bible had been properly translated Genesis would more accurately read: Genesis 1 1 In the beginning YHWH created the heavens and the earth (perfect not in vain and inhabited per Is 45:18). 2 Now the earth became chaos, a vain worthless thing, full of god (angel) worship (as a result of the rebellion of Lucifer per Ez 28 & Is 14) ,darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Let's not stop there.  We see that "darkness was over the surface of the deep (waters), and the Spirit of YHWH was" hovering about this vain, worthless chaos that was once, perfect and inhabited.  So, OBVIOUSLY there was a massive FLOOD between Gen. 1:1 and Gen. 1:2!  I'll get to the proof of that flood later.  First, let's check out what the Hebrew word for "darkness' REALLY means and further paint the true picture.  Most people assume darkness to mean the absence of physical light.  Not true in this case in Hebrew.   According to the Hebrew Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament by Julius Furst, page 501 indicates this word to mean "LED ASTRAY" and the Hebrew Dictionary, Strong's indicates this word to mean "misery, death, destruction, ignorance, wickedness, sorrow".... exactly what would exist after the rebellion of Lucifer. Not quite the same meaning as "darkness" meaning no physical light.  But rather, the true meaning in Hebrew of darkness in this case means the absence of the KNOWLEDGE OF YHWH.  So, let us look at what Genesis 1 REALLY says and how it should have been translated for more clarity: Genesis 1 1 In the beginning YHWH created the heavens and the earth (perfect not in vain and inhabited per Is 45:18). 2 Now the earth became chaos, a vain worthless thing, full of god (angel) worship (as a result of the rebellion of Lucifer per Ez 28 & Is 14) ,misery, death, destruction, ignorance, wickedness, and sorrow, resulting from being led astray covered the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of YHWH was hovering over the waters. Now THAT is the true account of what YHWH gave to Moses...   SUMMARY   So, what we know is YHWH created the heavens and the earth in perfection and inhabited.  Lucifer was put in charge of earth and the nations that inhabited earth.  Lucifer rebelled, led the nations astray, ascended to Heaven, lost her bid to overthrow YHWH, fell from the Grace of YHWH, became SATAN was cast back down to Earth where, as a result of this rebellion, YHWH DESTROYED this planet with a massive flood leading us to Gen. 1:2 and the RE-creation of Earth and creation of Adam and Eve.   Is there any more proof of this flood in the Word of YHWH? We all know about the flood of Noah's day, we know several things about the flood of Noah.  We know that YHWH did not totally destroy the world, but rather PRESERVED it in the Ark.  We also know that the flood waters receded NATURALLY.  Not at YHWH's command.   Let me take you to further confirmation of everything I am describing in the New Testament.  Remember, Scripture validates Scripture... ALWAYS (when properly understood).   PETER DESCRIBES THE DESTRUCTION OF EARTH AND THE WORLD THAT EXISTED PRIOR TO ADAM AS THE BEGINNING OF THIS PRESENT AGE   2 Peter 3.  Here Peter is describing the Everlasting Covenant of the Sabbath and the duration of the Plan of YHWH for This Age (Adam until the end of the Millennial Reign).  Peter establishes the Everlasting Covenant of the Sabbath (7-days) to be 7,000 years beginning with the first flood of Genesis (resulting from the Fall of Lucifer) and ending at the end of the Millennial Reign when the Heavens and Earth will be destroyed by fire and re-created.   Below with my commentary: 2 Peter 3 1Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. 2I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.  (Peter reminds us to STUDY PROPHECY... and we would understand what he is about to say)     3First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? (The SUBJECT of this scripture is the Day of YHWH) Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.”  5But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. (Peter calls our attention to the account in Gen 1 and the FLOODED Earth at the time of RE-creation setting the beginning boundary for This Age as he is about to explain the Everlasting Covenant of the Sabbath.  Peter describes the FIRST flood where BY GOD'S WORD the waters receded.  This cannot be Noah's flood, because this Age did not begin with Noah but Adam.  And the flood waters at the time fo Noah receded naturally not by YHWH's command) 6By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. (Here Peter CONFIRMS that the world that existed prior to the first flood of Gen. 1:2 was deluged and destroyed) 7By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. (Now Peter sets the ending boundary for This Age to be at the end of the Millennial Reign when this Present Age which is being preserved by the Word of YHWH will be destroyed by fire)    8But do not forget this one thing, dear friends (The Sabbath): With YHWH a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 YHWH is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (Now Peter defines This Age per the 7-day Everlasting Covenant to be 7,000 years between the time the Earth was destroyed due to Lucifer's Fall and when the Earth will be destroyed by Fire.)    10But the day of YHWH will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.[a]    11Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12as you look forward to the day of YHWH and speed its coming.[b]That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.  (Peter is NOT talking about the Second Coming of the Messiah, clearly Peter is talking about the Day of YHWH when per Rev. the heavens and earth are destroyed and recreated yet again.)

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