creation or re creation of the earth?

[gallenwalsh]

Just a question regarding the genesis account of creation .Translations differ regarding the word:was and became.As in the earth was or became viod and was without form.If became is correct,that would imply that it was previously in a pristine state.Which would imply a catastrophic event occured to render it void.Some have implied that this event was something that happened by or between the creation of angelic beings, the light and the dark.EXPLAINING THAT THE WORKS OF SATAN ARE NOT NEW REGARDING DESTRUCTION.One simple word can change a whole lot.We really do not know much about the angelic race other than they are waiting to be reconciled to christ like the rest of us.We do not know why they are here except to serve gods purpose like the rest of us.Does any one have any insight or has Ray ever spoken on this subject?

[Dave in Tenn]

http://vimeo.com/album/34889

I don't know if any of that covers your explicit question, but it's a good place to start.

I don't know that saying the earth became void necessarily implies a pristine state before hand.  Things can be quite a mess before 'becoming' formless and void.

One last comment.  Whatever is 'true' in the physical universe is part of the truth of God.  No matter how smart 'we' get, there is always more unknown than known.  There are words that pertain to what isn't known.  "Truth" isn't one of them, I don't think.  I think the reward is to be faithful in what we DO have if we're to expect more.

Probably doesn't help, but there it is anyway.   

[indianabob]

HI,
I think it is safe to say that all things previously done were done with a view to the future when God would be drawing "sons" to Himself. God knew that a certain one of those sons would have to provide a sacrifice worthy of forgiveness of all the others and so what preceded that goal was all in the plan from the beginning.

Maybe God created the physical system in steps, but that doesn't "necessarily" prove that God adjusted His creation to comply with the success or lack of success of the first steps. I have to assume and I think that the Bible indicates that God knew the whole plan and the steps involved from the outset. God is quite patient and orderly.

Before we can build a wooden house we have to grow some trees, before that we need fertile soil and water and sunlight and an atmosphere of molecules to sustain the whole thing. I don't believe that God made the earth in a volcanic mass and then said to Himself "well that's a start, I wonder what we should do next". NO, God knows the end from the beginning in all things.

Indiana Bob

[Kat]

From the 08 Nashville Conference.

http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,9502.msg80843.html#msg80843 ---

Gen. 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, and the earth was without form (or more like formless, not that it didn't have any form at all, it was formless) and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
v
Some will say, 'it should read and the earth became without form and void.' Well, actually yes it did in a sense 'became,' but not at this point.  Again, the Hebrew here is pluperfect in English. It would more accurately be translated, "and the earth," and is correct, the word 'and' is in there. "And the earth" is one word in Hebrew, it's erets. There is the word earth and then a sign for 'and,' and a sign for 'the.' So that's all in there. It isn't just the word there, only earth. No, it's "and the earth." It's in there, and the earth was...

Now the only way you can translate that "was," is if you translated and the earth was - already. It was already void (and vacant) and darkness was upon the face of the earth. But a better translation would be, "and the earth had existed." Pluperfect English, past tense, had existed. The earth was already this way or had existed in this condition.
v
Gen. 1:1  In the beginning. God created the heavens and the earth.
v. 2  And the earth was (or should be 'was already' or 'had become' or 'had existed') without form (tohu - or it should be unformed, not without, everything had form) and void (bohu). And darkness was upon the face of the deep and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

We have water in Genesis 1 and it's covering the whole earth. Now this is not talking regionally, the whole earth. Because we know there was no land, we have no land until we come to verse 9. So the earth is covered in water. What do the scientist tell us? The earth was covered in water, they tell us the same thing that Genesis tells us. Then there was dry land. Where did the dry land come from? Out of the earth. But it's covered with water. How does it come out of the earth? Volcanoes. 

The whole earth was hot, molten and eventually there was water. Now it's cooling, it's forming a crust, volcanoes are erupting.
v
They say that the formation of the land and all the volcanic activity... all this stuff was a part of the process of forming the atmosphere, so that more complex forms of animal life and so on could live there. 
-----------------------------------------

mercy, peace and love
Kat