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NASB | Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God (Elohim) created [by forming from nothing] the heavens and the earth. [Heb 11:3] |
Subject: When was "In the Beginning" |
Bible Note: Dear CDBJ: From your description of the "discovery" by the man, who just happened to have his master's degree in the Hebrew language, that the word "hayetah" in Geneis 1:2 should be translated "became" and not "was" is the darling of the proponents of the "Gap Theory." Therefore, according to this translation, Genesis 1:1 describes an original creation of God (Job 38:6; John 1:3; Hebrews 11:3), and Genesis 1:2 explains that the earth "became" chaos. Verse 2 is interpreted negatively as a description of the earth under judgment (cf. Is.24:11; 34:11; 45:18; Jeremiah 4:24-26), a state resulting in the expulsion of Satan from heaven (Is.14:12-17; Ezek.28:11-19; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6.) There is therefore inherent in this theory an indeterminate gap of time between verses 1 and 2 of Genesis 1 which, so argue the proponents, could account for the assumed older age of the earth than might otherwise be the case. Thus the following account in verses 3-31 of the six days of creation become in essence not the creation, but the re-creation, of the chaotic earth...... The traditional view, the one that I hold, is that the Hebrew verb "hayetah" in this context means, and should be translated, "was". The traditional view does not answer our every question about the when or how of God's creation. No view does or ever will. But it does not require of us, as the Gap Theory does, to postulate a broad spectrum of speculative assumptions to make it plausible and workable. The Gap Theory raises far more questions than it proposes to answer. Proponents of the Gap Theory have, in my estimation, fallen prey, perhaps unwittingly, to the pragmatism that characterizes naturalism. Naturalism seeks to explain, in human terms, the origins and causes of all things. It does not allow for the supernatural acts of the transcendent God. When we attempt to superimpose man's wisdom on the wisdom of the Creator we fail every single time. In no other way is man's foolishness so clearly shown than when he presumes to know the mind of God to such an extent that he thinks he has it all figured out about how and why God does what He does..... I happen to believe that God did His creative work in six days, each of which contained 24 hours. Others believe that the "days" were symbolic of vast time periods. I've been asked, "But don't you think God COULD have chosen an evolutionary process in His creation?" My answer is always "yes" -- yes He COULD have done that -- and "yes" He COULD have done, and can do still, anything and everything He pleases. But we can know, and know only, what He says in His word that He actually did. He tells us clearly that He created man from the dust of the earth and fashioned him in His own image. He makes no suggestion whatever that He prevailed upon either primordial ooze or evolution to effect His creative acts. Evolution is not science; Darwinian evolution is now being debunked by vast numbers of members of the scientific community. Evolution is a theory, but it is more than that; it is, in fact, a religion. A religion of naturalism designed to explain away any idea of the supernatural power of, or even the existence of, a Supreme Being..... God's word does not lend credence to any evolutionary theory or to any Gap Theory or make either necessary. The Almighty God whose power is so incomprehensibly immense that He can speak an entire universe into existence really doesn't need our weak theories to explain it. --Hank |