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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: In the beginning |
Bible Note: Hi Hoth Thank you for your reply to my answer. You bring up some very good points and it is a pleasure to discuss them w/you, and it is good that you do not doubt the validity of God’s Word. It is very important to pray for wisdom and guidance when we read the Bible, for to many, the wisdom is hidden and they make presumptuous interpretations. The scriptural reference for this statement is 1Cor 1:18: "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God." And I myself have found many apparent contradictions that are found out through further study to be truth. But I will not dwell on that for now. You wrote,"However, when I read what appears to be a contradiction in the Bible I realize that I am making a wrong interpretation" First off, you state your belief as "the beginning" being the start of eternity. Again, I think this is just a drawback to the frailty of the human mind. It is a defect, but I believe God has reasons for installing it. Our mind wants to quantify the state of eternity in order to comprehend it. Yet, eternity exists outside of time, so it cannot have a beginning. God exists in eternity past, and in eternity future. If there was a beginning to eternity past, then what was before that? If there is a beginning, then there should be an end to eternity, right? And what happens after eternity? If eternity has a beginning and end, does it also have an age? If we remove the parameters of time out of the equation, it is much simpler to imagine. You also wrote, "Since the planet earth and the universe existed prior to the light of verse 3, they also existed prior to the first day. My feeling is that this is misinterpretation on your part, since the sea, the earth, and its fruits were created on the third day (v. 9–13) Though you understand that God would have had to create paths of light, millions of light years long, in order to have the stars as far as they are and yet be visible to us, well then, why would you question the light that came into being when God spoke, "Light, Be!" Would this light not be independant of the sun and stars ? Please see Rev 21:23, "And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof." also Rev 22:5, "And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever." And this is similar to eternity being independant of time, it will exist beyond time. And this is similar to our spirit being independant of our flesh, we will exist beyond our flesh. Now I must apologize for being so lengthy, I have exceeded the max number of characters and will continue in next post, til then, (o: |