Just a commentary,I wanted to share
By: Brandon T. Ward
Revised: 8-22-2014
Today, many Christians are confounded by the age of the earth, believing the earth and all of creation is merely six-thousand years old. Yet, this thought is not logical, nor is it Biblical and I personally believe this teaching is one of the major reasons for unbelief in the world today. Christians themselves would agree that our Father created us as spiritual beings. So why are we walking around in these corruptible flesh bodies when we have an incorruptible spiritual body that feels no pain and fails to see the effects of age (1 Corinthians 15:35-55)?
The answer to that question lies with us understanding there was an age before this one we presently live in. An age where man existed in spiritual bodies. We presently live in the second Heaven and earth age which we will call the flesh age. Same Heaven, same earth, just a different dispensation of time. With that having been said, let us now document these facts in God’s Word.
Before we start our Bible study, let us ask our Father for wisdom and understanding of His Word, in Jesus name amen.
First, we must understand the word “foundation” has been incorrectly translated several times in the King James Version Bible. For example, the Greek word “themelios” (2310) is translated as “foundation” and literally means ‘a foundation to build upon‘. While the Greek word “katabole” (2602) has also been translated as “foundation” yet it means, “a deposition” which is a “removal from an office or position.”
As you can see we have a major difference between the two translations. So whose removal are we talking about? Satan’s, from his position of power in The World That Was.
Further, “katabole” comes from the base word 2598 meaning the “cast down” or “throw down,” again of Satan from his position of power in The World That Was, The First Earth Age. This is extremely important to understand as this gives us the key to understanding two separate time periods. The “themelios” which is the literal foundation of the world, the very creation as Genesis 1:1 documents. While the “katabole” properly describes the period of time when Satan sinned and fell from the grace of God which occurred after the “themelios” or founding of the world. With that explanation now laid out let us turn our Bible to,
Genesis 1:1
1 “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
Does it say when the beginning was? Absolutely not. This event did not take place six-thousand years ago, but eons ago. This scripture is describing the “themelios“, the foundation of the Heaven and earth in The World That Was, The First Earth Age.
Further, science tells us the earth is billions of years in age and when we properly understand our Father’s Word there is no contradiction with that statement.
Genesis 1:2
2 “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”
Between verses one and two we have the passing of a very large amount of time. In verse one we are told, “God created the Heaven and the earth” (“themelios”). In verse two we are told, “the earth was without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep“. Essentially this verse is documenting the “katabole” which includes the destruction of The First Earth Age.
This scripture is also where we find the first mistranslation in the King James Version Bible. The word “was” is 1961 in your Strong’s Concordance and being properly translated means, “became“. This change in words completely alters the scriptures. The word“was”implies that God created the earth void which we know is not accurate and we will completely document that fact as we move through this study.
While the word “became” stipulates an event caused the earth to ‘become without form and void’. That event was the “katabole“, the “deposition” or “cast down” of Satan from his position of power in The First Earth Age.
Our Father did not create the earth “without form” (tôhû in Hebrew) which is word 8414 in your Strong’s, meaning, “a desolation“. Neither did He create the earth “void” (bôhû in Hebrew 922) meaning, “an undistinguishable ruin“, but it did “become” that way because of the fall of Satan. So verse two properly translated means, we have a world that ‘became a desolation, became an undistinguishable ruin‘. If it became void then it was something else before, God’s Word states the world was created as a habitable paradise.
Let us listen to Wisdom speak.
Proverbs 8:22
22 “The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.”
What works of old are we talking about here? The beginning of The First Earth Age in Genesis 1:1 where, “God created the heaven and the earth,” which became an old work in Genesis 1:2 when our Father destroyed The First Earth Age because of the “katabole“, the fall of Satan.
Let us continue,
Proverbs 8:27-29
27 “When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth:”
28 “When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep:”
29 “When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth:”
“Foundations” (4146), meaning an actual foundation, being the foundation of the Heavens and earth that we read of in Genesis 1:1. Further, it was the works of creation in verses 27-29 that became old works. They became old due to the “katabole“, the overthrow of Satan, when our Father ended The First Earth Age and brought about this age of flesh (man)where we could be born innocent in order to decide who we will follow, God or Satan.
Please turn your Bible with me to,
Isaiah 45:18
18 “For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.”
Our Father just declared that He created the earth to be inhabited. He did not create the earth “vain” (tohu 8414) the same word as “without form” in Genesis meaning, “a desolation,” nor could man inhabit a void and empty world. Rather, God formed this beautiful planet to be inhabited, for life to come forward. For clouds to shower life providing rain on the earth in order to germinate seeds. For blue skies to reveal the sun in order to shine on those seeds turning them into beautiful green fields.
When our Father said He created the earth to be inhabited, He is stating He created a beautiful fruitful place where life could thrive, not a desolate wilderness.
Clearly Genesis 1:2 and Isaiah 45:18 contradict each other in the English. However, as Christians we understand God’s Word has no contradictions, so when we find something we believe to be a contradiction we must look further into the Word in order to identify where we or man made the error. It is absolutely imperative that you do this. Especially concerning this subject which is one of the keys to understanding the rest of God’s Word.
We are now going to turn our Bible to 2 Peter 3. In verses 3-4 we read about the scoffers, including those of the end times. These are the same people who shout, ‘there is no God‘, ‘things have been the same from the beginning‘. Yet, we are quickly learning things have notbeen the same since the beginning of creation (themelios). We are learning there was an entire age before this one, The First Earth Age.
Now we are going to document some details of the “katabole”, the destruction of The First Earth Age right from the mouth of our Father.
2 Peter 3:5
5 “For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:”
Those scoffers are ignorant to the fact there was an age before this one. Who is declaring this? The Word of God, Our Father is declaring the Heavens were of old. He is stating the earth and all of creation is not just six-thousand years old, but eons in age.
2 Peter 3:6
6 “Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:”
Our Father is documenting the “katabole“, the destruction of The World That Then Was, The First Earth Age. God is not talking about Noah’s flood in this verse. The world did not perish in Noah’s time. At the very least Noah, his family and all of the creatures aboard the ark survived his flood. Common sense tells us Noah could not have lived in a world that did not exist. We will continue to document this fact as we move through the remainder of our study.
2 Peter 3:7
7 “But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store,
reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”
Our Father defined two separate time periods in the last two verses. “The World That Then Was” from verse six and “the heavens and earth which are now” in verse seven. God explains, He destroyed that old earth age with a major flood, a flood of the whole earth. As we will learn in Jeremiah, God also caused the mountains to shift and there is a lot of evidence that indicates extinction level events due to floods, volcanoes, asteroids and even the shifting of earth’s axis.
In The First Earth Age before this present age of flesh, mankind was in spiritual bodies which never die, therefore there are no fossils of them to be discovered. There are no fossils of mankind older than about eight-thousand years old as man in the flesh was first created on the sixth day roughly eight-thousand years ago. Only the animals were in the flesh which is why we continually find their fossils today.
Before we leave 2nd Peter, let us read one more verse.
2 Peter 3:13
13 “Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.”
Between these three verses we are given all three Heaven and earth ages. One, “The World That Then Was” which perished. Two, “the heavens and earth which are now” being this present age of flesh. Three, “new heavens and a new earth” which would be the final Heaven and earth age, this will become our reality at the end of the Millennium. 2 Corinthians 12:2 also documents a third Heaven age. It is important to understand the earth itself will not be destroyed, rather it will be rejuvenated as we will dwell here with Christ for one-thousand years (Revelation 20:6). After the Millennium, our Father will begin to dwell with us here on earth, a day that will be known as Judgement Day, the White Throne Judgement. This is the day everyone receives what they have coming to them whether it be good or bad. We will then enter the Eternity where Heaven and earth meet, wherever God is Heaven is also.
Let us now turn our Bible to Jeremiah chapter four where we read of God talking to the Israelites. He is extremely upset with them for not following His direction, but instead wandering after the ways of the world. God explains to them He destroyed the previous earth age and He will do it again if they do not come back into His Righteous Light.
Jeremiah 4:22
22 “For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.”
As the scoffers of old we read of earlier did not know God or understand The First Earth Age, God’s people are the same way. This sounds just like today, does it not? It is so hard for people to do what is right, but very easy for them to accomplish evil deeds.
Jeremiah 4:23
23 “I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.”
Once again we have our word “without form” (tôhû, 8414) meaning, “a desolation.” We also have the word “void” (bôhû 922) meaning, “an undistinguishable ruin“. Documenting the earth “became” a desolate place, became an uninhabitable ruin.
Jeremiah 4:24
24 “I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.”
God is giving us a play by play of what He did to The First Earth Age.
Further, science tells us the continents used to be one large land mass, but at some point in time the land shifted becoming the separate continents of today. It is very possible that we have just read about this event from God’s Word.
Source: Ashfall Fossil Bed State Historic Park
If you have a hard time grasping this thought I would encourage you to visit, The Ashfall Fossil Bed State Historic Park in Nebraska. They have some fascinating fossils, some of which include: camels, rhinoceroses and zebras among other types of creatures that once walked the earth in that area. Obviously, those creatures do not exist today in that part of the world, so how did they get there? I think our Father already gave us that answer.
Jeremiah 4:25
25 “I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.“
Our Father just documented for us that He destroyed everything upon the earth, every man and bird. This documents without a doubt this event was not Noah’s flood, but the destruction of The World That Was. We know for a fact Noah, his family and all of the creatures aboard the ark survived. This scripture is also our second witness to 2 Peter 3. Additionally, if you recall from Genesis 6, Noah sent out a dove which returned to him with an olive branch. It would not be possible for an olive tree to grow in just 150 days, further documenting this scripture is not a reference to Noah’s flood.
I want to make it extremely clear we have two distinctly different floods in the Bible. The flood in The World That Was that killed every man, animal and plant as Jeremiah 4:25-26documents. While the flood of Noah’s time spared his family, the animals aboard the ark, the olive tree and the world itself which still exists because you and I are here today.
Jeremiah 4:26
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.”
The world was a fruitful place, but it “became” a desolate wilderness and yes, there were even cities in The World That Was, which were destroyed by our Father due to the rebellion of Satan.
In closing, we need to understand the earth is not merely six-thousand years old, but eons in age. We should understand it was man who was created approximately eight-thousand years ago, not the earth (sixth day creation to Christ equals approximately six-thousand years, Christ to present day equals approximately two-thousand years). We should understand there was an entire earth age before the one we presently live in.
The only way we can ever hope to come to these conclusions is by studying God’s Word with understanding and much prayer. Only by accomplishing this can we hope to shed our Father’s light on all the misconceptions and misunderstandings that we have been taught since we were a child.
The next time someone questions your Christian beliefs by stating you think the age of the earth is only six-thousand years old, you can explain and show them, the world is of old and God declares it!
http://worldeventsandthebible.com/2009/11/world-that-then-was-first-earth-age.html
By: Brandon T. Ward
Revised: 8-22-2014
Today, many Christians are confounded by the age of the earth, believing the earth and all of creation is merely six-thousand years old. Yet, this thought is not logical, nor is it Biblical and I personally believe this teaching is one of the major reasons for unbelief in the world today. Christians themselves would agree that our Father created us as spiritual beings. So why are we walking around in these corruptible flesh bodies when we have an incorruptible spiritual body that feels no pain and fails to see the effects of age (1 Corinthians 15:35-55)?
The answer to that question lies with us understanding there was an age before this one we presently live in. An age where man existed in spiritual bodies. We presently live in the second Heaven and earth age which we will call the flesh age. Same Heaven, same earth, just a different dispensation of time. With that having been said, let us now document these facts in God’s Word.
Before we start our Bible study, let us ask our Father for wisdom and understanding of His Word, in Jesus name amen.
First, we must understand the word “foundation” has been incorrectly translated several times in the King James Version Bible. For example, the Greek word “themelios” (2310) is translated as “foundation” and literally means ‘a foundation to build upon‘. While the Greek word “katabole” (2602) has also been translated as “foundation” yet it means, “a deposition” which is a “removal from an office or position.”
As you can see we have a major difference between the two translations. So whose removal are we talking about? Satan’s, from his position of power in The World That Was.
Further, “katabole” comes from the base word 2598 meaning the “cast down” or “throw down,” again of Satan from his position of power in The World That Was, The First Earth Age. This is extremely important to understand as this gives us the key to understanding two separate time periods. The “themelios” which is the literal foundation of the world, the very creation as Genesis 1:1 documents. While the “katabole” properly describes the period of time when Satan sinned and fell from the grace of God which occurred after the “themelios” or founding of the world. With that explanation now laid out let us turn our Bible to,
Genesis 1:1
1 “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
Does it say when the beginning was? Absolutely not. This event did not take place six-thousand years ago, but eons ago. This scripture is describing the “themelios“, the foundation of the Heaven and earth in The World That Was, The First Earth Age.
Further, science tells us the earth is billions of years in age and when we properly understand our Father’s Word there is no contradiction with that statement.
Genesis 1:2
2 “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”
Between verses one and two we have the passing of a very large amount of time. In verse one we are told, “God created the Heaven and the earth” (“themelios”). In verse two we are told, “the earth was without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep“. Essentially this verse is documenting the “katabole” which includes the destruction of The First Earth Age.
This scripture is also where we find the first mistranslation in the King James Version Bible. The word “was” is 1961 in your Strong’s Concordance and being properly translated means, “became“. This change in words completely alters the scriptures. The word“was”implies that God created the earth void which we know is not accurate and we will completely document that fact as we move through this study.
While the word “became” stipulates an event caused the earth to ‘become without form and void’. That event was the “katabole“, the “deposition” or “cast down” of Satan from his position of power in The First Earth Age.
Our Father did not create the earth “without form” (tôhû in Hebrew) which is word 8414 in your Strong’s, meaning, “a desolation“. Neither did He create the earth “void” (bôhû in Hebrew 922) meaning, “an undistinguishable ruin“, but it did “become” that way because of the fall of Satan. So verse two properly translated means, we have a world that ‘became a desolation, became an undistinguishable ruin‘. If it became void then it was something else before, God’s Word states the world was created as a habitable paradise.
Let us listen to Wisdom speak.
Proverbs 8:22
22 “The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.”
What works of old are we talking about here? The beginning of The First Earth Age in Genesis 1:1 where, “God created the heaven and the earth,” which became an old work in Genesis 1:2 when our Father destroyed The First Earth Age because of the “katabole“, the fall of Satan.
Let us continue,
Proverbs 8:27-29
27 “When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth:”
28 “When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep:”
29 “When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth:”
“Foundations” (4146), meaning an actual foundation, being the foundation of the Heavens and earth that we read of in Genesis 1:1. Further, it was the works of creation in verses 27-29 that became old works. They became old due to the “katabole“, the overthrow of Satan, when our Father ended The First Earth Age and brought about this age of flesh (man)where we could be born innocent in order to decide who we will follow, God or Satan.
Please turn your Bible with me to,
Isaiah 45:18
18 “For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.”
Our Father just declared that He created the earth to be inhabited. He did not create the earth “vain” (tohu 8414) the same word as “without form” in Genesis meaning, “a desolation,” nor could man inhabit a void and empty world. Rather, God formed this beautiful planet to be inhabited, for life to come forward. For clouds to shower life providing rain on the earth in order to germinate seeds. For blue skies to reveal the sun in order to shine on those seeds turning them into beautiful green fields.
When our Father said He created the earth to be inhabited, He is stating He created a beautiful fruitful place where life could thrive, not a desolate wilderness.
Clearly Genesis 1:2 and Isaiah 45:18 contradict each other in the English. However, as Christians we understand God’s Word has no contradictions, so when we find something we believe to be a contradiction we must look further into the Word in order to identify where we or man made the error. It is absolutely imperative that you do this. Especially concerning this subject which is one of the keys to understanding the rest of God’s Word.
We are now going to turn our Bible to 2 Peter 3. In verses 3-4 we read about the scoffers, including those of the end times. These are the same people who shout, ‘there is no God‘, ‘things have been the same from the beginning‘. Yet, we are quickly learning things have notbeen the same since the beginning of creation (themelios). We are learning there was an entire age before this one, The First Earth Age.
Now we are going to document some details of the “katabole”, the destruction of The First Earth Age right from the mouth of our Father.
2 Peter 3:5
5 “For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:”
Those scoffers are ignorant to the fact there was an age before this one. Who is declaring this? The Word of God, Our Father is declaring the Heavens were of old. He is stating the earth and all of creation is not just six-thousand years old, but eons in age.
2 Peter 3:6
6 “Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:”
Our Father is documenting the “katabole“, the destruction of The World That Then Was, The First Earth Age. God is not talking about Noah’s flood in this verse. The world did not perish in Noah’s time. At the very least Noah, his family and all of the creatures aboard the ark survived his flood. Common sense tells us Noah could not have lived in a world that did not exist. We will continue to document this fact as we move through the remainder of our study.
2 Peter 3:7
7 “But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store,
reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”
Our Father defined two separate time periods in the last two verses. “The World That Then Was” from verse six and “the heavens and earth which are now” in verse seven. God explains, He destroyed that old earth age with a major flood, a flood of the whole earth. As we will learn in Jeremiah, God also caused the mountains to shift and there is a lot of evidence that indicates extinction level events due to floods, volcanoes, asteroids and even the shifting of earth’s axis.
In The First Earth Age before this present age of flesh, mankind was in spiritual bodies which never die, therefore there are no fossils of them to be discovered. There are no fossils of mankind older than about eight-thousand years old as man in the flesh was first created on the sixth day roughly eight-thousand years ago. Only the animals were in the flesh which is why we continually find their fossils today.
Before we leave 2nd Peter, let us read one more verse.
2 Peter 3:13
13 “Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.”
Between these three verses we are given all three Heaven and earth ages. One, “The World That Then Was” which perished. Two, “the heavens and earth which are now” being this present age of flesh. Three, “new heavens and a new earth” which would be the final Heaven and earth age, this will become our reality at the end of the Millennium. 2 Corinthians 12:2 also documents a third Heaven age. It is important to understand the earth itself will not be destroyed, rather it will be rejuvenated as we will dwell here with Christ for one-thousand years (Revelation 20:6). After the Millennium, our Father will begin to dwell with us here on earth, a day that will be known as Judgement Day, the White Throne Judgement. This is the day everyone receives what they have coming to them whether it be good or bad. We will then enter the Eternity where Heaven and earth meet, wherever God is Heaven is also.
Let us now turn our Bible to Jeremiah chapter four where we read of God talking to the Israelites. He is extremely upset with them for not following His direction, but instead wandering after the ways of the world. God explains to them He destroyed the previous earth age and He will do it again if they do not come back into His Righteous Light.
Jeremiah 4:22
22 “For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.”
As the scoffers of old we read of earlier did not know God or understand The First Earth Age, God’s people are the same way. This sounds just like today, does it not? It is so hard for people to do what is right, but very easy for them to accomplish evil deeds.
Jeremiah 4:23
23 “I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.”
Once again we have our word “without form” (tôhû, 8414) meaning, “a desolation.” We also have the word “void” (bôhû 922) meaning, “an undistinguishable ruin“. Documenting the earth “became” a desolate place, became an uninhabitable ruin.
Jeremiah 4:24
24 “I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.”
God is giving us a play by play of what He did to The First Earth Age.
Further, science tells us the continents used to be one large land mass, but at some point in time the land shifted becoming the separate continents of today. It is very possible that we have just read about this event from God’s Word.
Source: Ashfall Fossil Bed State Historic ParkIf you have a hard time grasping this thought I would encourage you to visit, The Ashfall Fossil Bed State Historic Park in Nebraska. They have some fascinating fossils, some of which include: camels, rhinoceroses and zebras among other types of creatures that once walked the earth in that area. Obviously, those creatures do not exist today in that part of the world, so how did they get there? I think our Father already gave us that answer.
Jeremiah 4:25
25 “I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.“
Our Father just documented for us that He destroyed everything upon the earth, every man and bird. This documents without a doubt this event was not Noah’s flood, but the destruction of The World That Was. We know for a fact Noah, his family and all of the creatures aboard the ark survived. This scripture is also our second witness to 2 Peter 3. Additionally, if you recall from Genesis 6, Noah sent out a dove which returned to him with an olive branch. It would not be possible for an olive tree to grow in just 150 days, further documenting this scripture is not a reference to Noah’s flood.
I want to make it extremely clear we have two distinctly different floods in the Bible. The flood in The World That Was that killed every man, animal and plant as Jeremiah 4:25-26documents. While the flood of Noah’s time spared his family, the animals aboard the ark, the olive tree and the world itself which still exists because you and I are here today.
Jeremiah 4:26
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.”
The world was a fruitful place, but it “became” a desolate wilderness and yes, there were even cities in The World That Was, which were destroyed by our Father due to the rebellion of Satan.
In closing, we need to understand the earth is not merely six-thousand years old, but eons in age. We should understand it was man who was created approximately eight-thousand years ago, not the earth (sixth day creation to Christ equals approximately six-thousand years, Christ to present day equals approximately two-thousand years). We should understand there was an entire earth age before the one we presently live in.
The only way we can ever hope to come to these conclusions is by studying God’s Word with understanding and much prayer. Only by accomplishing this can we hope to shed our Father’s light on all the misconceptions and misunderstandings that we have been taught since we were a child.
The next time someone questions your Christian beliefs by stating you think the age of the earth is only six-thousand years old, you can explain and show them, the world is of old and God declares it!
http://worldeventsandthebible.com/2009/11/world-that-then-was-first-earth-age.html
