“Blue Skies And Dirt”

Monday, December 10, 2012

I have a million questions, but let's start with Genesis 1:1.  What does "In the beginning" mean exactly?  God doesn't have a beginning or end, so whose beginning is it exactly?  Also, "God created the heavens and the earth": does ‘heavens’ mean like where we'll go someday, where God resides, the sky above us, or does it mean the universe?  ‘The earth’ I'm assuming refers to the planet Earth, or does it mean the ground on the planet Earth?  Thank you!

Sincerely,
Back To The Beginning

Dear Back To The Beginning,

“In the beginning” refers to our beginning, not God’s.  Gen 1:1 marks the beginning of mankind and this world’s existence.  You are absolutely right that God has no beginning or end (1 Tim 1:17).  But mankind had a beginning, and that is what is being discussed.

When the “heavens and earth” are discussed in Gen 1:1, those words refer to the first day of creation when the planet earth was created formless and void (Gen 1:2); the dry land on this planet wasn’t created until day three (Gen 1:9-13).  The heavens created at this time would be all the rest of the universe – but wouldn’t include the blue skies of Earth’s atmosphere (those were created on day two – Gen 1:6-8).  We hope that helps with your understanding of the wonderful account of how God created the universe.

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