From the very beginning, Elohim had determined that humanity would be cognizant of the fact that He is faithful to perform that which He had declared. This is a fundamental principle demonstrated in the very act of creation: "And Elohim said…. And it was so…" YHVH declared in no uncertain terms that He "would watch over His word to perform it” (Jeremiah 1:12), and that He will accomplish and fulfill all that He has spoken by the mouths of all His holy prophets from of old (ref. Acts 3: 20). There is, therefore, an assurance and guarantee that His redemptive plan, backed up by His faithfulness, will find its total fulfillment in the fullness of the times and seasons.
The two contrasting spiritual realms which faced the waters (i.e. the Spirit of Elohim and the Darkness, respectively) had been separated from each other already in the first day. However, the waters had not as of yet been divided. Thus on the second day "… Elohim said, ‘Let there be a firmament (ra’kee’ah) in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters’"… “And Elohim called the firmament heaven (sha’mayim) (Genesis 1: 6, 8). Please note that He divided "waters from waters" and not "waters from earth" (also ref 2 Peter 3:5). Whether the term waters refers to the H2O kind, with its three different forms of consistency, or whether that term describes some kind of spiritual condition is not known. Never-the-less, YHVH decided to separate the waters that were faced by His Light and Spirit from the waters that were faced by the darkness, thus creating three distinct "heavens".
Interestingly, Elohim did not call the firmament "good" as it did not have eternal value. It would only be there to keep the two areas separated until the Creator’s redemptive plan would come to completion, and then as described by the Prophet Isaiah and the Apostle John, "All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falls off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree” (Isaiah 34:4); "And the heaven [firmament] departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places" (Revelation 6:14).
At this juncture in the creation process there are three separate and distinct spaces, or heavens: 1) an outer, or upper level, or third heaven (refer to 2 Corinthians 12:2), which is the dwelling place of the Most High and is the realm of Light; 2) a middle, or an in-between area called the firmament, or second heaven and 3) the lower level, or the deep that is still faced by that realm of spiritual darkness, which after the third day will be called earth with its atmosphere and natural bodies of water called "seas". If we could but step back and see how infinitesimally small this area of darkness actually is, compared to the massive universe of the second and third heavens, it would give us a different perspective on YHVH's supremacy over His creation.
On the third day of creation we see a very important aspect of YHVH's manifested Word: “And Elohim said, 'Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so'. And Elohim called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas, and Elohim saw that it was good" (Genesis 1:9, 10). The Creator took the waters that were under the firmament; the waters that were faced by the darkness and gathered and compressed them together to form the dry land or earth, and its seas. Interestingly, the Hebrew word used for the "gathering" of the waters is of the same root as the word for hope ("tikvah), intimating that there was "hope" embedded within this realm that was devoid of spiritual life and light.
The Maker chose this realm of spiritual darkness, and all that He would create within that sphere, to ultimately reveal Himself and His nature. Light cannot be seen in light, as an opposite medium (darkness) is needed in order to see it. If all natural light could be extinguished, nothing would be seen. But when light appears, it is reflected from all the things around. Thus, it is actually the different hues or colors, of the invisible rays of light that are seen reflecting from any object. In other words, paradoxically what we see is actually the unseen.
Here is how the Bible describes the above principle: “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of Elohim, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear” (Hebrews 11:3). “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal”
(2 Corinthians 4:18). “For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and divine nature; so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).
Before the third day was over Elohim created grass, herbs and fruit trees; each with its own distinct seed. Since there was no natural sunlight in the third day, without which plants cannot exist, the question arises, "What was the state of these plants?" This unmistakably leads to the conclusion that Elohim created the seed first, and sowed it into the ground.
Like any good farmer, YHVH knows what the mature plant will look like, in view of the fact that the seed contains within it the very likeness of its respective grass, herb, or tree. Although the seed is totally different from the plant, after it falls to the ground and is watered, it will grow to look like its progenitor. Genesis 2:5 makes an indication of this order or process: "And there was no shrub of the field yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprouted, for YHVH Elohim had not rained upon the earth, and there was no man there to serve the ground" (literal translation). Each plant or herb that springs up out of the ground starts its existence as a seed. We will take a closer look at the “seed principle”.
The two contrasting spiritual realms which faced the waters (i.e. the Spirit of Elohim and the Darkness, respectively) had been separated from each other already in the first day. However, the waters had not as of yet been divided. Thus on the second day "… Elohim said, ‘Let there be a firmament (ra’kee’ah) in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters’"… “And Elohim called the firmament heaven (sha’mayim) (Genesis 1: 6, 8). Please note that He divided "waters from waters" and not "waters from earth" (also ref 2 Peter 3:5). Whether the term waters refers to the H2O kind, with its three different forms of consistency, or whether that term describes some kind of spiritual condition is not known. Never-the-less, YHVH decided to separate the waters that were faced by His Light and Spirit from the waters that were faced by the darkness, thus creating three distinct "heavens".
Interestingly, Elohim did not call the firmament "good" as it did not have eternal value. It would only be there to keep the two areas separated until the Creator’s redemptive plan would come to completion, and then as described by the Prophet Isaiah and the Apostle John, "All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falls off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree” (Isaiah 34:4); "And the heaven [firmament] departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places" (Revelation 6:14).
At this juncture in the creation process there are three separate and distinct spaces, or heavens: 1) an outer, or upper level, or third heaven (refer to 2 Corinthians 12:2), which is the dwelling place of the Most High and is the realm of Light; 2) a middle, or an in-between area called the firmament, or second heaven and 3) the lower level, or the deep that is still faced by that realm of spiritual darkness, which after the third day will be called earth with its atmosphere and natural bodies of water called "seas". If we could but step back and see how infinitesimally small this area of darkness actually is, compared to the massive universe of the second and third heavens, it would give us a different perspective on YHVH's supremacy over His creation.
On the third day of creation we see a very important aspect of YHVH's manifested Word: “And Elohim said, 'Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so'. And Elohim called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas, and Elohim saw that it was good" (Genesis 1:9, 10). The Creator took the waters that were under the firmament; the waters that were faced by the darkness and gathered and compressed them together to form the dry land or earth, and its seas. Interestingly, the Hebrew word used for the "gathering" of the waters is of the same root as the word for hope ("tikvah), intimating that there was "hope" embedded within this realm that was devoid of spiritual life and light.
The Maker chose this realm of spiritual darkness, and all that He would create within that sphere, to ultimately reveal Himself and His nature. Light cannot be seen in light, as an opposite medium (darkness) is needed in order to see it. If all natural light could be extinguished, nothing would be seen. But when light appears, it is reflected from all the things around. Thus, it is actually the different hues or colors, of the invisible rays of light that are seen reflecting from any object. In other words, paradoxically what we see is actually the unseen.
Here is how the Bible describes the above principle: “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of Elohim, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear” (Hebrews 11:3). “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal”
(2 Corinthians 4:18). “For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and divine nature; so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).
Before the third day was over Elohim created grass, herbs and fruit trees; each with its own distinct seed. Since there was no natural sunlight in the third day, without which plants cannot exist, the question arises, "What was the state of these plants?" This unmistakably leads to the conclusion that Elohim created the seed first, and sowed it into the ground.
Like any good farmer, YHVH knows what the mature plant will look like, in view of the fact that the seed contains within it the very likeness of its respective grass, herb, or tree. Although the seed is totally different from the plant, after it falls to the ground and is watered, it will grow to look like its progenitor. Genesis 2:5 makes an indication of this order or process: "And there was no shrub of the field yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprouted, for YHVH Elohim had not rained upon the earth, and there was no man there to serve the ground" (literal translation). Each plant or herb that springs up out of the ground starts its existence as a seed. We will take a closer look at the “seed principle”.
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