Created and FORMED
Well folks how about that apparently I made a mistake:
Since I recently posted a short study on men BEFORE Genesis 1:1 I have received many responses that I was correct except that the catastrophe which caused the world to become void and without form happened between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2 and upon careful consideration they are right and I was wrong. This study will include what I previously posted with some additional information. I am laying a ground work for you to do your own study to see if my surmise is correct or not.
While I really don’t thing so, as I really think the verses quoted are for the time period prior to Genesis 1:1, however, for the sake of those who cannot accept that yet, let us continue on with the study on the presumption that the catastrophe did happen between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2.
Since the publication of “The Crumbling Wall of Untempered Mortar,” by Howard B. Rand several years ago there have been objection from professional men and men of science, to his statement that the first chapter of Genesis outlines the whole panoramic sweep of creation, including the creation of man, and that the second chapter outlines the detail by which man was FORMED of the dust of the ground. The objection bases its contention upon the idea that Adam was “FORMED,” not “CREATED,” and that there is a distinction between the CREATED race and those who are the posterity of the man who was FORMED from the dust of the ground.
Now the controversy that has been going on as the coexistence of a pre-Adamic race with that of the Adamic peoples. We also recognize the fact that there is considerable evidence to show that the earth was inhabited by a race of people prior to the Adamic era. Psalms, Ecclesiastes, Jeremiah, Isaiah refer briefly to the existence of such a race, but they state that as a result of the earth becoming void and without form, it was completely destroyed off the face of the earth.
This destruction of an ancient civilization or civilizations in a great catastrophe, making the earth uninhabitable, was interjected by Jeremiah as a simile in relation to what was about to take place in Palestine, for the Lord said that every city would be forsaken and not a man would dwell therein. Nevertheless, the Prophet referred to an actual event that took place in ancient times, which we recognize as fulfilling the conditions outlined in Genesis 1:2. Prior to that catastrophe the earth was not in a state of confusion.
Men have theorized for years about the possibility of the coexistence of another race of human beings upon the earth during the time of Adam, but it is only speculative and without foundation in fact. Yet this is not a true statement for we have proof positive that there were people in existence before and in coexistence with Adam in the Garden of Eden in Ezekiel 31.
People In the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve:
Please turn with us to the book of Ezekiel; to chapter 31 where we read:
1). "And it came to pass...that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2). Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude; Whom art thou like in thy greatness?
3). Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar (A TREE) in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs.
4). The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her little rivers unto all the trees (PEOPLE) of the field.
5). Therefore his (THE ASSYRIAN) height was exalted above all the trees (TALLER THAN THE OTHER PEOPLE) of the field, and his boughs were multiplied (HAD MANY CHILDREN), and his branches became long because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth.
6). All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations (countries).
7), Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches; for his foot was by great waters. (NOW WE CHANGE AND GO TO THE GARDEN OF EDEN)
8). The cedars (PEOPLE) in the GARDEN OF GOD could not hide him: the fir trees (people) were not like his boughs (SEE THE COMPARISON, THUS WE KNOW THAT THERE WERE OTHER PEOPLE THERE TO COMPARE WITH HIM), and the chestnut trees (their children ‑ or people) were not like his branches (HIS CHILDREN ‑ OR PEOPLE); NOR ANY TREE IN THE GARDEN OF GOD was like unto him in his beauty (SEE WE KNOW THE TREES IN THE GARDEN WERE PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT LIKE THE ASSYRIAN IN BEAUTY ‑ BECAUSE THEY WERE OF A DIFFERENT COLOR, THEY WERE NOT WHITE. THAT IS NOT RACIST IT IS SIMPLY A FACT, EVEN IF YOU DON’T LIKE IT. FOR GOD HAS NEVER CARED WHAT WE LIKE OR DON’T LIKE WHEN HE SPEAKS, WE EITHER ACCEPT IT OR REJECT IT TO OUR HURT).
9). I have made him fair (WHITE) by the multitude of his branches (CHILDREN): so that ALL THE TREES (PEOPLE) OF EDEN THAT WERE IN THE GARDEN OF GOD, ENVIED HIM (TREES CANNOT ENVY EACH OTHER, ONLY PEOPLE CAN DO THAT).
10). Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because thou hast lifted up thyself in height, and he hath shot up his top among the thick boughs, and his heart (TREES DO NOT HAVE HEARTS) lifted up in his height;
11), I have therefore delivered him (NOW GOD IS SPEAKING OF ADAM) into the hand of the mighty one of the heathen: he shall surely deal with him: I have driven him out (DRIVEN ADAM OUT OF THE GARDEN OF EDEN, BECAUSE OF HIS DISOBEDIENCE TO ALMIGHTY GOD) for his wickedness.
12). And strangers (PEOPLE OF OTHER RACES), the terrible of the nations, have cut him off and have left him: upon the mountains and in all the valleys his branches (SEE HE IS AGAIN COMPARING HIM WITH A TREE) are fallen by all the rivers of the land; and all the people of the earth are gone down from his shadow, and have left him (HERE IS WERE THE DEPARTING OF THE VARIOUS RACES LEFT THE GARDEN OF GOD ‑ THE GARDEN OF EDEN AND WERE SCATTERED ALL ACROSS THE EARTH, AWAY FROM ADAM AND HIS PEOPLE. THUS GOD SEGREGATED THE RACES FROM EACH OTHER, SO THEY COULD NOT MIX; WHICH IS AGAINST GOD’S LAW OF KIND AFTER KIND).
13). Upon his ruin shall all the fowls of the heaven remain, and all the beasts of the field shall be upon his branches (HERE GOD IS SAYING THAT ADAM’S CHILDREN WOULD ALWAYS BE ATTRACTED TO THE BLACK RACE ‑ THE BEAST OF THE EARTH);
14). To the end that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves for their height, neither shoot up their top among the thick boughs, neither their trees stand up in their height, all that drink water: for they are all delivered unto death (ALL MANKIND WILL DIE BECAUSE OF ADAM’S SIN), to the nether parts of the earth (IN OTHER WORDS ALL PEOPLE EVERYWHERE, NO MATTER WHAT RACE WOULD DIE IN THEIR TIME), in the midst of the children of men, with them that go down to the pit (grave).
15). Thus saith the Lord God; In the day when he (ADAM) went down to the grave (PIT) I caused a mourning: I covered the deep for him, and I restrained the floods thereof, and the great waters were stayed: and I caused Lebanon to mourn for him, and all the trees (PEOPLE) of the field fainted (HERE AGAIN TREES DO NOT FAINT, ONLY PEOPLE DO THAT) for him.
16). I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall (WHEN ADAM FELL ALL THE VARIOUS RACES AND NATIONS ON EARTH KNEW OF HIS FALL AND SHOOK WITH FEAR AND SADNESS), when I cast him down to hell (THE GRAVE) with them that descend into the pit; and all the trees of Eden (PEOPLE), the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted (HERE AGAIN TREES CANNOT BE COMFORTED) in the neither parts of the earth.
17). They also went down into hell (THE GRAVE) with him unto them that be slain with the sword (IN OTHER WORDS EVERYONE WILL DIE AND GO TO THE GRAVE); and they that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen (Here we are told that the trees of the Garden were people of other races, other than Adam who was a White Man, like it or not, love it or not).
18). To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees (PEOPLE) of Eden? yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees (PEOPLE) of Eden unto the nether parts of the earth; thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword. (NOW GOD GOES BACK TO PHARAOH WHOM HE IS COMPARING ADAM AND THE ASSYRIANS WITH) This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord God." (Ezekiel 31)
Evidence of man’s existence upon earth antedating the time of the creation of Adam can readily be traced to the existence of the race of people prior to the great catastrophe described in Genesis 1:2. It is possible that through the misuse of power, perhaps atomic energy, that civilization perished and the earth itself became uninhabitable. (See “The Release of Atomic Energy,” Documentary Studies, Vol. II, p. 222, by Howard B. Rand)
There is no real controversy between true science and the Bible as to the age of the earth or as to the length of man’s existence upon this globe of ours. Between the first and second verses of the first chapter of Genesis there may be eons of years, thus leaving a sufficient number of blank pages upon which science may write its records of antiquity. However, following the conditions described in the second verse of this chapter, it became necessary for God to restore this part of His creation to its original state of perfection.
Discussing the account of creation, it was stated in “The Crumbling Wall of Untempered Mortar:”
“The first chapter of Genesis is a panoramic description of the majestic order of creation. Yahweh, the Creator, brought into being the heavens and the earth and brought fort upon earth its vegetation, animal and human life. This chapter is complete in itself as to the whole process of creation, ending with the creation of man, male and female, assigning them the food they should eat.”
Adam is referred to by Paul in the New Testament as the first man:
“And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul.” (1 Corinthians 15:45)
Ferrar Fenton translates it this way:
“For so it is written, The first man (Adam) was a living nature.”
James Moffatt renders it this way:
“The first man, Adam, became an animate being, the last Adam a life-giving Spirit, but the animate, not the spiritual, come first, and only then the spiritual.”
We would do well to pause here and read Ferrar Fenton’s translation of the forming of man as given in the second chapter of Genesis:
“The Ever-Living God afterwards FORMED Man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the life of animals; But Man became a life-containing soul.”
Paul’s declaration that Adam was the first man insofar as the present order of the ages is concerned is substantiated by Esdras in his summation:
“Adam also, whom that madest lord of all thy creatures; of him come we all, and THE PEOPLE ALSO WHOM THOU HAS CHOSEN. All this have I spoken before thee, O Lord, because thou madest the wold for our sakes. As for the other people, which also come of Adam, thou hast said that they are nothing...And now, O Lord, behold these heathen, which have ever been reputed as nothing, have begun to be lords over us, and to devour us.” (2 Esdras 6:54-57)
There is no evidence whatever in the Bible to disprove Paul’s reference in the New Testament to Adam as the first man insofar as the present order of the ages is concerned. But Paul does not stop there, he goes on to deny the obvious and presents the idea of other human beings coexisting with Adam does violence to the Scriptures, destroying the meaning of Paul’s writings concerning the necessity for the atonement of Christ to save men’s souls.
Paul explains:
“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” (Romans 5:12)
From that premise Paul reasons to the ultimate conclusion made possible by God’s mercy:
“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:22)
This is patently untrue, and I believe Paul knew it at the time he was writing this; but was presenting a false belief that Christ came for all men, which He obviously did not do. For we are told twice:
“But go rather TO THE LOST SHEEP OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL.” (Matthew 10:6)
“But he answered and said, I AM NOT SENT BUT UNTO THE LOST SHEEP OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL.” (Matthew 15:24)
There is nothing here that even remotely suggests that Christ came to all humans, but that He came only to the Israelites of the Lost Sheep of the House of Israel. Therefore, there is only one explanation Paul is a liar and is teaching false doctrine here in these verses.
Now many of you who worship Paul as some sort of “Christ” or special apostle can just jump up and down, stand on your head and scream at the moon, sun and stars but Paul in this instance is a liar the scriptures prove it.
In the second chapter of Genesis, instead of stating that man was CREATED, we are told:
“And the Lord God FORMED man of the dust of the ground, and BREATHED INTO HIS NOSTRILS THE BREATH OF LIFE; and man became a living soul.” (Genesis 2:7)
Stress is laid upon the fact that there is a distinction between “CREATED” and “form” and we agree that the primary definitions of these two words must be considered. However, the theory that such a distinction indicates two different acts of bringing man into existence is an unwarranted assumption. All Bible students are handicapped, it is true by the fact that the explanatory statements in Genesis concerning this subject are all too brief and it is impossible to supply the meaning of all the factors that contributed to making up the record as we now have it.
Perhaps if we had access to the origi8nal sources from which Moses secured his information, we would have a better understanding of the whole creative process and could once and for all time settle the issues arising out of the sketchy information available.
However, there is one thing that we must repeat before going further and that is “the Lord God...BREATHED INTO HIS NOSTRILS THE BREATH OF LIFE (God’s Spirit).” This He did not do for any other creation of mankind. Only the Adamite race has the Spirit of God within them, no others can claim that distinction.
Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. I, Chapter XXXVI:
“Since the Son of God is always one and the same, He gives to those who believe on Him a well of water (springing up) to eternal live, but He causes the unfruitful fig-tree immediately to dry up; and n the days of Noah He justly brought on the deluge for the purpose of extinguishing THAT MOST INFAMOUS RACE OF MEN THEN EXISTENT, who could not bring forth fruit to God, since the angels that sinned had commingles with them, and (acted as He did) in order that He might put a check upon the sins of these men, but (that at the same time) He might preserve the archetype, the formation of Adam. And it was He who rained fire and brimstone from heaven, in the days of Lot, upon Sodom and Gomorrah, ‘an example of the righteous judgment of God,’ that all may know ‘that ever tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be cut down, and cast into the fire.’”
The Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. VIII, section IV, The Testament of Judah Concerning Fortitude and Love of Money, and Fornication:
“And after these things shall Abraham and Isaac and Jacob arise unto life, and I (Judah) and my brethren will be chiefs, even your sceptre in Israel: Levi first, I the second, Joseph third, Benjamin fourth, Simeon fifth, Issachar sixth, and so all in order. And the Lord blessed Levi; the Angel of the Presence, me; the powers of glory, Simeon; the heaven, Reuben; the earth, Issachar; the sea, Zebulun; the mountains, Joseph; the tabernacle, Benjamin; the lights of heaven, Dan; the fatness of earth, Naphtali; the sin, Gad; the olive, Asher; and there shall be one people of the Lord, and one tongue; and there shall no more be a spirit of deceit of Beliar, for he shall be cast into the fire for ever.”
This is simply amazing, for with this last quotation, we have one of the Ante-Nicene Fathers quoting from the Testament of Judah. We are told by many that these lost books were never “canonized,” and therefore we should pay no attention to them. Oh, I am sure there are a minor few “lost books” we should be careful with that cannot be trusted.
Some in Identity don’t like the “lost books” because they teach and prove Two Seedine, like Testament of Judah speaking of “Belair” in the passage above. Some of these same anti-seediners, through, quote from the same Ante-Nicene Fathers, and yet, on the other hand, claim we shouldn’t quote from the same books that the Ante-Nicene Fathers cite.
Talk about a false-hearted, doble-dealing, double standard, it can’t get any more two-faced than that. They continue to expand their bizarre allegation that the doctrine of the Two Seedine can be found in the “Jew’s” Talmud, and try to insinuate that anything found from that source should be discredited. Amazingly, the Torah and the ret of the Old Testament is the first volume of the Talmud. If we follow and accept their perverted line-of-reasoning, we would have to throw away the entire Old Testament from our Bibles.
Many of y9u have been following such deceitful, double-dealing false-teachers, it si well past time to question every thing they promote. START DOING IT YESTERDAY. Why don’t you write or call them and ask them abut the entire Old Testament being the Talmud! We would like to hear some of their double-talk trying to explain that one. And if they don’t respond to your question, you will become keenly aware that they don’t have an answer. As any good legal representative might advise you, “put their feet to the fire.”
Were the Non-White Races CREATED?
“And of all the fowls that are CREATED thou hast named thee
one dove: and of all the cattle that are made thou hast provided.” (2 Esdras 5:26)
thee one sheep.” (2 Esdras 5:26)
Many years ago, when we used to be under the influence of the fundamental churches, we believed that the Almighty CREATED everything, and that Satan could CREATE nothing. We still hold to that belief to some extent, What we didn’t realize back then is the established fact that Satan has the ability to corrupt that which Yahweh has already CREATED.
It’s happening today, and it’s called “genetic engineering.” If you haven’t been following what they have been doing in that field, you need to catch-up on the latest. They are now injecting oyster DNA (an unclean crustacean) into corn, and human DNA into swine. Thus, if you’re eating pork, you’re committing a form of cannibalism. This only part of the story. Our point is, if the satanic forces of today an engineer genetics now, there is no reason they couldn’t have done it from the very beginning.
There has been a theory floating around Identity circles for years that the non-white races were CREATED on the sixth day in the Genesis story, and that Adam was FORMED on the eighth day. The Bible only records seven “days” of creation, and they could not have been 24 hour days, as the sun wasn’t CREATED until the fourth day. (
Genesis 1:16-19) No place do can it be found an eighth day of creation mentioned. After learning the Identity Truth, and read all the various opinions on the matter.
A few years ago, while watching television, there happened to be a presentation of some black beating out their jungle music, and the lighting was such to cast their shadows on a wall in back of them. The shadow of one of the women was exactly like a small gorilla. That left the enduring impression that one could not forget.
Then, later on June 26, 2002, there was a special news segment on the Fox News channel at 9:50 A.M., concerning a topic which they dubbed “Wonder Boy.” It was a segment about a boy from Kazakhstan in Russia, a region in central Asia, NE of the Caspian Sea, west of China. If you happened to catch that short portion of news, you can verify what is being related to you. “Wonder Boy” is an excellent exhibit of a throwback of certain men to the animal stage. In fact the doctor, which the commentator was interviewing, called people like him “monkey men.” http://www.strangemag.com/monkeyman.html
Further, they used the term “genetic mutation” in describing him.
Asked if he would grow out of this condition, the doctor indicated the condition would “persist” throughout adulthood. He mentioned using hair laser treatment to get rid of the excessive amount of hair. The doctor also mentioned there were other examples like him in Mexico; citing a father and son in that category. The best description of “Wonder Boy” is that he appeared to be a cross between a Mongolian male and a chimpanzee ape, or possibly a capuchin monkey. Upon looking up pictures of monkeys, apes and gorillas in the Coller’s
encyclo0edia, the facial features of the blacks appear to favor that of the gorilla.
There have been stories circulating that some of the Japanese prisoners captured during World War II actually had spurs of tails.
When watching “Wonder Boy,” although is rear wasn’t exposed, the impression given was that he was a throwback to the original genetic engineering of Satan and his fallen angels. If you have read all of the above, then you will remember that the Anti-Nicene Fathers also understood that the fallen angels “commingled” and FORMED “THAT MOST INFAMOUS RACE.” When observing this about “Wonder Boy<; one cannot help but become convinced that the other races were ever CREATED, but are simply DNA genetic mutations. As a result of these observations it is very hard to subscribe to the sixth and eighth day creation story.
In the process of studying this subject from Scripture, we are sure that we can demonstrate that Adam was the only man that Yahweh ever CREATED (FORMED as it says in Genesis 2). We can show you only a small amount of our research in this short space. The sixth and eighth day creation advocates try to make a case that in Genesis 1 the word “creation” is used as opposed to the Lord. “FORMED” in chapter 2. By this they assert that Adam was “FORMED,”and not “CREATED.” But if one will, and this was pointed out by one of the people who comes into our room on Paltalk, go to Genesis 5:2, (Adam’s genealogy) it states that ADAM was CREATED thus:
“Male and female CREATED he them; and blessed them, AND CALLED THEIR NAME ADAM, in the day when THEY WERE CREATED. The word “create” in both Genesis 1:27 and 5:2 are the same Hebrew word #1254 in Strong’s. So their whole premise is faulty, as both Adam and Eve were indeed “CREATED.” Some go so far as claiming that Yahweh CREATED two White races (which I did before this study), which Scripture does not support.
Some will try to assert that because Genesis 1:26-27 the Hebrew article is used (the Adam). Also, both passages use the Strong’s #120, which is the word for Adam-man. The implication being that if Yahweh didn’t create the other races, He didn’t say, in their case, “everything after his kind, and...it was good.”
Probably one of the most absurd inferences, if Genesis 1:26 -27 is the record of the CREATION of the other races, is the commission (office) that Yahweh gave them in Genesis 1:28 which reads:
“And God BLESSED THEM, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and REPLENISH the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”
The other races, have never fulfilled such a task as this, and never will. If that is the true context of this passage, then the other races should “subdue”and “have dominion over” us. Well, surely, it isn’t because they aren’t trying to accomplish such a thing. Go back and reread Psalm 2:2-3 again if you don’t think so.
It is only common sense and logic, then, if the Almighty continually said to have nothing to do with the other races PERIOD, why did He “create” them and stick them with us? Or better stated, why did He “create” them that we might get stuck with them? There are two kinds of “beasts,” those who can talk, the two footed kind and the ones who cannot talk, and are four footed and dumb.
In the coming new order of the ages we shall know the while truth; meantime, in these matters we must walk by faith. Through inspiration, however, God is revealing to the faithful much that cannot be fully comprehended by the process of reasoning alone. It is also well to bear in mind that one of the great; if not the greatest, hindrances to an understanding of the Scriptures is to approach the investigation of the Bible with preconceived and absolutely fixed ideas. Such and attitude will immediately nullify the possibility of inspirational instruction, for the Spirit of the Lord will never labor to overcome such a barrier to faith.
It is of more than passing interest to note Isaiah’s reference to the fact that God DID NOT CREATE THE EARTH IN VAIN; that is, a waste. The Hebrew word here translated “vain” in Isaiah 45:18 is “tohu” and is the same word used in Genesis 1:2 in the phrase “without form.” We re tod here that the earth was NOT originally CREATED “without form and void” but that it came from God in a perfect state. The condition depicted in the second verse of the first chapter of Genesis came at a later time.
In order to better understand the factors involved in bringing the earth and its inhabitants into being, it is essential to recognize that the original process of creating began as a mental act, after which the formation became a process to bring into being the visualized mental pattern of creation, using physical means to give it form and substance.
Psalm 9:5‑7
5: Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever.
6: O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and THOU HAST DESTROYED CITIES; THEIR MEMORIAL IS PERISHED WITH THEM.
7: But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment.
Psalm 18:7‑15
7: Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.
8: There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
9: He bowed the heavens also, and came down: AND DARKNESS WAS UNDER HIS FEET.
10: And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.
11: He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
12: At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.
13: The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.
14: Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them.
15: THEN THE CHANNELS OF WATERS WERE SEEN, AND THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE WORLD WERE DISCOVERED AT THY REBUKE, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.
Psalm 104
1: Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty.
2: Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:
3: Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind:
4: Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:
5: WHO LAID THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE EARTH, THAT IT SHOULD NOT BE REMOVED FOR EVER.
6: THOU COVEREDST IT WITH THE DEEP AS WITH A GARMENT: THE WATERS STOOD ABOVE THE MOUNTAINS.
7: AT THY REBUKE THEY FLED; AT THE VOICE OF THY THUNDER THEY HASTED AWAY.
8: They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them.
9: THOU HAST SET A BOUND THAT THEY MAY NOT PASS OVER; THAT THEY TURN NOT AGAIN TO COVER THE EARTH.
Ecclesiastes 1:11
11: THERE IS NO REMEMBRANCE OF FORMER THINGS; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.
Isaiah 41:22
22: Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: LET THEM SHEW THE FORMER THINGS, WHAT THEY BE, THAT WE MAY CONSIDER THEM, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come.
Isaiah 43:9
9: Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: WHO AMONG THEM CAN DECLARE THIS, AND SHEW US FORMER THINGS? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth.
Isaiah 43:18‑19
18: REMEMBER YE NOT THE FORMER THINGS, NEITHER CONSIDER THE THINGS OF OLD.
19: Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert
Isaiah 46:9‑10
9: REMEMBER THE FORMER THINGS OF OLD: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,
10: Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.
Isaiah 48:3
3: I HAVE DECLARED THE FORMER THINGS FROM THE BEGINNING; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass.
Jeremiah 4:23‑28
23: I BEHELD THE EARTH, AND, LO, IT WAS WITHOUT FORM, AND VOID; AND THE HEAVENS, AND THEY HAD NO LIGHT.
24: I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.
25: I beheld, and, lo, THERE WAS NO MAN, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.
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.
27: For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.
28: For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.
CLOUD
(kloud) (`anan, `abh; nephele, nephos):
I). Clouds in Palestine.‑In the Bible few references axe found of particular clouds or of clouds in connection with the phenomena of the weather conditions. The weather in Palestine is more even and has less variety than that in other lands.
It is a long, narrow country with sea on the West and desert on the East. The wind coming from the West is always moist and brings clouds with it. If the temperature over the land is low enough the clouds will be condensed and rain will fall, but if the temperature is high, as in the five months of summer, there can be no rain even though clouds are seen. As a whole the winter is cloudy and the summer clear.
1). RAIN CLOUDS: In the autumn rain storms often arise suddenly from the sea, and what seems to be a mere haze, "as small as a man's hand," such as Gehazi saw (1 Kings 18:44) over the sea, within a few hours becomes the black storm cloud pouring down torrents of rain (1 Kings 18:45). Fog is almost unknown and there is very seldom an overcast, gloomy day. The west and southwest winds bring rain (Luke 12:54).
2). DISAGREEABLE CLOUDS: In the months of April, May and September a hot east wind sometimes rises from the desert and brings with it a cloud of dust which fills the air and penetrates everything.
In the summer afternoons, especially in the month of August, on the seacoast there is apt to blow up from the South a considerable number of low cirro‑stratus clouds which seem to fill the air with dampness, making more oppressive the dead heat of summer.
These are doubtless the detested "clouds without water" mentioned in Jude verse 12, and "heat by the shade of a cloud" (Isaiah 25:5).
II). Figurative Uses.‑The metaphoric and symbolic uses of clouds are many, and furnish some of the most powerful figures of Scripture.
1). YAHWEH’S PRESENCE AND GLORY: In the Old Testament, Yahweh's presence is made manifest and His glory shown forth in a cloud. The cloud is usually spoken of as bright and shining, and it could not be fathomed by man: "Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, so that no prayer can pass through" (Lamentations 3:44).
Yahweh Himself was present in the cloud (Exodus 19:9; 24:16; 34:5) and His glory filled the places where the cloud was (Exodus 16:10; 40:38; Numbers 10:34); "The cloud filled the house of Yahweh" (1 Kings 8:10). In the New Testament we often have "the Son of man coming on" or "with clouds" (Matthew 24:30; 26:64; Mark 13:26; 14:62; Luke 21:27) and received up by clouds (Acts 1:9).
The glory of the second coming is indicated in Rev 1:7 for "he cometh with the clouds" and "we that are alive...shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord" and dwell with Him (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
2). PILLAR OF CLOUD: The pillar of cloud was a symbol of God's guidance and presence to the children of Israel in their journeys to the promised land. The Lord appeared in a pillar of cloud and forsook them not (Nehemiah 9:19). They followed the guidance of this cloud (Exodus 40:36; Ps 78:14).
3). BOW IN CLOUD: The clouds are spoken of in the Old Testament as the symbol of God's presence and care over His people; and so the "bow in the cloud" (Genesis 9:13) is a sign of God's protection.
4. CLOUDS BLOT OUT: As the black cloud covers the sky and blots out the sun from sight, so Yahweh promises "to blot out the sins" of Israel (Isaiah 44:22); Egypt also shall be conquered, "As for her, a cloud shall cover her" (Ezekiel 30:18; compare Lamentations 2:1).
5. TRANSITORY: There is usually a wide difference in temperature between day and night in Palestine The days axe warm and clouds coming from the sea are often completely dissolved in the warm atmosphere over the land.
As the temperature falls, the moisture again condenses into dew and mist over the hills and valleys. As the sun rises the "morning cloud" (Hosea 6:4) is quickly dispelled and disappears entirely. Job compares the passing of his prosperity to the passing clouds (Job 30:15).
6). GOD’S OMNIPOTENCE AND MAN’S IGNORANCE: God "bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds" (Job 26:8) and the "clouds are the dust of his feet" (Nehemiah 1:3). Yahweh "commands the clouds that they rain no rain" (Isaiah 5:6), but as for man, "who can number the clouds?" (Job 38:37); "Can any understand the spreadings of the clouds?" (Job 36:29); "Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him who is perfect in knowledge?" (Job 37:16). See BALANCINGS. "He that regardeth the clouds shall not reap" (Ecclesiastes 11:4), for it is God who controls the clouds and man cannot fathom His wisdom. "Thick clouds are a covering to him" (Job 22:14).
7). VISIONS: Clouds are the central figure in many visions. Ezekiel beheld "a stormy wind .... out of the north, a great cloud" (Ezekiel 1:4), and John saw "a white cloud; and on the cloud one sitting" (Revolution 14:14). See also Daniel 7:13; Revelation 10:1; 11:12.
8). THE TERRIBLE AND UNPLEASANT: The cloud is also the symbol of the terrible and of destruction. The day of Yahweh's reckoning is called the "day of clouds" (Ezekiel 30:3) and a day of "clouds and thick darkness" (Zephaniah 1:15). The invader is expected to "come up as clouds" (Jeremiah 4:13).
Joel (Joel 2:2) foretells the coming of locusts as "a day of clouds and thick darkness" which is both literal and figurative. Misfortune and old age are compared to "the cloudy and dark day" (Ezekiel 34:12) and "the clouds returning after rain" (Ecclesiastes 12:2).
9). VARIOUS OTHER FIGURES: Clouds are used in connection with various other figures. Rapidity of motion, "these that fly as a cloud" (Isaiah 60:8). As swaddling clothes of the newborn earth (Job 38:9); indicating great height (Job 20:6) and figurative in Isa 14:14, "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds," portraying the self‑esteem of Babylon. "A morning without clouds" is the symbol of righteousness and justice (2 Samuel 23:4); partial knowledge and hidden glory (Leviticus 16:2; Acts 1:9; Revelation 1:7). (from International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Electronic Database Copyright (c)1996 by Biblesoft)
Perhaps the best illustration we can give is to refer to the method by which an inventor brings his ideas to completion. The inventor creates an image in his mind out of nothing and from that he intends to later form his invention through the process of building. The original creative process may consume little or much time according to the ability of the inventor and the subject matter under consideration. The process of building, however, always consumes time, for it may take days or even years to bring the pattern of his invention into being..
A genuine inventor will have CREATED in h is mind in every detail the machine or thing he expects to build. He will have a mental image of the complete machine, although as yet nothing has been FORMED. As far as he is concerned, that machine or thing exists, but until it takes shape through the process of manufacture, it does not appear in sight of others.
Esdras was contemplating all the wonders he had been shown and he spoke to the Lord of his mental distress:
“And I said, O Lord, thou spakest from the beginning of the creation even the first day, and saidst thus; Let heaven and earth be made; AND THY WORD WAS A PERFECT WORD.” (2 Esdras 6:38)
Thus, God’s word became the completed plan of the perfected work, much in the same way that a draftsman makes a plan or blueprint of the thing to be constructed. John, apparently, had this in mind when he wrote:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, AND THE WORD WAS GOD.” (John 1:1)
In a footnote on this passage Scofield shows in his commentary that the “Word,” or “Logos,” means a thought or concept and the expression or utterance of that thought.
When creation began to take form in accordance with the revealed blueprint made of the things to come, that though began to take physical form. There is much food for thought in the discourse which follows John’s opening statement in his Gospel quoted above. His concluding remark on this theme is, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” (John 1:14)
The infinite God cannot be confined within human time limits in either the process of creating or forming. However, it must be always remembered that He keeps the requirements of His own laws, for He is altogether just and righteous. In his impatience Esdras inquired as to why all things are not made to come to pass at once so that the promised blessings may be immediately revealed. In reply the Angel said:
“Did not the souls of the righteous ask question of these things in their chambers, saying, How long are we here? When cometh the fruit of the threshing time of our reward?” (2 Esdras 4:35)
The answer give Esdras was:
“Even when the number is fulfilled of them that are like unto you. For he hath weighed the world in the balance: and by measure hath he measured the times, and by number hath he numbered the seasons; and he shall not move nor stir them, until the said measure be fulfilled.” (2 Esdras 4:36-37)
Because Esdras was not wholly satisfied, he asked if the harvest time is not kept back because of the sins of those who dwell upon the earth. The Angel told him to go to a woman who has conceived and ask her if after nine months she can keep the birth any l9onger within her:
“Then said I, No, Lord, that can she not. And he said unto me, In the grave the chambers of souls are like the womb of a woman: For like as a woman that travileth maketh hast to escape the necessity of the travail: even so do these places haste to deliver those things that are committed unto them.” (2 Esdras 4:41-42)
It is interesting here to note the dictionary definitions of the word conceive:
“To from an idea of: also, to form a mental image; think, imagine. It also means to become pregnant (with); engender, originate.”
Conception is the faculty or power of conceiving or forming ideas and it also has reference to the impregnation of an ovum. Thus, in one definition, to conceive is a creative act which begins in the mind, commencing the process of formation, the latter requiring time. Esdras was troubled about the process of time involved, so he asked:
“Couldest thou not make those that have been made, and be now, and that are for to come, at once; that thou mightest show thy judgment the sooner?” (2 Esdras 5:43)
Then speaking to God once again Esdras relates:
“But they which be CREATED have defiled the name of him that
made them, and were unthankful unto him which prepared life for
them. And therefore is my judgment now at hand. These things have I not shewed unto all men, but unto thee, and a few like thee.” (2 Esdras 8:60-62)
The Prophet was then shown the impossibility of creating and instantaneously bring that creation into being. Significantly, he was again sent to a woman and instructed:
“Ask the womb of a woman, and say unto her, If thou beingesth forth children, why dost thou it not together, but one after another? Pray her therefore to bring forth ten children at once.” (2 Esdras 5:46_
Esdras recognized the impossibility of doing this and he was told that there is a time for all things:
“For like as a young child may not bring forth the things that belong to the aged, EVEN SO HAVE I DISPOSED THE WORLD WHICH I CREATED.” (2 Esdras 5:49)
This conversation between Esdras and the Angel, and the illustrations given in answer to the Prophet’s queries, clearly demonstrate that the creative act, or conception, is one thing and in itself may be confined to a period of very short duration. In contrast to the function of creating, however, is the process of forming, or bringing into being, of that which was conceived, for the period of gestation always involves the element of time. Insofar as the earth and its inhabitants are concerned, that time consumed centuries.
Let’s now examine other passages in the Scriptures bearing upon the creative processes. Through Isaiah the Prophet God has made an interesting statement regarding His creative work and the formation of that which He had CREATED.
“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.” (Isaiah 45:18)
The interesting use of the words CREATE and FORM in this verse should settle the question raised by their use in the first and second chapters of Genesis. A careful analysis of the use here yields some very interesting results. In Genesis 1:1 we are informed in one sweeping statement that God CREATED the heaven (single) and the earth. By Isaiah we are told that He FORMED the earth. It would have been incorrect to have referred to the earth as FORMED in Genesis 1:1, for the coming was yet future to the thought expressed in that verse. However, Isaiah could refer to the earth in that way because the creative act as it applied to the earth had by that time become a completed fact.
The Bible does not refer to the heavens as being FORMED in the sense that they are a finished creation. There are, however, instances where it is said that they are CREATED and MADE. The Psalmist addresses a paean of praise to the Lord, “To him that by wisdom made the heavens.” (Psalm 136:5) In God’s infinite wisdom the whole pattern of the heavens and the ultimate form they will take is made in the sense that it is a completed blueprint in His mind. But until His creative act concerning the whole heavens becomes a fully manifested reality, the final form of the heavens will not become visible.
Ferrar Fenton renders an interesting translation of Isaiah 45:18:
“Thus says the Lord who CREATED the Suns, The God Who FORMED Earth, and provided its laws, FORMED it not for a waste, but for men to reside, I am Ever-Living, and none but Myself.”
This reference to the creation of the suns, or stars, is interesting in the light of Ferrar Fenton’s translation of Genesis 1:1:
“By Periods God CREATED THAT WHICH PRODUCED THE SUNS; THEN THAT WHICH PRODUCED THE EARTH.”
Here again, by Ferrar Fenton’s unique choice of words, the idea of process requiring time is implied. Every astronomer knows that the great suns, or stars, are in the process of change. The stars and galaxies are moving away from each other at tremendous ferocities, while new formations are in the continuing process of coming into being. In this connection the editorial titled “A Vanishing Universe” in Destiny Magazine for April 1949 is of interest. It will not be until that is all completed and God’s heavenly creation reaches perfection that the pattern God made will be fulfilled. Only time will answer the question as to when this will be. Perhaps it will not be until after the following prophecy has been fulfilled that it will be possible to understand the form the heavens will finally assume:
“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.” (2 Peter 3:10)
Ferrar Fenton translates this:
“But the day of the Lord will approach like a thief, when the skies will pass away with a crash, and their constituents will be dissolved by heat.”
Moffatt renders it:
“The Day of the Lord will come like a thief, when the heavens will vanish with crackling roar, the stars will be set ablaze and melt.”
Smith and Goodspeed offer a different rendering:
“The Day of the Lord will come like a thief; on it the heavens will pass away with a roar, the heavenly bodies will burn up and be destroyed.”
The whole meaning of this passage will have to await the day of fulfillment to be entirely understood. However, it is clear that great and awe-inspiring events are on the agenda and scheduled to occur in the future as the creative process continue.
When God FORMED man He tells us the fashioning was of the dust of the ground, but we are not told from whence came the substance out of which the earth was FORMED. Was it “star dust” or the condensation of highly volatile gasses? We do not know, but if God had given us this information it would have settled questions which have stirred astronomers and scientists from time immemorial, about which they have adopted first one theory and then another as to how the earth came into being.
Perhaps if God had provided this information, it would have been too easy to believe in Him as the Creator of the heavens, the earth and man. Our loyalty to Him is to be based upon faith, no on the explanations of science.
We may therefore conclude that it is incorrect to say that God CREATED man of the dust of the ground. The creating process was His mental image by which He had made what was to be; then he FORMED man according to the pattern as expressed in Genesis 2:7. For God, whose thoughts are perfect, the creative act could be performed very quickly, while the resulting formation of the substance of that creation might require centuries for its completion. We do not even know the time involved in the FORMING of an from the dust of the ground. Not all of the facts are told; obviously they are purposely hidden from us.
Isaiah Informs us that the earth was established, indicating the placing of it in its permanent orbital course around the sun, as well as the completion of its formation, introducing vegetation, animal and human life upon the globe.