{"id":9103,"date":"2026-04-24T16:27:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T14:27:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advent-ug.org\/answers\/sushchestvovala-ly-zemlia-no-nedely-tvorenyia\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T23:23:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T21:23:00","slug":"sushchestvovala-ly-zemlia-do-nedely-tvorenyia-po-byblyy","status":"publish","type":"answers","link":"https:\/\/advent-ug.org\/en\/answers\/sushchestvovala-ly-zemlia-do-nedely-tvorenyia-po-byblyy\/","title":{"rendered":"Did the earth exist before the creation week according to the Bible?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Genesis 1:1\u20132 gives a specific answer: the earth existed before the six days of creation \u2014 but in a state of formlessness and emptiness.<\/b> God did not create each day out of absolute nothingness: He was ordering and filling what He had already created as a foundation<\/i>. This is an important theological and exegetical detail that helps us read the opening verses of the Bible correctly.<\/p>\n

What Genesis 1:1\u20132 says<\/h2>\n

\"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.\" Gen. 1:1\u20132<\/a><\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Two key points:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The earth already exists before the description of the six days<\/b> \u2014 verse 1 speaks of its creation, verse 2 describes its initial condition.<\/li>\n
  2. Its condition \u2014 \"without form, and void\"<\/b> (Heb. \"tohu va-bohu\") \u2014 unformed, unfilled. Not \"evil\" and not \"ruined\" \u2014 simply not yet ready for habitation.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The six days of creation are not six days of the appearance of matter, but six days of ordering and filling<\/b> the already created foundation.<\/p>\n

    Three days of \"forming\" and three days of \"filling\"<\/h2>\n

    During the first three days, God formed the \"realms\": He separated light from darkness, water from land, and water from the sky. During the next three days, He filled these realms: with lights, fish and birds, animals and people. This structure is parallel and symmetrical.<\/i><\/p>\n

    Does this mean that the earth is \"old\"?<\/h2>\n

    Genesis 1:1 does not give a date. It says: \"In the beginning.\" Between the initial act of creation (verse 1) and the first day of the six-day creation week (verse 3), Scripture does not establish a time interval \u2014 neither long nor short. Theologians who hold to a young earth usually view everything \u2014 from verse 1 to the end of the sixth day \u2014 as one single short event of creation.<\/p>\n

    Important: Scripture does not set verses 1 and 2 against the six days<\/b> \u2014 it presents them as a sequential description of one act of creation.<\/p>\n

    God is the Creator of order<\/h2>\n

    \"For He is not a God of disorder but of peace.\" 1 Cor. 14:33<\/a><\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    The picture of creation in Genesis is a picture of God bringing order into chaos. From \"without form, and void\" \u2014 beauty and fullness. From darkness \u2014 light. This is not only cosmology, but also a spiritual metaphor<\/i>: God is also able to bring order into the chaos of human life.<\/p>\n

    Practical meaning<\/h2>\n

    Understanding the earth's initial state reminds us:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • God does not require a perfect condition in order to begin creating. \"Without form, and void\" is a starting point, not an obstacle.<\/li>\n
    • The six days of ordering testify that God acts purposefully and step by step.<\/li>\n
    • The Sabbath after six days is a sign of completion and rest in God, not of weariness.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      The earth existed before the six days \u2014 but in a state from which God made a home for people. This is the power of the Creator: from the formless \u2014 beauty, from the empty \u2014 fullness.<\/b><\/p>","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"faq_question":"\u0421\u0443\u0449\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0432\u043e\u0432\u0430\u043b\u0430 \u043b\u0438 \u0437\u0435\u043c\u043b\u044f \u0434\u043e \u043d\u0435\u0434\u0435\u043b\u0438 \u0442\u0432\u043e\u0440\u0435\u043d\u0438\u044f \u043f\u043e \u0411\u0438\u0431\u043b\u0438\u0438?","bible_refs":"\u0411\u044b\u0442\u0438\u0435 1:1\u20132, \u0411\u044b\u0442\u0438\u0435 1:3\u201331, \u0411\u044b\u0442\u0438\u0435 2:1\u20133, \u0418\u0441\u0445\u043e\u0434 20:11, \u041e\u0442\u043a\u0440\u043e\u0432\u0435\u043d\u0438\u0435 4:11","answer_lang":"ru","source_question":"\u0421\u0443\u0449\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0432\u043e\u0432\u0430\u043b\u0430 \u043b\u0438 \u0437\u0435\u043c\u043b\u044f \u043d\u043e \u043d\u0435\u0434\u0435\u043b\u0438 \u0442\u0432\u043e\u0440\u0435\u043d\u0438\u044f?"},"answer_topic":[145],"class_list":["post-9103","answers","type-answers","status-publish","hentry","answer_topic-other"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/advent-ug.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/answers\/9103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/advent-ug.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/answers"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/advent-ug.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/answers"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/advent-ug.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"answer_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advent-ug.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/answer_topic?post=9103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}