# 2 Six Days: God Said It – Genesis 1:1-2 7/12/2026

Introduction: What is your belief about Reveal Answer ? God or Chance? Creative act of God or evolutionary process over time? Finished in six days or a continuing process over billions of years?

How will you read Genesis 1? Reveal Answer or figurative? Historical or allegorical? Inspired or a manmade tale?

I personally believe that Genesis 1 provides us with the most Reveal Answer answer to the questions of origin – the origin of God, the heavens, the earth, and everything else we may have questions about. Genesis 1 answers the most basic question: Where did we come from? Why are we here? What is our purpose?

In this second chapter I want us to only consider Genesis 1:1-2. Two verses that I believe provide us with unique insight to comprehending the idea of CREATION. In these verses we have our beginning, God, the creative act, earth, and the Holy Spirit. Five points that will set us on the right path for understanding the origin of everything. These two verses answer the questions we have about life.

Are you ready to receive God’s truth? Here we go…

1. We have the Reveal Answer (a Starting Point) – 1:1

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth"

It is believed that Genesis was compiled around Reveal Answer BC and that Moses was the author. It is also believed that oral stories of creation circulated long before being written down, stretching back to 2000-1800 BC or earlier in the patriarchal period (the time of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jospeh).

I have read that there was creation accounts shared in various cultures that predate the creation account provided for us in Genesis 1, but when you read the ancient account about creation they very much parallel the Genesis 1 record. What I think happened is that the account of creation was passed down from generation to generation through time, and like the game telegraph things were dropped and things were added.

Here is my point: The Reveal Answer must be our starting point. Why? Because it is God’s starting point!

What do we discover here in verse 1?

Dr. Henry Morris and others in the creation-apologetics tradition teaches that in this single sentence we have the fundamental components that make up the physical universe. The idea is that everything science studies in the natural world falls into these categories, and all of them appear right here in the opening verse:

1. Reveal Answer — "In the beginning" The phrase establishes a beginning point, the start of temporal sequence. Time itself has an origin.
2. Reveal Answer / the Cause — "God" The acting agent, the uncaused First Cause behind everything that follows. Nothing made itself; there is a Creator who initiates.
3. Reveal Answer / Energy — "created" The verb (bara) names the creative act — the work, power, or energy by which everything comes into being.
4. Reveal Answer — "the heaven(s) and" The dimensional realm, the expanse in which everything exists.
5. Reveal Answer — "the earth." The physical substance, the material stuff of the universe.

Genesis 1:1 answer the question about the origin of the universe and everything in it (including us). When someone asks, “Where did ________ come from?” Our answer is Genesis 1:1. It is the starting point for everything!

Dr. David Jeremiah writes, “Genesis 1:1 is the Reveal Answer sentence summarizing the entire chapter.” (DJSB)

Genesis is not the only Scripture that supports God as the creator of the heavens and the earth. For instance, we read in:

• Job 38:4 – 4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.
• Isaiah 45:18 - 18 For thus says the Lord, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: “I am the Lord, and there is no other.
• Hebrews 11:3 - 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

So, then, Genesis 1:1 is our starting point because it is God’s starting point for mankind – for the origin of all things.

1. We have Reveal Answer (Elohim) – 1:1

We are not told where God came from. No, we are just introduced to God. We are simply told,

“God…”

If we want to make sense of life you must Reveal Answer with God. NOTHING in this world makes sense outside of God.

The Hebrew word for God is “ Reveal Answer .” This name for God is used 31 times in Genesis 1. It’s the divine name of God stressing His majesty and omnipotence. Cecil Sherman says that this name speaks of “strength and power.” It is a Plural word. It speaks to us of the Trinity, a word not found in the Bible, but the concept of three-in-one clearly is (Genesis 1:26). We often refer to the Trinity as the Godhead – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Warren Wiersbe writes, “In Scripture, creation is attributed to the Reveal Answer (Acts 4:24) and to the Reveal Answer (John 1:1-3), and to the Reveal Answer Spirit (Psalm 104:30).

Here is something a lot of people don’t think about. The concept of God isn’t something strange to people. I mean look around the world – people by nature are religious. They worship everything they see, and even things that they cannot see.

Here is my short list of the many things people have and do worship unto this very day:

• Sun and Moon
• Stars & planets
• Sky
• Thunder and Rain
• Rivers and Mountains – the spirits of the mountains
• Mother Earth and nature (nature is my god)
• Animals – cows, snakes, eagles, cats, crocodiles, monkeys
• People – ancestor worship – spirits of the dead
• Images, idols, and statutes

Anthropologist (those who study mankind) teach that early civilizations were polytheistic and that they worshipped many Reveal Answer . However, that is not true. In the beginning “God created.” Early man knew that there was only one God. So, at creation Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel worshipped only one God. It was after the fall in Genesis 3 that people walked away from God and began to form other gods. So, originally man worshipped one God.

It has taken thousands of years for people to reach the point where mankind worships just about anything and everything as a god. Instead of worshipping the one true God, they deny Him and worship the creation and the creature (Romans 1:23). And even the atheist, who claims there is no god, ends up worshipping self.

Now, think with me of all the Reveal Answer of our world today. Here is the list that I gathered:

• Theism says there is at least one God who created and is involved in the world.
• Monotheism says there is only one God (Christianity, Judaism, Islam).
• Polytheism says there are many gods (ancient Greek, Roman, Norse religions).
• Pantheism says God is identical with everything — the universe itself is God (Spinoza, some forms of Hinduism).
• Panentheism says God contains the universe but also extends beyond it — the world is inside God but God is more than the world.
• Deism says God created the universe but does not intervene in it — He wound the clock and walked away.
• Atheism says there is no God or gods.
• Agnosticism says we cannot know whether God exists or not.
• Henotheism says one god is worshipped as supreme while acknowledging other gods may exist.
• Monolatry says many gods exist but only one deserves worship.
• Dualism says two equal and opposing divine forces govern reality — good and evil (Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism).
• Tritheism says the Trinity consists of three separate and distinct gods rather than one God in three persons.
• Unitarianism says God is strictly one person — rejecting the Trinity entirely.
• Animism says spiritual beings or souls inhabit all things — animals, plants, rivers, and objects.
• Shamanism says the spiritual world can be accessed and influenced by a spiritual intermediary (shaman).
• Totemism says a group of people shares a sacred relationship with a particular animal or natural object.
• Paganism says nature itself is sacred and worthy of reverence, often involving many deities.
• Naturalism says nature is all that exists — there is no supernatural reality of any kind.
• Materialism says only physical matter exists; there is no spiritual dimension at all.
• Humanism says humanity itself is the highest value — replacing God with human reason and dignity.
• Nihilism says nothing — including God, morality, or meaning — ultimately exists or matters.
• Existentialism says meaning is not given by God or nature but is created by individual human choice.
• Universalism says all people will ultimately be saved or reconciled to God regardless of belief.
• Pluralism says all religions are equally valid paths to the same ultimate divine reality.
• Syncretism says elements of different religions can and should be blended together into one system.
• Mysticism says direct personal union or experience of God is the highest form of religious knowledge.
• Gnosticism says secret spiritual knowledge (gnosis) is the path to salvation, and the material world was made by a lesser, flawed deity.
• Spiritism says the spirits of the dead can and do communicate with the living.
• New Age says divinity is within each person, reality is spiritual at its core, and humanity is evolving toward higher consciousness.

No wonder our world is in a Reveal Answer – all these isms bring nothing but confusion and chaos to the discussion and understanding of God and creation of the heavens and the earth.

Be aware that the natural man will accept them all, but the born-again man will accept only one – Monotheism. There is only one God, and the Bible points all mankind to Him. And He is the creator of all things.

I hope that we recognize that Genesis 1:1 refutes all the isms being espoused today throughout our land. There is but ONE God.

1. We have Reveal Answer – 1:1

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

This verse tells us that God created the heavens and the

earth. Everything was Reveal Answer into existence by God. Now, what will you do with this sentence? Will you accept it at face value, or will you try and come up with a fanciful way to add to the Scripture to appease your peers who have a secular evolutionary view of the world.

I believe that everything that we see in the heavens above and the earth beneath were created by God. The Hebrew word for created is “ Reveal Answer ”, and it means “to create”. This sets the word apart from ordinary making or crafting.

Genesis 1:1 tells us plainly that God brought all things into existence by His power. Theologians interpret bara as indicating God created without any Reveal Answer material. This is called, creation ex nihilo, or creation out of nothing.

Where did Reveal Answer come from? Genesis 1:1 answers that question. God is the originator of the heavens and the earth. Everything out there in the universe, and everything that is here on this planet was spoken into existence by God.

• Psalm 33:9 - 9 For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.

I often wonder why it is hard for people to accept the proposition that we have a Reveal Answer that created all things through the spoken word. I really like what we read in Hebrews 11:3,

“By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.”

Why is it that mankind always wants to put a Reveal Answer around God. Man wants to limited God’s power and authority. We need to be reminded of our origin. In Genesis 2:7, we read,

“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 being.”

Reveal Answer that dust has a very limited understanding of God.

1. We have Reveal Answer (Our Home) – 1:2

2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Here we have “The earth” that God created. However, we read that it was without Reveal Answer , and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep.

This verse presents an earth that is so unlike what we see today. Today as we look out over the earth we see:

• Blue sky above us
• Land under our feet
• Oceans and water sources
• Trees and plants of all kinds
• Insects and Animals
• Billions of people

But here in Genesis 1:2 we have a very different picture of earth. We are told three things about earth:

1. It was without Reveal Answer – When God created the heavens and the earth at the beginning, the earth was a sphere floating in space without any form. The earth had no shape or structure, and no content.

Don’t forget my analogy in the overview of the potter and the lump of clay.

1. It was Reveal Answer - The word “void” simply means that it wasn’t yet complete. God just God started.

A second analogy I would like to share with you is that of an artist working on a painting. One stroke of the artist brush doesn’t finish the entire painting.

The point is that NONE of Genesis 1:3-31 was painted yet!

1. It was Reveal Answer - There was also darkness on the face of the deep. So, it was an earth sphere of darkness in space. Spoken into existence, but without essence.

The earth was but wasn’t completed. Why was this do you supposed? Why didn’t God just speak everything at once? He could have done so.

The Theological Ideas Behind Genesis 1:1-2

Theologians argue about why God is presented in verse 1 as being the creator of the heavens and the earth, but the earth is presented in verse 2 as without form, void, and dark. Why is this? Modern theological teaching holds to three views concerning Genesis 1:1-2. Here is what each one of these camps teach:

1. Reveal Answer Fall Theory

This theory teaches that Satan, and his angels fell between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2, and this is the reason why the earth that God spoke into existence was without form, void, and darkness was on the face of the deep.

They speculate that God had to stop creating so that He could go and take care of Satan and the angels that fell with him (Isaiah 14:12-15 and Ezekiel 28:12-17).

Yes, there are some theological camps that teach that Satan’s rebellion happened here between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. They believe that perhaps millions, or billions of years elapsed while God was off dealing with Satan and his angels.

My Thought: If God can speak a world into existence in six days, why can’t He deal with Satan in a very short amount of time? Why would God take billion of years?

1. The Reveal Answer Theory

Closely related to the Satan’s fall theory is the Gap theory. There are those who believe that between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2 is a vast, undefined gap of time.

This theory was popularized by Thomas Chalmers in the early 1800s and later by C.I. Scofield in his famous reference Bible. Here are the actual notes in the Scofield Reference Bible:

(1:2) Jer. 4:23–26, Isa. 24:1 and 45:18, clearly indicate that the earth had undergone a cataclysmic change as the result of a divine judgment. The face of the earth bears everywhere the marks of such a catastrophe. There are not wanting intimations which connect it with a previous testing and fall of angels. See Ezek. 28:12–15 and Isa. 14:9–14, which certainly go beyond the kings of Tyre and Babylon.

Gap theorists argue the word “was” in verse 2 should be translated “became” – meaning the earth became formless as a result of judgment, rather than being originally created that way.

This is still how many Christians seem to make peace between the story of creation and the apparent age of the earth (according to science).

1. Reveal Answer Race Theory

There are some people who interpret Genesis 1:1-2 by saying that there was a pre-adamic race of people and animals before the creation of Genesis 1:3-31. They believe that these verses teach a post-judgment ruin.

They teach that creation number one was judged and destroyed, and then God started over with creation number two which included Adam and Eve.

Those are the three major theories that I have read about concerning Genesis 1:1-2. However, I believe what we have here in these two verses is the introduction of time, God, and creation. We have a world that God spoke into existence in verse 2 – it is a world prior to Him speaking into existence the rest of creation (1:3-31). This makes the most sense to me. Of course, I am not trying to rectify the apparent age of the earth with Scripture. No, I take it at face value – God created the heavens and the earth.

The Age of the Earth

How Reveal Answer is Earth? Is the earth older than 6,000 years? Could it be 10,000 years old? I mentioned briefly that Archbishop James Ussher has done a lot of study on the age of the earth. He puts the following date to creation: 4004 BC. He also places Noah’s flood around: 2348 BC. So then, if you take the date 4004 BC and subtract 2348 BC from it you have the time of the flood. The flood occurred 1,656 years after creation. In our overview I shared with you that I believe the earth to be 6,030 years old.

Question: Is it possible that the flood is the actual Reveal Answer of the apparent age of the earth?

The Power of a Flood

Have you seen the Reveal Answer of a flood? We have seen what rain for days can do in California when cliffs become waterlogged and homes crash down the side of the mountain. We saw a few years back in Washington state how an entire community was devastated when a mudslide happened. And those of us who remember Mount Saint Helen’s have seen the devastating effects of a volcano. Mud slides and rushing water. The landscape we knew was changed within hours (Show video).

The Grand Canyon

I have stood at the Grand Canyon and heard the Park Ranger say, “Over millions of years the Colorado River has carved this Canyon.” In other words, “A little bit of water over millions of years carved out the Grand Canyon.” I stood there and, in my mind, I thought: “A lot of water (Noah’s Flood) in a little bit of time carved out the Grand Canyon.” Now, which theory will you accept? The millions of years, or the catastrophic flood of Noah’s day?

1. We Have the Reveal Answer of God – 1:2

2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

What does it mean that the “Spirit of God” is hovering over the water. I like what Dr. David Jeremiah writes: “hovering” – it’s the same word used in Deuteronomy 32:11 for an eagle hovering protectively over its Reveal Answer . God isn’t distant from the chaos. He’s hovering over it like a protective parent ready to bring order, ready to bring light, ready to bring purpose.”

Genesis 1:1 – the Reveal Answer of creation. It’s all of God.

Genesis 1:2 – the Reveal Answer God made – without form, void (empty), and dark. In my mind, like a lump of grey clay, or a blank canvas of an artist.

Here is the good part – God is about to speak!

Conclusion: What does Genesis 1:1-2 mean to us today? Here is my answer to that question:

First, creation had a Reveal Answer point. There was the first tick on the clock of time.

Second, there is but Reveal Answer God. Not many gods, just one God. His name is Elohim. A plural noun, a hint to us about the Trinitarian understanding of God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Third, God created “Bara” something from Reveal Answer by the word of His power. He spoke things into existence – nothing became something (Psalm 33:6).

Fourth, what we Reveal Answer today is what God created – in the heavens and on the earth. I also might add even what you and I cannot see with the naked eye – God created that too.

Fifth, God is in verse 1, the Reveal Answer is in verse 2, and according to John 1:3, “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” So, then, Jesus, the Son was also here in Genesis 1:1-2.