In the beginning god created the Heavens and the Earth. There is nothing about creating the universe is there?

Question

So what does this mean? Was the universe already out there? Or was the author referring to the Heavens as the Universe? This seems to be a logical assumption. What do you think?

Thanks for all the great explanations of your beliefs. I wish I could thank all of you personally but I have ran out of email quotas for tonight so I hope some of you will peek back at my thanks.
Kisses Betty B.

Answer 1

Heavens meaning plural. This is taken to mean the universe.

Answer 2

Yes. You see the ancients could only understand that all the stars and planets could only be observed on a two dimensional fixed sphere and not in three dimensions. They also believed that all the celestial objects revolved around the Earth. The Earth was flat and the Earth was also the centre of the universe (Heavens). It was not until the 1600's when Galileo Galilee turned a telescope to night sky to make some remarkable discoveries. He could now prove theories that others before him had long suspected. However, the church felt that no one need know of these discoveries so held him under house arrest so he could not spread the truth.

Thus because of the Churches greed and need for power, science has been suppressed. We would indeed be far more advanced other that churches interference in matters they oppose.

Answer 3

The sun and moon and stars were added later in the narrative. It is certainly a procedure that would not have occured to human invention at the time.
Time. It was originally irrelevant, for the creation was in God's mind before it became our reality. What an odd thing to say, right? In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and the earth had no shape and was empty. What could this be other than an idea? In this idea was none of the concepts we have come to know. Another bold idea that would eventually point to a designer.
Energy...mass...the square of the speed of light....God said, "Let there be light", and so He spoke all things into existence. Albert was truly blessed by God with his understanding of our natural universe.

Answer 4

The writers of Genesis believed that the sky was the Heaven and that it was like a dome with water on the other side of it to make it look blue.
They thought all the stars and everything were stuck on the inside of the Heaven and God made the angels move them around so that we could tell what time it was.

They had a very different view of the cosmos than we do.

The plural usage of the word was much later when The Church was trying to explain the movements of the planets. To do that they invented the idea of the seven crystaline celestial spheres. In other words the seven heavens.

In Genesis 1 the word is singular and refers to the firmament of heaven as being a solid thing.

Answer 5

Heavens means all the realm outside of the earth that the eye can see above it, and beyond. Yes, it means the universe. Three heavens are mentioned in the bible.


The first is the atmosphere where the clouds are.....
Judges 5:4 -- "O LORD, when you went out from Seir, when you marched from the land of Edom, the earth shook, the heavens poured, the clouds poured down water.


The next is outer space and all that dwells in it outside of earth...
Jeremiah 8:2 -- They will be exposed to the sun and the moon and all the stars of the heavens which they have loved and served.


The third is God's abode....
Psalm 2:4 -- The One enthroned in heaven laughs; The LORD scoffs at them.

The universe, as you can see, is included in "heavens" in that verse.

Answer 6

Here is what it says:
1 In the beginning when God createda the heavens and the earth, 2the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from Godb swept over the face of the waters. 3Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. 4And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

Clearly, the understanding of "earth" may be more complex, but Heavens includes everything else including the other planets.

But it is MOST important to not that it was a process. By definition an omnipotent being would have just snapped his fingers like I dream of Jeannie, but the ancient israelites saw creation as a process of six dietic days. With us living in the day of rest...

Answer 7

You're right. Also, if you read the second verse closely you will notice that the earth also existed prior to the six days of creation. It says it was void and the surface was covered with water. It never says that when God created the heavens or the earth that it came from nothing.

Answer 8

Wisdom speaking;

Pro 8:22 The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.
Pro 8:23 I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.
Pro 8:24 When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.
Pro 8:25 Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth:
Pro 8:26 While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world.
Pro 8:27 When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth:

Answer 9

The Heavens are the universe

Answer 10

Oh Christian who are you tryin to fool - GALLELIO in 1633 found that it is not the sun that goes around the earth as how it was dictated in the bible but it is the earth that rotates around the sun - WHAT A GREAT SCIENTIST ,

He was therefore house arrest under ( life imprisoned ) for "heresy " over the Christian faith for publishing his findings and till his dead he remained such....house arrested.

THATS a picture about Christian faith - and its a pity that they cant do anything now - under herecy especially when scientist found DINOSAURS which never was told anywhere in the bible ( buutt , imagine this if only you knew about DINOSAURS 500 years ago U might have got burnt alive for herecy ) - thats christian faith