This is a dedicated and challenging effort, undertaken by Go On Preaching blogger, to examine under the light of the Holy Scriptures if the, "Twisted Scriptures" interpretation as provided within the "Apologetic's Study Bible" by its Bible publishing team is 100 % Accurate or not?
Keeping the attitude, that the ancient Bereans in the Bible times did, in Acts 17: 10-11:
"And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews."
"These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so".
SO SIMILARLY WE ARE SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES TO UNTWIST THE TWISTED SCRIPTURES FOR BENEFIT OF ONE AND ALL:
Paragraph One from above Image:
The creation story has been interpreted in various ways. Some Christians believe a time gap exists between these verses, with verse 1 referring to God's initial creative act and verse 2 describing a world plunged into chaos and darkness, possibly through the expulsion of Satan from heaven. Only later in the chapter does God choose to create human beings (v. 27). According to this gap theory, millions of years could have passed between verses 1 and 2.
Paragraph Two from above Image.
Using similar logic, those followers of the New Age movement who believe in the existence of the lost continent of Atlantis place the rise and fall of the ancient civilization between verses 1-2. Edgar Cayce, known as the "sleeping prophet," taught that Atlantis existed 10 million years ago and was inhabited by spirit beings. After a cataclysmic destruction ("chaos and darkness"), the spirits of the inhabitants eventually took up residence in the bodies of Adam and Eve and the others who populated God's new creation (v. 27). Thus all earthlings originally resided in Atlantis.
Answer with reference to Paragraph One.
Genesis Chapter 1:2
And the earth 6 was without form 7, and void 8; and darkness 9 was upon the face of
the deep 10. And the Spirit of Elohim 11 moved 12 upon the face of the waters 13.
KEYWORDS
6. Earth See Keyword Nos 5
7. Without form & Void
The words “without form” and “void” are translations of the Hebrew words “tohu” and “bohu.” Tohu and bohu are often paired together in the Old Testament and portray a “place of chaos, formlessness, emptiness, a wasteland” (Brown-
Driver-Briggs Lexicon).
The second verse of Genesis introduces us to the condition of the earth at some point after the creation.
Most read this verse and assume that it describes the state of the earth as Elohim (God) originally created it in verse 1. This idea would have us believe that Elohim (God) created a world completely in darkness without any substance and order. The words “without form” and “void” are translations of the Hebrew words tohu and bohu. Tohu and bohu are often paired together in the Old Testament and portray a “place of chaos, formlessness, emptiness, a wasteland” (Brown-Driver-Briggs Lexicon).
8. Darkness
Darkness was created by Elohim Yahweh. “I form the light, and create darkness. I make peace, and create calamity. I am Yahweh, who does all these things.” Isaiah 45:7 World English Bible
Elohim divided the light and the darkness, day and night. He said the light was good but never said the darkness was good.
Majority of Scriptures give negative connotations to darkness. It is always described as bad.
In the Bible there are around 100 scriptures speaking about
darkness and almost all of them connect darkness with Satan and his demons.
Please read deeper article on topic of darkness. (Swimming in deep waters of the truth.)
Few examples are: Acts 26:18 ESV: “To open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to Elohim (God), that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”
11 Colossians 1:13 ESV
“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son”
Ephesians 5:11 ESV
“Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.”
9. Face of the Deep
Tehom (Hebrew: וםֹהְּת ,(literally the Deep or Abyss (Greek Septuagint: ábyssos), refers to the Great Deep of the primordial waters of creation in the Bible.
10. Spirit of Elohim
The "Spirit of Elohim (God)" or “Spirit of Elohim” hovering over the waters (Genesis 1:2) comes from the Hebrew phrase Ruach Elohim, which has means as a "great wind". ... Rûach (ִַׁוחּר (has the meanings of, "wind, spirit, breath,”.
11. Moved
Claude Westermann in his commentary on Genesis said that the Hebrew word meraḥephet is the key for translating Genesis 1:2. He said that if the word meraḥephet means “to hover” then the word rûaḥ should be translated “spirit.” If the word means “moving” or “vibrating,” then the word rûaḥ must be translated as “wind.”
12. Face of the Waters
Interesting to note, in the very first verse or right in the beginning of Elohim’s Creative activity, we find him recording in his Scriptures that he first created the Heavens, the Earth and the Waters.
We could see there were three things that were created: The Heavens, The Earth, and The Waters. And there was total darkness everywhere.
12 In Genesis 1:2 the Earth WAS or BECAME without form or void?
One word, “Was” creates lots of confusion among-st Biblical Scholars and Translators. Knowledge of Hebrew language and the nature of Elohim (God) gives clarity to this situation. Based on other scriptures, that Elohim (God) would not have created the earth and universe in this state because everything Elohim (God) creates is perfect and orderly.
The idea that Elohim (God) created the earth as the wasteland of darkness described in this verse contradicts Elohim’s (God)’s nature and character revealed elsewhere in the Bible. Deuteronomy 32:4 shows us that Elohim’s (God)’s “work is perfect.” In 1 Corinthians 14:33 Paul tells us that “Elohim (God) is not the author of confusion.” In 1 John 1:5 John reveals that “Elohim (God) is light and in Him is no darkness at all.”
The truth is that Genesis 1:1 and 1:2 represent two different periods of time that are separated by perhaps millions or billions of years. The key is the word translated “was” in our English Bibles. The word “was” is a translation of the Hebrew verb hayah. Hebrew lexicons point out that this word does not just denote the state of “being” at one moment in time, but can also describe a change (or progression) from one state of being or time period to another.
According to the Brown-Driver-Briggs Lexicon, hayah can be translated “to become” or “to come to pass.” The word is translated “became” or “become” 133 times in the Old Testament. (An example of hayah describing the transition from one state to another is Genesis 19:26 where Lot’s wife became—hayah—a pillar of salt.)
Taking all the evidence into account, the best translation of Genesis 1:2 seems to be “the earth became without form, and void.” The earth was not created in this state, but became like this in the intermediate time period between the original creation (verse 1) and the onset of the dark, desolate wasteland we read about in verse 2.
So what was the cause of this change in the state of the earth? Though Genesis 1 doesn’t describe it specifically, evidence from other parts of the Bible indicates that this was when the former archangel Lucifer led one-third of the angels in a war of rebellion against the government of Elohim (God) (Isaiah 14:12-14; Ezekiel 28:14-17; Luke 10:18; Revelation 12:4).
This was when Lucifer became Satan the devil and a group of angels became demons. Apparently, the war that ensued between these spirit beings left the universe “without form and void.”
