Introduction

This study looks at several indicators which give biblical credibility to a world which existed before Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden.

The Earth With or Without Form?

Right at the beginning of the Bible in Genesis 1:2 the earth is without form:

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form (8414), and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

However, this directly contradicts Isaiah 45:18 which states:

Isaiah 45:18 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 (8414), Who formed it to be inhabited: “I am the Lord, and there is no other.

In the original language, the word for ‘without form’ in Genesis 1:2 and ‘in vain’ in Isaiah 45:18, is the same Hebrew word (Strong’s number 8414 meaning formlessness, confusion, unreality, emptiness)

So, straight away we have an indication that something has gone terribly wrong between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2 because God created the earth to be inhabited (with form Isaiah 45:18), but the earth in Genesis 1:2 has already become void and without form.

Another ‘Without Form’ in Jeremiah

Another verse in Jeremiah speaks of a strikingly similar judgement scenario:

Jeremiah 4:23-26 I beheld the earth, and indeed it was without form (8414), and void; and the heavens, they had no light. 24 I beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled, and all the hills moved back and forth. 25 I beheld, and indeed there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens had fled. 26 I beheld, and indeed the fruitful land was a wilderness, and all its cities were broken down at the presence of the Lord, by His fierce anger.

Why is There No Light in Genesis 1:2?

Surely this is because God had not said “Let there be light” yet?

Well, possibly but the Bible says that the angels were created before the foundation of the earth, and so at the very least, Lucifer’s light should have been present because Lucifer (as we’ll read in a moment) was a ‘shining one’. So, there should have been light at this stage.

So why after the creation of the foundations of the earth in Genesis 1:1 is there darkness upon the face of the deep in Genesis 1:2?

Remember, the Bible teaches that angels were present at the foundations of the earth and therefore angels must have been created before the foundation of the earth.

Job 38:4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. 7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

So, given that the spiritual realms and specifically angels were created before the earth was formed and were singing when the foundations of the earth were laid, where was the light for the angels to see the wonderful creation of the foundation of the earth (about which they were singing)?

Note that the Hebrew word order in Genesis 1:1 also supports this sequence of creation, because it mentions the creation of the ‘heavens’ before the ‘earth’. 

Satan Was Created a Light-Giving Being!

So, now we have established that the angelic realms (including Satan) were created before the earth we note that Satan (formerly known as ‘Lucifer’) was explicitly called the ‘shining one’ or ‘day star’ – son of the morning (or dawn). This is what the word ‘Lucifer’ means in the original Hebrew!

Isaiah 14:12 “How hast thou fallen from the heavens, O shining one, son of the dawn! Thou hast been cut down to earth, O weakener of nations!”

Or in another translation:

Isaiah 14:12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer (‘literally Day Star’), son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations!

Satan was also described as the ‘covering cherub’ in

Ezekiel 28:16 “… And I destroyed you, O covering cherub”

In Lucifer’s role as the covering cherub and as the ‘Day Star’ (son of the morning), Lucifer was shining brightly, providing light to the newly created earth at the moment the foundations of the earth were laid.

If that’s the case—and if angels were created first, followed by the laying of the earth’s foundations—then where was the light before Day 1, when God said, “Let there be light”?

Lucifer’s Light Went Out at Lucifer’s Fall

Let’s look at Lucifer’s fall because we see that his light went out. We read about this in the Book of Ezekiel when God turned him to ashes in the sight of all.

Ezekiel 28:18 “You defiled your sanctuaries by the multitude of your iniquities, By the iniquity of your trading; therefore, I brought fire from your midst; It devoured you, And I turned you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all who saw you.”

Did the resulting darkness of Satan’s fall cause the darkness we read about in Genesis 1:2? This would certainly solve the contradiction of the earth being created to be inhabited but being without form in Genesis 1:2.

In other words, the earth originally had form and light however, following the judgement of Satan’s fall, the earth was covered with water (waters often represent judgement in the Bible e.g., Noah’s Flood) and, therefore, was without form and darkness was upon the face of the deep.

Let’s read more about Lucifer in Ezekiel 28:

Ezekiel 28:12-19 “Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God:

<now the text describes Lucifer>

“You were the seal of perfection,

Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

13 You were in Eden, the garden of God;

Every precious stone was your covering:

The sardius, topaz, and diamond,

Beryl, onyx, and jasper,

Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold.

The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes

Was prepared for you on the day you were created.

14 “You were the anointed cherub who covers;

I established you;

You were on the holy mountain of God;

You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.

15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created,

Till iniquity was found in you.

16 “By the abundance of your trading

You became filled with violence within,

And you sinned;

Therefore I cast you as a profane (to treat something sacred with abuse, irreverence, or contempt, desecrate, to debase by a wrong, unworthy, or vulgar use) thing

Out of the mountain of God;

And I destroyed you, O covering cherub,

From the midst of the fiery stones.

17 “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty;

You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendour;

I cast you to the ground,

I laid you before kings,

That they might gaze at you.

18 “You defiled your sanctuaries

By the multitude of your iniquities,

By the iniquity of your trading;

Therefore I brought fire from your midst;

It devoured you,

And I turned you to ashes upon the earth

In the sight of all who saw you.

19 All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you;

You have become a horror,

And shall be no more forever.” ’ ”

‘Among the peoples’ possibly speaks of pre-Adamite humans.

Remember, through pride, Satan fell and took with him one third of all the angels.

Revelation 12:4 His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born.

Isaiah is prophesying against the King of Babylon and then reverts to Lucifer:

Isaiah 14: 12 “How you are fallen from heaven,

O Lucifer, son of the morning!

How you are cut down to the ground,

You who weakened the nations!

13 For you have said in your heart:

‘I will ascend into heaven,

I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;

I will also sit on the mount of the congregation

On the farthest sides of the north;

14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,

I will be like the Most High.’

15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol,

To the lowest depths of the Pit.

Why Was Satan Already Fallen In The Newly Created Perfection Of Eden?

Clearly, Satan was already in his fallen state when he appeared in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve—no longer shining, but instead taking the form of a serpent. We know Satan had already fallen because he actively deceived Eve and encouraged her to disobey God.

God had already told Adam in Genesis 2:17 that if he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he would die:

Genesis 2:17 “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Yet Satan contradicted this when he later spoke to Eve in Genesis 3:4:

Genesis 3:4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die”.

This lie—this deliberate deception—clearly indicates that Satan was already in his fallen state.

This raises an important question about the timing of Satan’s fall. In that regard, the pre-Adamite premise presents a compelling fit.

God’s Plan – Pulling the Pieces Together

So, if a pre-Adamite world existed in which Lucifer was the light and then Lucifer fell bringing about a terrible judgement not only upon himself but also the earth, how does this affect God’s biblical plan and purpose?

Well, one possible explanation is because of Lucifer’s fall from Lucifer’s privileged position of being the covering cherub, God wanted to show Satan up by creating from our current humanity a people ‘after his name’ (Acts 15:14) who would follow God not by the light of Satan but by faith.

2 Corinthians 5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.

Acts 15:14 Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name.

Faith comes by hearing the Word:

Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

This is possibly why the physical creation of the first seven days was spoken into existence: “God said….” and this also alludes to why Messiah was and is the Word.

Remember that God created human beings a little lower than angels and in relative darkness compared to the spiritual realms in the presence of God.

Psalms 8:5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honour.

It was this mystery of the church that God wanted to make known to the principalities and powers (Satan and the demonic realms of fallen angels)! This was God’s manifold wisdom hidden since the beginning of time.

Ephesians 3:8 To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to make all see what is the fellowship (dispensation) of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ (who is the WORD); 10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, 11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,

God’s Wisdom Hidden From the Beginning

So, God’s purpose and ‘hidden wisdom’ was that he would purchase a people for His name (through the sacrifice of His Son) and these people would live by faith, not by sight (namely the light of Satan) and this was His plan right from the very beginning:

1 Peter 1:20 He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world but was manifest in these last times for you.

Colossians 1:26 the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints.

2 Timothy 1:9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began (correctly translated: the time of the ages),

Everything that God set up in our known physical creation was geared towards the church of all believers (created and purchased by Messiah) and His sacrifice was known and planned for, by God, upfront!

God’s manifold wisdom was that this truth would be made known (Ephesians 3:10) to the fallen angels who had fallen before the beginning of this physical creation.

This was a ‘showing up’ of these fallen angels who, in the spiritual creation had had the privilege of being in God’s continual presence. These fallen spiritual beings were being ‘shown up’ by those in relative darkness in the church, who would have a spiritual walk based on faith not sight.

Light In Response to the Judgement of the Pre-Adamite World

So, now we get to Genesis 1:3! We see God’s response to the fall of the pre-Adamite world in the magnificent spoken proclamation of ‘Let there be light!’:

Genesis 1:3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So, the evening and the morning were the first day.

Now, of course the sun and the moon were not created until Day 4 of creation.

Genesis 1:16 Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. 17 God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 So the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

So, the light of Genesis 1:3 must relate to the time-space continuum (fabric) of the known physical universe which is locked to the constant of the speed of light. This solves the problem that the sun, moon and stars were not created until Day 4. It is also a very good fit with modern day physics of matter, gravity and ‘time’, locked in relationship by the constant speed of light.

This light was sourced from the Word of God and notably not sourced from Lucifer (the ex ‘day star’ son of the morning).

Man would now live by the ‘Word of God’ and not by the light of Lucifer!

Man would be required to live by faith and not by sight.

2 Corinthians 5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.

Other Possible Indicators of Pre-Adamite World

Listed here are several other biblical indicators which support a pre-Adamite world. Individually they are not conclusive, but together they add weight to the consideration of a pre-Adamite world.

The “Sea” of Revelation 20

The great white throne judgement (in Revelation 20) which takes place at the end of the Millennium Kingdom has a curious statement. The scripture states that the sea gives up its dead!

Revelation 20:13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.

Why does the sea have ‘dead’ as opposed to death and Hades? Surely people who die at sea go to death and Hades and are not kept separate in the ‘sea’.

This may be a veiled reference to the pre-Adamite judgement water of Genesis 1:2.

Are present day demons (unclean spirits – see Mark 5:2) the disembodied spirits of pre-Adamite humanity? Preposterous as this sounds, consider the episode of the man at Gadarenes (Mark 5) who was named ‘Legion’ as he had 2000 unclean spirits in him (Mark 5:13). It seems unlikely that these were ‘fallen angels’ (the traditional teaching on ‘demons’) as there were so many of them. We know that angels have a tangible spiritual body which can manifest physically (see Hebrew 13:2). 2000 fallen angels in one man appears extreme whereas 2000 unclean spirits (disembodied), is possibly more acceptable. This, of course, is highly speculative.

The Seven Days of Creation in Genesis Are For the Physical Creation Only

Day 1: Light

Day 2: Atmosphere and firmament

Day 3: Dry ground and plants

Day 4: Sun, moon and stars

Day 5: Birds and sea creatures

Day 6: Land animals and humans

Day 7: The Sabbath of rest

These seven days of creation are for the known physical universe as opposed to the spiritual and angelic realms. As such they are not a general act of creation because the spiritual realms are not included in the seven days! Rather, these seven days are a specific act of physical creation which speaks of purpose.

This fits well with the manifold wisdom of God counter pointing the behaviour of the spiritual realms.

Elohim Versus Jehovah

In Genesis 2:4 onwards, references to God (Elohim) become the Lord God (Jehovah Elohim):

Genesis 2:1-7 Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. 2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made. 4 This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, 5 before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; 6 but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground. 7 And the Lord God formed man [not woman!] of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

This change in the reference towards God has something to do with covenant and the 7000 Bible Years of physical creation, as it is the LORD God who makes covenant with man. Covenant establishes the basis of a relationship, conditions for that relationship, promises and conditions of the relationship and consequences if those conditions are unmet.

Man Created Before Vegetation?

At Genesis 2:5 it appears that man was created before the vegetation grew (which was created earlier on Day 3). Is this a second restoration of the earth – possibly indicating a prior earth state?

Women Created at Same Time Versus Eve Out of Adam

Back in Genesis 1:27, men and women appear to be created at the same time.

After Genesis 2:4, however, and in consideration of the LORD God, Adam was created before Eve! Eve was taken out of the side of Adam to depict the covenant relationship between Adam and Eve which would be a picture of God’s covenant relationship with humanity. (Ephesians 5:32)

All Trees Available for Fruit Eating

In Genesis 1:29 God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.”

And yet after Genesis 2:5, Adam and Eve were restricted to not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Was the ‘all trees OK to eat’ scenario a prior earth state?

Summary

These anomalies are contained within the seven days of the creation narrative and present a challenge. The author’s understanding is that scripture is possibly folding in together the pre-Adamite creation with the Adam and Eve creation. The Adam and Eve creation narrative has the distinctive of ‘covenant’ and restoration and contains ‘echoes’ of a pre-Adamite order.

Peter Describes the World Perished by Water

Another possible reference to pre-Adamite world is given by the Apostle Peter:

2 Peter 3:6 by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water.

The context speaks of destruction of both heaven and earth, (cf. Noah’s flood which only affected the earth) The following verse gives this context:

2 Peter 3:7 But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgement and perdition of ungodly men.

Satan’s Trading

Another indication of the possible existence of a pre-Adamite world is the trading which took place. Abundant trading indeed. For trading there needs to be counterparties and whether these counter parties are angelic, or human is not known, but these scriptures do describe ‘Kings’.

Ezekiel 28:16-18 “By the abundance of your trading You became filled with violence within, and you sinned; Therefore, I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; and I destroyed you, o covering cherub, from the midst of the fiery stones. 7 “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendour; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, that they might gaze at you. 18 “You defiled your sanctuaries by the multitude of your iniquities, by the iniquity of your trading; therefore, I brought fire from your midst; it devoured you, and I turned you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all who saw you.

Old Versus Young Earth

The pre-Adamite premise solves the ‘old’ or ‘young’ earth debate as billions of years may have passed between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2 whilst still allowing for the 7000 Bible Year scriptural timeline.