It is unfortunate that the word foundation has
been used to translate katabolee which is a combination
of a prefix meaning down and bolee which is cast
as used in Luke 22:41. This bolee comes from the
word ballo which is usually translated cast, but also thrust
and throw. Kataballo is twice translated cast
down.
This overthrow is first mentioned in Genesis
1:2. The result was waste and emptiness hence the words "without
form and void" translated from tohu va bohu That the overthrow
is the result of judgment is clearly seen in the other references to tohu
va bohu in Jeremiah 4:23 and in Isaiah 34:11. See
Companion Bible notes.
Although Genesis 1:2 speaks only of the earth
being overthrown, 2 Peter 3:6,13 says that the heavens and the
earth were overthrown. As we read through the reconstruction process in
Genesis 1 we see that it includes the heavens. And Genesis
2:1 speaks of the heavens and earth that are now, after they were
reconstructed in the 6 days.
Before the overthrow, Satan defied God and lost. The
earth trembled and rocked to and fro. Darkness was upon the face of the
deep, for God commanded the sun and it did not shine. There was a long
era
of this darkness on the earth. The stars were also sealed up so that
there was not a glimmer of light during that long period of waste and
emptiness, read Job 9:4-7. How this was done we are not
told, by intense cloud or particulate covering or by some other force
we do not know but scientists today believe at one point the earth had
rings like Saturn, could these have formed from ice and dust that for
eons covered the outer atmosphere?
In the days of reconstruction, God spread out the
heavens, the firmament of Genesis 1:6. He trod on the
heights of the sea, the water above even the mountains, for all the
earth was then covered with water. And when the lights in the heavens
shone again, there were the Bear, Orion, and the Pleides.
The mention of the stars here shows that the stars were unsealed Job
9:8-10.
It is interesting to note that this Book of Job
was being written about the time or just before Moses began to write
about the creation and reconstruction in Genesis!
The Psalmist (Psalms 104:5-9) tells us some of the
same story on the Truth about the reconstruction. Verse 5 tells of the
creation of the earth that then was, verse 6 tells of the overflow of
water, even above the mountains, verse 7 tells us that these waters
fled at the Word of God. They hastened away. The mountains
rose, the valleys sank to the place ordained for them to rest.
Bounds have been set so that they cannot again cover the earth. This is
speaking of the seas, not of rain that came down and covered the earth
in the time of Noah.
Scientists say there was an ice age during the time the
Bible calls the great overthrow. The earth would get pretty cold during
a long period when the sun did not shine. As to time, we do not know
the length of this overthrow, but the universe is at least 4 1/2
billion years old. Some stars have been shining that long or longer.
For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the
spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the
flesh. (Philippians 3:3) This is in connection with the
salvation that was sent to us Gentiles (Acts 28:28), and is
Truth for today.
This reminds us of the question of the woman of Samaria
in John 4:20 as to where was the right place to worship. The
Lord replied, Woman, believe Me, the hour cometh, when ye shall
neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye
worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of
the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers
shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh
such to worship Him. Let us not be too hasty to put John's account
and Paul's together as meaning the same thing. The woman was being told
of something that would happen because both temples in Samaria and
Jerusalem would soon be destroyed and Israel would have no place to
worship, except in spirit and in truth. But Paul is talking to us
Gentiles who never did have a place of worship designated.
Now this should take us back a little to see what has
been going on and what God desires. God desired man's fellowship and
walked and talked with him in the garden. This did not last long. Then
God dwelt in a tabernacle between the cherubim at the gate east of
Eden. This was a place of worship. The door of this tabernacle is
spoken of in Genesis 4:7. At the flood, or some time
before, this place of worship was done away. Then we find God dwelling
in the midst of His people in a tabernacle in the wilderness, followed
later by a temple of similar design in Jerusalem. This was finally
destroyed in 70.
As we look forward in prophecy, we find that some day the
tabernacle of God will be with men (Revelation 21:3). But this
is a promise made to Israel. This is not the pinnacle of what is to be
accomplished. In Ephesians 2:22 we discover that right now in
these days there is a temple being built in which God dwells by the
spirit. And this Temple is the Body of believers of which Christ is
the Head. It is an habitation of God.
So we do not seek for a place to worship, or for a
priesthood, nor for a ritual. We have no place our enemies can destroy
and stop our worship. Since all rituals and ordinances are in the
flesh, we have no need of them for we have no confidence in such. They
are a snare. So no one can prescribe a way of worship for us today.
Members of the Body are equal, so no priest or Levite can do our
worship for us. Because there is no temple, very few Jews today worship
in spirit and in truth. And also because the flesh cannot enter in,
there are few in Christendom today who also worship in spirit and in
truth. They seek a fleshly way and material means. But God is still
seeking true worshippers in whom He can dwell.
