What Happened on the Cross. Nick Peros
condition of the earth, he also tells us what caused the earth to be empty, formless, dark, and lifeless—he tells us these conditions upon the earth were the result of the LORD’s “fierce anger.”
Based on what we read in Isaiah 45:18, Genesis 1:2, and Jeremiah 4:23–26, as well as many other verses in the Bible, we can conclude the following: in Genesis 1:1, God created the earth as perfect and as fully habitable for man, yet by Genesis 1:2, the earth was a cursed and desolate wasteland, a ruin, made so by God’s wrath. The condition of the earth in Genesis 1:2 was not how God originally created it in Genesis 1:1. Something happened between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2 that caused God to curse the earth as well as the entire creation.
How can we say that the earth in Genesis 1:2 is cursed? There are three elements that are present upon the earth in Genesis 1:2 that clearly show the earth in Genesis 1:2 as a cursed Earth. These three elements are darkness, a global ocean, and the presence of the Holy Spirit.
The Curse of Darkness
God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.—1 John 1:5 (NIV)
Darkness in the Bible is never a good thing—it is always and only ever associated with the enemy or with the curse and wrath of God. Darkness always represents the absence of God, the curse of God, and the outpouring of his wrath. There are many verses throughout the Bible that testify to this. Here are a few, with a brief comment following each one.
Darkness Associated with Satan, Evil, or the Enemy
“To open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me” (Acts 26:18 NIV).
We are told in this passage that when one comes to Christ, they have their eyes opened and they are turning from darkness to light, turning from the power of Satan to God, thereby equating darkness with the power of Satan.
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12 NASB).
Ephesians 6:12 equates the forces of darkness with the spiritual forces of wickedness.
“For he rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son” (Col 1:13 NASB).
Here we are told there is a domain (or kingdom) of darkness, which is in contrast to the kingdom of Jesus Christ.
“The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light” (Rom 13:12 NASB).
The deeds of darkness, associated with “the night,” are contrasted with the armor of light, which is associated with “the day.”
“Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Cor 6:14 NASB).
This verse equates unbelievers and lawlessness with darkness.
Darkness Associated with the Curse, Wrath, or Judgment of God
For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell [Tartarus] and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment. (2 Pet 2:4 NASB)
These are springs without water and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness has been reserved. (2 Pet 2:17 NASB)
Both of these verses tell us a place of darkness is reserved for God’s judgment upon evil.
Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over Egypt—darkness that can be felt.’ (Exod 10:21 NIV)
One of God’s plagues—or curses—upon Egypt was a plague of darkness.
Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ (Matt 22:13 NASB)
Darkness is a place of judgment upon evil, and it is not a good place.
That day will be a day of wrath—a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. (Zeph 1:15 NIV)
The “day of darkness and gloom” is specifically described here as a day of God’s wrath, a day of distress, a day of anguish and trouble.
I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things. (Isa 45:7 NIV)
Here, light is equated with prosperity, while darkness is equated with disaster, and God is the one who creates both, which affirms that darkness is a curse of God.
Contrast of Light and Darkness
God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. (Gen 1:4 NIV)
At the beginning of Genesis 1, we are told the “light” was “good,” and that the (good) light was separated from the darkness. It is implicit in this that, since the light was good, and since the good light was separated from the darkness, then the darkness, by contrast, was bad.
You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. (1 Thess 5:5 NIV)
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light. (Eph 5:8 NIV)
In both of these verses, Christians are children of light, not of darkness, and in Ephesians 5:8, Christians are described as actually being light.
Yet when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, then came darkness. (Job 30:26 NIV)
Here, “good” is equated with “light,” while “evil” is equated with “darkness.”
I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness. (John 12:46 NASB)
Whoever believes in Jesus Christ has come into the light, and has come out of darkness—again, there is a contrast with light and darkness, where light is good and of God, while darkness is bad and not of God.
This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. (John 3:19 NASB)
In these verses, darkness is again contrasted with light, and the darkness is opposed to the light. It is clear from these verses, as well as many others throughout the Bible, that darkness is never a good thing—it is always associated with evil, the enemy, or the wrath or curse of God. The clearest affirmation of this truth is in 1 John 1:5.
God is Light
God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5 NIV)
This verse is very clear—God himself is light; he doesn’t just give off light, he is light itself, light is part of his divine nature, and in him there is no darkness. How then are we to understand Genesis 1:2, “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters” (NIV)? How can a God, who himself is light, a God in whom there is no darkness, create an Earth that is surrounded by and engulfed in darkness? In fact, how can a God, who himself is light, a God in whom there is no darkness, create an entire universe filled with darkness (just take a look at the night sky)? How is this possible?
It is not possible, because God did not create the earth covered in darkness, and neither did he create a universe filled with darkness. The earth as described in Genesis 1:2 is not how God created it; rather, by Genesis 1:2, the earth is cursed, a ruined wasteland upon which was poured the wrath of God. The darkness that covers the earth in Genesis 1:2 is the result of God’s curse.
Likewise, the universe itself is under God’s curse, filled with darkness end to end, thereby also evidencing the wrath of God upon it. This curse