in heaven') and when at last the Will of God is done on earth as it is in

heaven, the goal of the ages will be attained, and God will not only be `All'

but `All in all'.

Such are faint shadows of His ways.  By searching we shall never find

out God unto perfection, but to stand as we have in a cleft of the Rock while

His glory passes before us, and be permitted to behold even the `back part'

of His ways is joy unspeakable:

`Lo, these are but the outlines of His ways;

A whisper only, that we hear of Him;

His wondrous pow'r, who then, can comprehend?'

(Job 26:14, Dr. Bullinger's Metrical Version).

Whatever the ultimate purpose of creation may prove to be, it is

certain that it will not be attained without much sorrow and great sacrifice;

`the Fuller' will be at work, and between the opening announcement of

Creation in Genesis 1:1 and the bringing in of the New Heaven and New Earth

(Rev. 21:1; 2 Pet. 3:13) will roll the eons or the ages with their burden of

sin and of redeeming love.  When the new heaven and earth was seen by John in

the Apocalypse, he adds the words `and there was no more sea'.  That is

a most evident reference back to Genesis 1:2, where darkness and the deep are

there revealed.

`And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the

face of the deep' (Gen. 1:2).

Thus the condition that is described in Genesis 1:2 is included with

the other `no mores' of Revelation 21:1,4 and 22:3.

When we read in Genesis that man `became' a living soul, we immediately

gather that he was not a living soul before he breathed the breath of life.

When we read that Lot's wife `became' a pillar of salt (Gen. 19:26), we

understand that this was consequent upon her looking back.  When Cain said,

`And it shall come to pass' (Gen. 4:14) we understand his fears concerning

what would happen after others had heard of his deed.  So, when we read, `the

earth was without form and void', and realize that the same verb that is here

translated `was', is translated `became' or `come to pass' in these other

passages in Genesis, we realize that here in Genesis 1:2, we are looking at

the record of the first great gap in the outworking of the Divine purpose,

and must read:

`And the earth Became without form and void'.

The translation `was' in Genesis 1:2, however, is perfectly good, for

in our usage we often mean `became' when `was' is written.  A speaker at a

meeting of the Victoria Institute used the following illustration.  If

writing on two occasions concerning a friend we should say (1) `He was a

man', and (2) `He was very ill', everyone would understand that in the second

case, this friend had `become' ill, and so `was' ill at the time spoken of,

but it would be impossible to think that anyone would understand by the word

`he was ill' that he had been created, or born in that state.  Darkness both

in the Old Testament and in the New Testament  is associated with death,

judgment and evil, and Paul's use of Genesis 1:2,3 in the words, `God, Who