For more information related to this topic, check out
Bob Yandian’s “Creation” and “Jurassic Earth.”

In dealing with the subject of what was here before the time of Adam it is important to note that there are not many scriptures referring to this time period and those that do are general, so the conclusions drawn from them must not be overly dogmatic.

In trying to get an idea about what was here before Adam we must, of course, look at the Genesis record. Genesis 1:1-2 says:

Gen 1:1:

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

Gen 1:2:

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

The first verse reveals God creating the heaven and earth. Verse two says the earth was without form and void. It has been noted by many Bible scholars that the word “was” should be translated “became”. One such scholar is Albert Barnes who wrote “Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible.” Following are Barnes’ notes on Genesis 1:2:

...the verb (”was”) in this sentence, we observe it is in the perfect state, and therefore denotes that the condition of confusion and emptiness was not in progress, but had run its course and become a settled thing, at least at the time of the next recorded event. If the verb had been absent in Hebrew, the sentence would have been still complete, and the meaning as follows: “And the land was waste and void.” With the verb present, therefore, it must denote something more. The verb hayáh “be” has here, we conceive, the meaning “become;” and the import of the sentence is this: “And the land had become waste and void.” This affords the presumption that the part at least of the surface of our globe which fell within the cognizance of primeval man, and first received the name of land, may not have been always a scene of desolation or a sea of turbid waters, but may have met with some catastrophe by which its order and fruitfulness had been marred or prevented. (Commenatary on Genesis 1:2)

Between the time of God’s original creation of the earth in verse one and it becoming formless and without void, something must have taken place. Let’s look at another scripture that seems to verify this fact:

Isaiah 45:18 (KJVR):

For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.

God did not create the earth in “vain.” The Hebrew word for vain here is tohu. This word means without form and has the idea of confusion. God did not create the earth without form or in confusion. To the contrary, the Bible states:

1 Corinthians 14:33 (KJVR):

For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

God is not the author of confusion. Notice in Genesis 1:2, the earth became without form (The Hebrew word is the same as in Isaiah 45:18. It is tohu). If God did not create the earth “tohu,” how did it become “tohu” or without form and in confusion?

We believe the confusion and barrenness on earth was the result of the fall of Lucifer. Several scriptures reveal that God had placed Lucifer on earth to rule over it for God. We are given several glimpses of what was existed before the creation of Adam. These scriptures refer to the fall of Lucifer:

Ezekiel 28:12-18:

Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.

Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.

Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffic; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.

Isaiah 14:9-17:

Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.

All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?

Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;

That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?

In Ezekiel it says Lucifer was filled with violence from the multitude of “merchandise” and defiled God’s sanctuaries by the iniquity of his “traffic.” Both merchandise and traffic mean “trade” in Hebrew. Lucifer was over the trading and commerce of some sort prior to his fall. In Isaiah 14, it states that Lucifer weakened the nations and made the world as a wilderness and destroyed the cities thereof. This must have been before Adam because even during the tribulation the earth will not be made a wilderness nor all the cities destroyed. When the terms “nations” and “cities” are mentioned we automatically think of man as we know him and our present way of life.

This passage indicates the existence of cities and governments over which Lucifer ruled and also governed trade. It also seems to indicate that some form of being existed before Adam. We can only speculate what these beings were. Some theorize demons are some form of this pre-Adamic race of beings. We know demons are not the fallen angels because the Bible clearly records that the fallen angels are being held in Tartarus awaiting judgment. (See 2 Peter 2:4. The world “hell” is the Greek word tartarus) Demons are always are looking for a body to inhabit. Demons look for a host body to live in. (see Mark 5:12 where the demons desired to depart into the swine) It seems demons are disembodied spirits looking for a body to dwell in. These quite possibly could be from a race of beings that lived prior to Adam whom Lucifer ruled over and who are now disembodied spirits. Again, we must not be dogmatic over such issues.

Let’s look at another passage speaking of the world before Adam.

Jeremiah 4:23-27:

I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.

I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.

I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.

I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger.

For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.

God gave Jeremiah a vision of the world prior to Adam. God showed him the earth that had become without form (tohu) and void, and the heavens that had no light. Man had not yet been created and the birds that apparently existed had fled. The fruitful place was a wilderness, all the cities were broken down, and the whole land was desolate. We know this was not after Adam because since the creation of man there has never been a time when the earth was without form and void, neither are there any scriptures indicating that this condition will occur in the future. Verse 27 indicates that although the land will be desolate, it will not be completely destroyed. God had plans to restore the earth, create man, and replenish the earth. (Genesis 1:28)

Although this has been a fascinating study, I believe the Bible says little about this time period because it does not impact our lives today nor our future destinies. Whatever and whoever existed before Adam cannot be compared to the creation of man. Adam and Eve were created in God’s image and man was designed to rule with Him over all of the works of His hands. Jesus came to earth as a man and died for humanity. There is no salvation provided for demons or fallen angels. When God originally created the heavens and earth, He had mankind in mind. What or who existed before man is fun to ponder and speculate about but we must guard about placing undue emphasis upon it. Enjoy your studies!

Rick McFarland bio
Director/Singles Director
Real Answers bookstore
Grace Church