Tohu wa bohu
1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the Earth. 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. (Genesis1:1-2 KJV)
Scholars believe that God created a perfect Earth with no defects, but something happened that caused the Earth to become formless and void, as recorded in Genesis 2:2. The Hebrew term for formless and void is tohu wa bohu. One can quickly determine that the result of a detrimental event or a natural phenomenon caused the Earth to become formless and void. One crucial fact omitted in the modern translation of Scriptures is that heaven(s) is plural. The original Hebrew Scriptures indicate that God created the heavens (Hebrew, the plural term for heaven is hashomayim). I assume that there are more heavens than what is visible from Earth. Even the Apostle Paul alludes to the other heavens when he notes, "There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another." (I Corinthinas15:40) Although Paul is referring to the resurrection and the glory thereof, one can reflect that even the afterlife is free of tohu wa bohu.
I continuously ponder over this void and darkness as God hovered over the water during the beginning of creation. I even envision God lingering above this murky, muddy substance called tohu wa bohu. I believe that tohu wa bohu originated because of the results of the heavenly war that waged between the angels of Satan against Michael and his fellow angels. As noted in Revelation 12:9, Satan (the dragon) lost the battle in heaven, causing a defeated archangel and 1/3 of the heavenly host to come to Earth. The Earth, which existed as a perfect dwelling habitat, became tohu wa bohu when Satan landed here. I came to this conclusion from seeing the effects of sin when Satan interferes in humans' affairs. Remember, God created our habitation from tohu wa bohu, and then, He commanded humans to replenish it. It is difficult to phantom Earth before man's creation because time had no reason to exist before his creation. When God spoke, and light appeared. Afterward, time became relevant and tohu wa bohu vanished. When tohu wa bohu became irrelevant, Satan realized that his time was limited.
At present, we find ourselves facing global warming with the rising of the Earth's temperature resulting in climate changes, forest fires, storms, etc. Now, Earth is facing a global pandemic from the coronavirus, which is killing more than 1.3 million people with no end in sight. Is Earth repeating the same fate leading toward tohu wa bohu? Remember, the angelic war originated in the heavens, and this same war continues here on Earth. As humans, we were made a little lower than the angels for a specific purpose. Remember, the Creator gave humans rule over the Earth, and because of this rule, we must avoid tohu wa bohu from materializing again. The only solution to hinder Satan from triggering tohu wa bohu is to claim our real purpose on Earth. Once we realize the raging spiritual warfare around us, we must recognize the weapons we can use to defeat Satan and his angels. "But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short." (Revelation 12:12). Like the archangel Michael, we have the same spiritual weapons that Michael used to cast Satan from heaven. As believers, we can prevent history from repeating on Earth. Like our ancestors, we can defeat Satan in your lives while prohibiting the return of tohu wa bohu if we use the weapons of submitting and resisting. When you submit to our Creator, then Satan will flee." (James 4:7)
In simple words, to avoid tohu wa bohu in your life, allow the Spirit of God to hover over you. Afterward, your Creator will replenish you with a new purpose for living. Satan can only strive by turning your dominion into tohu wa bohu, but God will replace any void in your life with a newfound purpose by only submitting.
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. Genesis 1:3