Ephesians 1:4
According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world. . .
Unfortunately, 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 1:3-31, 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 six days.
Before the overthrow, Satan defied God and lost. The earth trembled and rocked to and fro, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. 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 9:6-7. Now, if light could not shine on planet Earth, what would happen? Yes, it would get dark, but it would also get very, very cold. If there was a long period of the planet being frozen, what might scientists today call this period? The Ice Age, well, that makes sense. 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 Pleiades. 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 written before Moses began to write about the creation and reconstruction in Genesis.
The Psalmist (Psalm 104:5-9) tells us some of the same story on The Truth about the reconstruction. Psalm 104:5 tells of the creation of the earth that then was, Psalm 104:6 tells of the overflow of water, even above the mountains, and Psalm 104:7 tells us that these waters fled at The Word of God. They hastened away. The mountains rose, and 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.
"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). 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" {John 4:21-24}. 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 happening and what God desires. God desired man's fellowship and walked and talked with him in the garden. This did not last long. 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 A.D. 70.
As we look forward in prophecy, we find that someday 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, a Temple is 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 a habitation of God.
So we do not seek a place to worship or for a priesthood, nor a ritual. We have no place where our enemies can destroy and stop our worship. Since all rituals and ordinances are in and of 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, for true worship must be 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.
