I think the following is entirely possible.
Analogy: It is possible that you can find a painting on canvas and, when you start peeling away the paint, you find out it has a coat of white paint under it, followed by a painting below that. And you may be able to go down several layers.
Fact is, all english translations of the OT are also interpretations, because there are so many places where the words in the original language and english do not have a one to one relationship.
So, when genesis talks about “the earth” in the beginning, it may be talking about the surface of the earth. And it just got a coat of white paint on which our creator could build the NEXT painting. And when we peal back the layer, we find Neanderthal. And when we continue peeling, we find ancient dinosaurs and other amazing things from previous “paintings”.
Revelation tends to support this concept since, at the end the earth is burned up and there is no sea beause the SURFACE of the earth is “coated again in white” for hte new Jerusalem and the next age.
BTW, the implication is that there were many ages before genisis 1 and there will be many ages to come after our Lord’s return. Interestingly, I can find nothing in the bible to contradict this hypothesis. i.e. scripture supports this hypothesis.
I can find nothing in the bible to contradict this hypothesis. i.e. scripture supports this hypothesis.
I have the same theory, but not about the creation story. Genesis 1 has so many global elements (i.e. separating water above and water below) and even solar-system scale elements (i.e. creating sun) that I'll count the creation verses as being global and not regional.
But my theory is how the word "earth" or "world" is used in the Noah flood story. Did the flood kill everybody except the few on the ark? Yes. Was everybody spread out all over the earth? I believe not. Therefore, the flood could have been a big ol' honkin' flood that wiped out all the people in the region (a legitimate definition for "world"), which is the same as wiping out everybody on the globe, but not necessarily be a global flood.
I base that theory on how the Hebrew word for "world" is used in other parts of the OT and all of us know it's not talking about the entire globe. For instance, no one looks at a prophecy of a conqueror taking over the world and says to others, "That couldn't have been Alexandra the Great. He didn't take over North America, which is part of the world."
Would the sun, moon and stars be included in each of these paintings? Genesis states that the 4th day is when they were created. Which begs the question: Sun up- sun down. That would be how a day is measured. That wasn’t created till the 4th “day” Perhaps “day” is just a period of time, not 24 hrs. All will be revealed when we pass from this world.