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Genesis chapter 1:1 says:

Genesis 1:1 NKJV In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

That verse has always been an enigma to me. It clearly states that God created more than one Heaven. So before creating multiple Heavens, where did God abide, and even more intriguing is did God; who is Spirit even need a place in which to abide?

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    Why are you assuming that God is contingent on time or space? Jan 24, 2015 at 15:56
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    Also, why do you assume that "the heavens" mentioned in that verse are referring to the spiritual realm. I've always understood it to mean everything above the earth (e.g. the sky). Jan 24, 2015 at 17:11
  • This is a nice question because it has the courage to start from an assumption. Very brave +1 but maybe ask it as two questions. I particularly like where the one about heaven is going and hope for some nice answers. Jan 24, 2015 at 18:40
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    You ought to choose a particular sect that you would like answers from. They don't all agree on the nature of God.
    – user23
    Jan 24, 2015 at 19:16
  • @AffableGeek I have nothing about God being contingent on time or space in my original question, that was added by your edit, which I rolled back. My question as stated asks where God was before creating, which in itself shows my belief that God exists outside time or space which he created.
    – BYE
    Jan 24, 2015 at 20:46

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Several good questions being asked here:

Regarding the word "heavens", Paul makes mention of visiting the "third heaven" (2 Corinthians 12:2). It was common for Jews to use the word heaven to mean the sky, outer-space, or spiritual heaven where God dwells. So "in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" may have meant the creation of earth and its atmosphere, and the immediate universe around it.

Spiritual heaven and angels likely existed before the creation of earth. We see this in Job where God asks "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? ... When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy." (Job 38:4-7)

But no matter what order you think things were made, God existed before anything was made:

"For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him" (Colossians 1:16)

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  • Your answer may fit the edited version of my question, but not my original one. I have rolled back the edit, since I know God created everything including the spiritual heave and all of the Angels. my question is where was he before he created anything.
    – BYE
    Jan 24, 2015 at 20:53
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God created the HEAVENS and the Earth. God is the creator of all reality as we know it, including time and space itself. Considering that both are directly related, time would have been a consequential creation of the creation of the dimensions of space. God does not have a physical body like we perceive life from our limited perspectives. He is often described as a "spirit" throughout the bible: a non-physical, omnipresent being. That being said, a being not confined to space is also outsides the limits of time. There is no question of where was God before His creation because there cannot even a question of when was God. God just was. (And is. And will be. Outside of time)

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    Your answer is favored by a number of 'scientifically minded' thinkers. But the issue is more complex. Logically, if God is outside the limits of time then He wasn't, isn't and will not be. God has to be both inside and out of time, at the same time. He must have a physical body and not have one. He must exist and not exist ... And that is where I will leave this. Jan 24, 2015 at 18:35
  • many many scriptures from the Bible clearly state that God has a body, with body parts that look like those of a human. We see for example in Genesis 18 that God appeared to Abraham near Mamre's trees. And he saw three men... or another example when in the Old Testament, Mose's asked to see God and God allowed him to see his back for he could not see his face and live. Some theologians may call it 'anthropomorphism', but maybe we are rather doing ''theomorphism''
    – alainlompo
    Mar 22, 2015 at 19:09

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