If God took 7 days to create everything what was he doing before that?

Answer 1

Before God created the material world He had already created the spiritual world and spiritual beings. The Bible does not say when the spiritual world was created, it could have been thousands, millions of "years" before the material world.

ANOTHER ANSWER:

The Genesis account doesn't say God created everything in seven days. It reveals a brief rundown of His "refurbishing" of a previously created earth that was in a state of ruin ["the earth was {or became}without form and void" according to the Literal Bible means that a Perfectly-Created earth, as touched on in Genesis 1:1, had been turned into a vacuous ruined wasteland: which is accounted later in Revelation 12 when Satan and his angels tried to usurp God's throne in heaven... and failed -- "... And there was WAR IN HEAVEN..." - verse 7].

No time frame is mentioned in Genesis 1:1. It doesn't say HOW LONG it took God to make the limitless UNIVERSE, along with the earth... it just states that HE DID.

No time frame is mentioned between verses 1 & 2 as to how much TIME had passed between the earth's creation and the event that caused its DESTRUCTION.

The counting of TIME began in Genesis 1 when God [Jesus Christ, the WORD of God, the Almighty Creator God who MADE ALL THINGS - see John 1:3] introduced LIGHT on the subject in VERSE 3.

Time is PHYSICAL. It's measured on earth by physical rotation of the earth [sundown to sundown; one 24 hour day] and its orbit around the sun [one 360 day 'prophetic' year, as revealed in the Scriptures] along with twelve [30 day cycle] months.

God reveals the "six" days of the RE-creation of the destroyed earth, and the "seventh" day of rest... the repetitive SEVEN-DAY CYCLE that is still with us today, for man to REMEMBER EVERY SEVENTH DAY that HE HAS A CREATOR... and is NOT a cosmic accident without purpose or meaning.

There is no way we can know from the biblical account any definite time frame regarding the time it took to "make the universe"... or how long it took just to make the "earth."

The account reveals to us GOD'S EXISTENCE, and is not a minute, in-depth account of creation. It gives us a superficial, general review of the CREATION OF TIME in order that we might REMEMBER who we are, what we are, why we are, and where we are going [that is, for those who "believe" the Words that "proceeded out of the mouth of God"].

Nobody knows what God was doing before He created the universe. In fact, our finite human minds can't begin to fathom a God who has "always been, who IS, and who always SHALL BE." Our finite minds can't fathom eternity, forever, infinity, always, etc..

So, men, in their inability to "believe" that an eternal God can exist; believes instead in THE ETERNITY OF MATTER... EVOLUTION [creation WITHOUT a Creator]... which is really just a different kind of religion requiring men to believe in infinitely more miracles than the Bible ever did. A religion that offers an infinite number of imaginary TIME FRAMES for its Eternal Matter to undergo all of its manifestations from inert gases and matter to highly-evolved intelligence.

All we can know from the Bible is what God reveals to us: that He made MAN to one day BE RE-BORN into HIS DIVINE IMMORTAL FAMILY as THE CHILDREN OF GOD -- evidently to one day COLONIZE THE UNIVERSE -- to REMAKE all those dead planets out there into whatever we decide to make of them.

"The [Holy] Spirit itself beareth witness WITH OUR SPIRIT, that WE ARE THE CHILDREN OF GOD; and if Children, then HEIRS; HEIRS OF GOD, and JOINT-HEIRS WITH CHRIST..." (Rom.8:16-17).

Jesus Christ has INHERITED THE UNIVERSE [ALL THINGS - see Heb.1:2]... and mankind is to SHARE THAT INHERITANCE WITH CHRIST.

God reveals a 7000 YEAR PLAN in which He has been WORKING to achieve this goal. What God did BEFORE He created the universe matters little or not at all to us for now. The only important thing is knowing that 6000 years [six one thousand year days - II Peter 3:8] from the first day of His RE-creation of the earth, our Creator is going to stop man from his hateful, rebellious, destructive ways of existing and will return and establish His Rule on earth; and for ONE THOUSAND YEARS [the 'seventh-day' of His Plan] the LORD'S Sabbath will rule planet earth and man will NOT BE ALLOWED TO SIN [to disobey God's Laws - I John 3:4].

Man's concern need not be "what God did before creation" but "what's He BEEN DOING SINCE; and does what WE ARE DOING NOW conform TO HIS PLAN?"

"'He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is Righteous, let him be Righteous still: and he that is Holy, let him be Holy still. And, behold, I COME QUICKLY; and My REWARD is WITH ME, to GIVE EVERY MAN ACCORDING AS HIS WORK SHALL BE.'" (Rev.22:11-12)

"I pray that you will begin to Understand the INCREDIBLE GREATNESS of HIS POWER [the ability to DO WORK] for US WHO BELIEVE HIM. This is the same MIGHTY POWER that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the place of Honor at God's right hand in the heavenly realms. NOW He is FAR ABOVE ANY RULER or authority or power or leader or ANYTHING ELSE IN THE WORLD or IN THE WORLD TO COME. God has put ALL THINGS [the universe] UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF CHRIST, and He gave Him this Authority FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE CHURCH [that entity for which God is WORKING TODAY]. And the church IS HIS BODY...". (Eph.1:19-23 NLT New Living Translation)

"UNDER HIS DIRECTION, the WHOLE BODY is FITTED TOGETHER PERFECTLY. As each part DOES ITS OWN SPECIAL WORK, it helps the other parts GROW, so that THE WHOLE BODY is Healthy and Growing and FULL OF LOVE." (Eph.4:16 NLT)

What God DID in the unknown PAST is PLAN FOR OUR FUTURE. HE'S CREATING HIS FAMILY!

Since the RE-creation account of Genesis 1, man has been learning the GOOD things and the EVIL things associated with LIVING. It's a WORK IN PROGRESS. Man CHOSE ANOTHER GOD to worship and obey in the beginning. And the world he's made for himself under this god is a HATE-FILLED one filled with misery, suffering and death. Man seems to WANT Peace, Love, and Understanding but doesn't know how to achieve it for everyone. But "experience is the BEST teacher." And that's what this "phase of God's plan" is teaching us -- the GOOD and the EVIL's of life.

So, God has been WORKING on SAVING HIS CREATION, man, from the god who has been teaching him all the EVIL he's been living since "day six" of RE-creation.

"...It is the message about JESUS CHRIST, and His PLAN for you Gentiles, a PLAN kept secret from the beginning of time." (Rom.16:25 NLT)

"This 'foolish' PLAN of God is far wiser than the wisest of human plans..." (I Cor.1:25 NLT)

"Long ago, even before He made the world, GOD LOVED US and CHOSE US IN CHRIST TO BE HOLY and without fault in His eyes. His UNCHANGING PLAN has always been TO ADOPT US INTO HIS OWN FAMILY by bringing us TO HIMSELF THROUGH JESUS CHRIST. And this GAVE HIM GREAT PLEASURE. And THIS IS HIS PLAN: At the right TIME He will BRING EVERYTHING TOGETHER UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF CHRIST - EVERYTHING IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH.

Furthermore, because of Christ, we have received AN INHERITANCE FROM GOD, for He chose us FROM THE BEGINNING, and all things happen JUST AS HE DECIDED LONG AGO. God's Purpose was that we who were THE FIRST TO TRUST IN CHRIST should Praise our Glorious God..." (Eph.1:4-14 NLT).

What was God doing before the creation? He was PLANNING FOR WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW!