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Now the earth was without form and empty, darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
(Genesis 1:2 NIV)
Started approximately 4.54 GA
Scientific Perspective (Genesis Event #3)
The scientific consensus is that the earth formed approximately 4.54 billion years ago from a vast cloud of dust and gas known as the solar nebula. Gravity caused particles to collide and stick together, a process called accretion. Heavier elements sank to the center of the earth’s core, while lighter materials formed the mantle and crust. According to current scientific understanding, the accretion process that formed the Earth likely took between 10 and 40 million years as smaller “planetesimals” collided and clumped together, transforming Earth from a formless state to something that looked like a planet.
Scriptural Perspective
The verse of Genesis 1:2 seems to describe two different stages of the development of the earth. We limit our discussion on this page to the first stage – that of earth being formless and empty. The earth being formless and empty is in harmony with the current scientific consensus that the earth formed due to gravity causing the dust and gas particles to go through the accretion process.