This makes it clearer:
In 2 Peter 3:6, it mentions the World that then was, being overflowed with water, perished.
Which 'world' is being addressed?
The World in Gen 1:1 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters
OR
The World of Noah and the flood: I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth
Summary:
God Formed The Earth To Be Inhabited Turn your Bible with me to,
Isaiah 45:18 18 “For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD, and there is none else.”
Our Heavenly Father “formed” the earth to be inhabited. He formed the earth for people, animals, insects, and plants to thrive.
He did not form the earth “without form, void”, full of “darkness” and covered in water, nor could life emerge from the earth if it was “an indistinguishable ruin”.
God did not create the earth “in vain” (Strong’s: H8414) which is the same Hebrew word we find in Genesis 1:2 being “without form”. Jehovah, our Heavenly Father is telling us plainly, He did not create the earth “vain,” He did not create the earth “without form”.
Instead, He created the earth with “form” (Strong’s: H3335) which means,
“To mould into a form; especially as a potter”.
Our Father is the Potter who molded the earth into form, He “established” (Strong’s: H3559) the earth which means He “perfected” it, (Isaiah 64:8).
Scripture makes it abundantly clear, our Father “is not the author of confusion,” He is not the Creator of “a desolation,” “but of peace” and ‘perfection’, (1 Corinthians 14:33, Psalms 18:30).
Isaiah 45:18 perfectly aligns with Genesis 1:2 when we understand “was” should have been translated “became”.
These facts bring harmony to the Scriptures. He formed the earth in perfection, but it “became without form, void,” and full of “darkness” due to Satan’s Sin in “The World That Was”, “before the heavens and earth which are now.”
The World That Was “Became” Covered In Water Our Father is gracious enough to provide us with multiple witnesses to the facts we have covered so far. We are going to turn our Bible to the book of Psalms, and we should understand Psalms 104:5-30 perfectly overlays with Genesis 1:1-31.
Psalms 104:5 5 “Who laid the foundations of the earth that it should not be removed for ever.”
Jehovah, our Heavenly Father laid the foundations of the earth “in the beginning” as Genesis 1:1 documents. Scripture makes it clear, the earth will never be removed, (Genesis 8:22).
When this took place is unknown to mankind, it could have been millions or even billions of years ago. I am sure one day our Father will provide us with these details.
Psalms 104:6 6 “Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains.”
While Psalms 104:5 explains our Father “laid the foundations of the earth” in the beginning, verse 6 explains He then covered the earth with water. Meaning, it was not covered with water before, but “became” covered in water, “became without form, void” and full of “darkness” as we learned in Genesis 1:2.
Scripture provides us with even more clarity and detail by explaining there was so much water it “stood above the mountains”. Simply meaning, there was no “dry land” which completely aligns with the state of the earth as outlined in Genesis 1:2;9 until “the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters,” during the Seven Days of Genesis.
For our Father to create the earth in ‘perfection’ and then destroy “The World That Was” by covering the earth in water means something happened. There had to be a reason for Him to take such action. As we have explained, this was due to Satan’s Sin in The First Earth Age.
This is the earth age and its destruction which Peter describes as the world that was, caused by Lucifer and the angels who followed him, Revelation 12:4. This is not describing Noah’s flood, which is of this second and present earth age, the age of the judgment of all men. The flood of Genesis 6 had the family of Noah, birds, and no mention of cities which were destroyed. In verse twenty-two, God tells us of the shortcomings of His children during this present earth age, because there is hardly any teaching of the 1st earth age and its overthrow, yet the scientific community knows that this earth had undergone turmoil at one time.