In the beginning...

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

What does "beginning" mean here? It means when "God created the heavens and the earth." Simple enough, right? The heavens and the earth are what we currently commonly call the universe. As I understand it, the ancient Hebrews had 3 "levels" of heavens: 1) the sky, 2) outer space, and 3) God's home, the opposite of what we call hell.

Is that all there is? God is eternal; he has always existed. Is our universe his one and only act of creation? Seems unlikely. Why should it be the only one? Does another of his creations exist right now? One could. Many could. If there are others, did God need to work out a plan of salvation for them like he did for us in sending his son Jesus into this creation? Maybe. Or maybe not. The others might not have become corrupt. The others might not even have creatures that could become corrupt. The others might have become corrupt, but God devised a different plan to fit the situation.

On a related note, I once heard or read that time began when God created our universe. Time began for us then, but doesn't God exist in time as well? He is eternal, yes. But that doesn't mean he's outside of the passage of time. To him, a day is like a thousand years and vice versa, but both indicate the passage of time. One thing happens after another; that's time. (What's used to measure the time is irrelevant.) "In the beginning...." That's our beginning. If God created something before us -- or if he did anything before creating us -- that shows the passage of time. The one happened before the other.

I understand that all of this is according to our way of thinking and that God's thoughts are so much higher (beyond understanding) than our thoughts. But this is the only way we can think about this, by definition. And by (our) definition, when God does one thing after another, he has spent some time doing so.