It was a time when...
The earth was without form and void
The heavens had no light
There was no man
All the birds fled
The fruitful place was a wilderness
The cities were broken down at the presence of the Lord, by his fierce anger
The whole land was desolate
Jer 4:20; Disaster on disaster is proclaimed, For the whole land is devastated; Suddenly my tents are devastated, My curtains in an instant.
Jer 4:21; How long must I see the standard And hear the sound of the trumpet?
Jer 4:22; "For My people are foolish, They know Me not; They are stupid children And have no understanding. They are shrewd to do evil, But to do good they do not know."
Jer 4:23; I looked on the earth, and behold, it was
formless and void; And to the heavens, and they had no light.
Jer 4:24; I looked on the
mountains, and behold, they were quaking, And all the hills moved to and fro.
Jer 4:25; I looked, and behold,
there was no man, And all the
birds of the heavens had fled.
Jer 4:26; I looked, and behold, the fruitful land was a wilderness, And all its
cities were pulled down Before the LORD, before His fierce anger.
Jer 4:27; For thus says the LORD, "The whole land shall be a desolation, Yet
I will not execute a complete destruction.
IMHO, this time is after people and cities and men are on the earth. this sounds like destruction of things that already exist, not the creation of new things.
It sounds like cities are being "pulled down" and birds have "fled". It sounds like there was a "fruitful land" that was turned into wilderness.
This has also been mentioned as part of Rev 16:19-20;
The fruitful land that was turned into wilderness has also been mentioned as the garden of eden.
Rev 13:14; And
he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who *had the wound of the sword and has come to life.