Why do these concepts appear first in the description of creation?
The foundations of the existence of the world are laid down in these four expressions, which concretely define those foundations.
The story of creation describes the fundamental functioning of the world; therefore, the most fundamental concepts and their relationships appear in the verses of the first chapter.
The currently generally accepted worldview provides no explanation at all for why the laws of physics exist, why there is time, why anything happens, why the Big Bang occurred, or why the world is exactly as it is. The laws of physics are connected to one another with extraordinary precision — and it could not be otherwise — but there is no explanation for how such a complex system came into existence.
The Bible begins by providing an answer to this question first. The fundamental conditions of the world's existence were defined by a fundamental intelligence. In the Bible, this fundamental intelligence appears under the name God. If this designation seems too religious to someone, then let it be regarded simply as a name by which we can refer to the fundamental intelligence.
There is no other existing explanation for the existence of the laws that define the world than that someone or something created them and defined them.
If we seek a consistent explanation, we can arrive at the understanding that the laws of physics are present everywhere in the world, are constant and unchanging, timeless, and determine the existence of everything. Based on this, we can also conclude that nothing exists in the world whose existence is not defined.
Definition and existence are practically the same thing. Definition is the appearance of material existence, and material existence reveals the definition according to which it exists.
Heaven and earth are one and the same. This is what the Bible tells us, because it connects the two definitions with the word “and.” What is defined in heaven appears in the earth, and what appears in the earth is already defined in heaven.
Time also appears here, because based on the above, what will happen does not depend on time. What appears in the earth is what is defined in heaven. Time is necessary for Human perception so that we may comprehend what appears in the earth and, from that, understand what laws exist in heaven. It is not accidental that in the Bible God often sees future events precisely and declares in advance the decisions, actions, emotions, and thoughts of Humans. The Book of Genesis explains these things in detail as well.