First, we must attempt to understand GOD, the Supreme Being, the Ancient of Days, the Father of us all.  We need to understand God's history, His future, His purpose.  We must try to comprehend His desires.  We must attempt to see the Universe from His perspective. 

Without a doubt, great, is the mystery of God. He says things in the Bible like "I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me:"  A vision is given to Daniel the prophet, where he sees the "Ancient of Days," God the Father.  He has made us in His image.  He has created all things.  He commanded and the creation came into being.   We cannot completely comprehend Him.  His Son is before all things and holds all things together.   
(1 Timothy 3:16; Isaiah 45:5; Daniel 7:9-10; Genesis 1:27; Psalm 33:6-9; Job 37:5; Romans 11:33; Colossians 1:12-17) 

Before God / After God

He says in the scripture, "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last."  (Revelation 22:13)     God is the Creator.  Before He created, there wasn't a creation.  He was not the Creator until He created.  He always was the only Creator who could create.  Time was not.  It was His time.  It is His title.  Creation is God's prerogative. 

He is the Only One who could create, and thus become the Creator.  The Creator had just not created yet. He was thinking. He is God. It doesn't matter to me.  I wasn't around.  God didn't ask for, or need, my advice. 

He was always God, God the Father, The Ancient of Days.  God the Father, with His family, the Spirit, and The Son, They always were.  They are.  They always will be.  This is hard for mortals to understand.  There will be no after Them either, for They are, and uphold all things. 

Then They began to create.  Creation is God's pleasure. Creation is God's responsibility. Creation is God's job.  It is His title.  He is the Creator. 

Aside from the creation of this earth, no human record is kept of what else in the universe God created, or what He created first.  Many speculations exist on this matter.  It isn't known how long God thought about creation before He started, or how He did it.  We do know "Through wisdom and power God created the world."      (Jeremiah 10:12 paraphrase)

God's difficulty

We do not know what God created in the very beginning of His universe.  We do know He created beings who have the power of choice, of which we human beings are one example.  The record states He created other beings which have choice.  These are the angels.  The Bible hints God made other creatures with choice.  Creatures living on other worlds.    (Job 1:6-7;             Isaiah 45:12,18; Hebrews 1:1-2;  Hebrews 11:3)

When God made the decision to create beings with choice, He faced a difficult, paradoxical situation.  All things created rely on God for substance, being, existence, and survival.  Suppose that creation with choice, chose not to be what God created it to be? Suppose the creature wanted to be the creator? Could God allow the creature to destroy itself?  Could God allow that creature to destroy Him?  The thought, of creature destroying Creator, is unthinkable, illogical, inconceivable, absurd.  God cannot be destroyed. 

The Bible says Lucifer wanted exactly that.  Lucifer wanted to be god.  You can read about it in Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14. Lucifer, one of the most important angels in Heaven, did not choose to be an important angel in Heaven.  Lucifer wanted to be a god instead, and decided to become one by force.  That creature started a war in Heaven.  Lucifer became Satan, the devil.  The earth became caught up in, and has become, a casualty of this war.     (Ezekiel 28:11-19,1-26;
Isaiah 14:11-17,1-32; Revelation 12:1-17) 

God's Solution

  God, in His wisdom and foreknowledge, had planned for this event, and had planned the response to it. 

Knowing this could happen, He could have 'just not created.'  But then He could not reach other goals.  He could have, at the first sign of rebellion, just 'blotted' Lucifer out of existence.  But then all creation would serve God for fear and not return God's Love. 

So God decided to allow the rebellion to continue, until it became obvious to all creation, what the result of rebellion is.  The result of rebellion is separation from God.  That natural result is degradation and death. 

The lies spoken about God had to be tested. The entire Universe needed to be shown that God was not a horrible dictator, but a caring Creator who sustains His creature's life.  He is a Creator who gives life freely.  Life the creature can experience and use as it needs. 

God would pardon and heal all whom through ignorance, inexperience, or accident, became casualties of this war.  Of course, He cannot pardon those who rebel on purpose.   (Isaiah 55:6-7; Nahum 1:3; John 3:16-19) 

God decided to allow His only begotten Son, Jesus, to be the ransom for the casualties.  Jesus is the "lamb slain from the foundation of the world" in order to redeem many.  This was the solution God had for rebellion.  Its result will be a Universe where all creation will understand and love God!   (John 3:16; Revelation 5:1-12; Revelation 13:8; 
            Galatians 4:4-7; Isaiah 65:17-25)