Is it right to assume that God created the universe before He created the world?
Some of the stars visible to the Hubble telescope are 4-8 billion light years away which means the light seen now has been reflected that much of years ago.
Some believe that different parts of the universe were created at different times. They take this view from the fact that Satan and all the angelic host were present to witness the Genesis Creation. This view is based on Job 38:1-7. Some also believe that the Hebrew language of Genesis 1:1-2 indicates that the planet itself was created long before the events described beginning in Genesis 1:3, what we call the Creation Account, took place.
I will caution you to be skeptical when it comes to scientific measurements of time. These measurements are all based on the assumption that the speed of light has been constant since the beginning. Recent measurements are causing some scientists to doubt this, and the view that the speed of light was once much much faster and has been progressively slowing down has begun to gain some traction in the scientific community. If true, then the entire universe may be much younger than we’ve been led to believe.
The one thing that’s certain in all this is that as science progresses, man’s understanding of the Creation will change dramatically until it’s totally consistent with the Biblical account.