Brothers and Sisters, greetings. Today I am going to present evidence for why I think we should trust the Bible and it's creation account as literal, meaning that the Earth is just several thousand years old, just over 6,000 to be more precise. Firstly let me just say that I do not think this issue is a matter of salvation, and therefore not essential, but I fear not trusting the Bible in this regard only helps the adversary further weaken our resolve and understanding when it comes to other issues.
It shouldn't.
What the adversary loves to do is to get Christians obsessed with, and arguing about, matters which are nothing to do with salvation - in the expectation that this will stop us spreading the Gospel and being concerned about salvation.
Ok, so science (or the world) describes the Earth as being billions of years old. Lets see what the Bible says.
Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Gen 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
Gen 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
Gen 1:4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
Gen 1:5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
Now, scripture does tell us that a thousand years is like a day to God.
LIKE. Like. Like. Like. Poetic language.
The Bible is not a science textbook. Genesis tells us GOD made the universe. God does nothing without a reason, so it seems logical to conclude that he created it because he wanted to create it. That tells us that the universe was created by someone and there was a purpose behind it.
God created, but we are not told how he created.
Again we see that a thousand years to God is like one day,
Again, it is LIKE a day.
That does not give us the right to insist that one earthly day is EQUAL to 1000 years for God. God is outside time - how is he going to mark off the days and nights?
Before we do, lets address wisdom, or being wise. Are we, who are sinful and wicked, wise?
The thing with that is that if you are talking to born again Christians - which you are - we still sin but we are not wicked.
We have become new creations 2 Corinthians 5:17, we are made clean when we confess our sins, 1 John 1:9, we have been made righteous by Christ, 2 Corinthians 5:21, we can know God's will, John 6:40 and we have the mind of Christ, 1 Corinthians 2:16.
There is nothing in the whole of creation that was not made through Jesus, John 1:3; that includes wisdom. So the Lord created, and gives, wisdom, and if we feel we need more, we can ask God for it, James 1:5.
So if Satan is running this earth (for a time), should we be surprised if the whole earth is teaching something that is contrary to God and his Word?
It isn't.
The purpose of the Bible is to reveal God, his character, his ways and his works. The Bible says that he created; it does not say how he created. It is not, and never was, the purpose of the Bible to explain how all creatures and plants came to be made - how their arteries, veins. cells and so on were made.
Science can't tell us WHY the world was made; the Bible doesn't tell us how.
We as followers of Christ, should forget what we think we know, and look to God's word for understanding.
Well then, you're going to be stuck.
There are many things the Bible doesn't tell us, and it certainly doesn't address all the problems and issues of life in the 21st century - computers, green issues, IVF, organ transplants etc etc.
If you needed a blood transfusion, pacemaker, hearing aids or an operation to save your life, would you refuse to listen to the doctors and experts and "forget what you thought you knew" because the Bible doesn't address these issues? Or would you gratefully accept, and have more years, or a better quality, of life as a result?
So, the last reason I think the earth is only over 6,000 years is because the signs of the times. I think we are in the last days.
We've been in the Last Days since the ascension. The Apostles believed that Jesus was going to return in their lifetime.
They only began to write the Gospels when it looked like they might be killed before he returned and soon there would be no one left who had known the Lord personally.
Just as God made the Earth in a literal week, he will bring about its completion in a figurative week.
Is there a Bible passage which teaches that, or is that something which "you think that you know"?
Meaning, its been almost 2,000 years since the death and resurection of Jesus Christ. We are now in the figurative third day.
Are we?
We'll soon find out.
We have already read how 1,000 years is like a single day to God. When did Jesus rise from the dead? On the third day. When will he return? On the third (figurative) day!
If you're talking about time and man made calendars, I suppose you know that:
- our calendar is different to the Jewish calendar
- our calendar once had 10 months, now it has 12
- our calendar changed in 1752 (ish) when 11 days were removed.
And as Jesus said "no one knows the day nor hour, not even the Son of Man", what makes you think that we can know that it will be on the "third day"?
If you asking whether we trust the words of God or the words of man (you), I'm with God on this. History is full of people who've - unsuccessfully - predicted the Lord's return and, at best, looked like complete idiots when it didn't happen. Some on these forums have given dates for the Lord's return, too.
I will ask you one final time. Do you believe the Word of God, or the wisdom of man?
With regards to the timing of the 2nd coming, I believe Jesus (God) who said "no one knows the day nor hour", rather than the wisdom of a human being who thinks they know the right time.
With regards to creation - both.
God made this world. He is the Creator, artist, author and so on; the beginning and the end.
He created man in his own image, and gives us gifts, curiosity, wisdom and the ability to explore, discover, learn etc. Some scientists are Christians. They do not see a conflict between Genesis and science; they can hold knowledge and faith and be comfortable with both.
I tend to agree with the late John Stott who said "the Bible tells us WHO made the world; science tells us HOW."
