Hi Jerry,
You asked: We have differences here, but I agree that on a very literal reading this is the only conclusion. I am not looking to start a fight on the genealogies. I am just asking an honest question. How do you address the differences in the ages between the Septuagint, the ECF's and the text that is used now?
I have posted for everyone to compare the online english translation of the Septuagint here:
1:1 In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth. 2 But the earth was unsightly and unfurnished, and darkness was over the deep, and the Spirit of God moved over the water. 3 And God said, Let there be light, and there was light. 4 And God saw the light that it was good, and God divided between the light and the darkness. 5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night, and there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the water, and let it be a division between water and water, and it was so. 7 And God made the firmament, and God divided between the water which was under the firmament and the water which was above the firmament. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven, and God saw that it was good, and there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
9 And God said, Let the water which is under the heaven be collected into one place, and let the dry land appear, and it was so. And the water which was under the heaven was collected into its places, and the dry land appeared. 10 And God called the dry land Earth, and the gatherings of the waters he called Seas, and God saw that it was good. 11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the herb of grass bearing seed according to its kind and according to its likeness, and the fruit-tree bearing fruit whose seed is in it, according to its kind on the earth, and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth the herb of grass bearing seed according to its kind and according to its likeness, and the fruit tree bearing fruit whose seed is in it, according to its kind on the earth, and God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, to divide between day and night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and for years. 15 And let them be for light in the firmament of the heaven, so as to shine upon the earth, and it was so. 16 And God made the two great lights, the greater light for regulating the day and the lesser light for regulating the night, the stars also. 17 And God placed them in the firmament of the heaven, so as to shine upon the earth, 18 and to regulate day and night, and to divide between the light and the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth reptiles having life, and winged creatures flying above the earth in the firmament of heaven, and it was so. 21 And God made great whales, and every living reptile, which the waters brought forth according to their kinds, and every creature that flies with wings according to its kind, and God saw that they were good. 22 And God blessed them saying, Increase and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let the creatures that fly be multiplied on the earth. 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind, quadrupeds and reptiles and wild beasts of the earth according to their kind, and it was so. 25 And God made the wild beasts of the earth according to their kind, and cattle according to their kind, and all the reptiles of the earth according to their kind, and God saw that they were good.
26 And God said, Let us make man according to our image and likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the flying creatures of heaven, and over the cattle and all the earth, and over all the reptiles that creep on the earth. 27 And God made man, according to the image of God he made him, male and female he made them. 28 And God blessed them, saying, Increase and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the seas and flying creatures of heaven, and all the cattle and all the earth, and all the reptiles that creep on the earth. 29 And God said, Behold I have given to you every seed-bearing herb sowing seed which is upon all the earth, and every tree which has in itself the fruit of seed that is sown, to you it shall be for food. 30 And to all the wild beasts of the earth, and to all the flying creatures of heaven, and to every reptile creeping on the earth, which has in itself the breath of life, even every green plant for food; and it was so. 31 And God saw all the things that he had made, and, behold, they were very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
I'm not sure that I understand what you might be referring to as the 'differences', so I would ask that you be more specific about the 'differences' that you see.
As far as the 'ECF', you'll also have to be more specific as to the meaning of that abbreviation and I'd appreciate your posting the 'differences' you find in whatever that is.
Further, in this 'determination' of the age of things one cannot discount the geneologies. While that may not be your issue, it does absolutely play into the knowledge which God has revealed to us to understand the existence of our realm and how long that realm has existed.
Then you posted: I agree to here. It did not have to take Him six days. He could have done it in 6 seconds.
Yes, He could have done it all instantly, but He revealed to us through the authorship of the Holy Spirit that He did it in six days, not six seconds.
You then wrote: This is one statement that Ham, Hovind, and other YEC's make. At this point, even if I believed in a 6 day creation and a 6,000 year old universe, I would still hold that the first chapter is a literary framework and to dispute it compromises all conservative scholarship.
You'll have to gather up for me some of what you call 'conservative scholarship'. The only scholarship that I trust to be the truth is that of Paul, Peter, John and those who wrote to us in the new covenant writings. And, I'm fairly certain that if you even go back to the first two or three generations of believers after our Lord ascended into heaven, you will find that nearly all 'conservative scholarship' believed in a 6 day literal understanding of the creation. So, let me advise you early on that when one speaks of 'conservative scholarship' today, I find that all highly suspect.
Yes, and this is why I brought up the understanding that the Holy Spirit has given me of '666'. You believe that because the new age thinking of man has sold that now for the last few generations. It is much more palatable and able to then be arranged within the framework of man's instructions about the ages of the earth and the universe, but that is man's wisdom, thus '666'.
Jesus asked a rhetorical question of his disciples: "When the Son of Man returns, will he find faith upon the earth?" I believe his intended meaning in that question is that as we move further and further away from his life and the truth that he knew, towards the final days before the day of the wrath of God and Jesus' return just previous to God's wrath, that there will be very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very few godly men of faith living upon the earth. This can all be seen in what some today would refer to as current 'conservative scholarship'.
Paul warns us of the day coming when men will not put up with sound doctrine, but rather will gather around them a crowd of those who would fill their itching ears with myths and untruths. I believe that day is now! What some would call 'conservative scholarship' today, are those who Paul and Peter, et.al, would rebuke in a moment for their having fallen away from the truth. Again, if you want to refer to some 'conservative scholarship, then you will have to go back to at least the first century and to those that we know were born again, before I would even consider any teaching as having come from such scholarship.
God bless you.
In Christ, Ted