All too often, the Genesis account of creation has been compromised by many supposedly “well-intending Christians” who to try to accommodate for the “billions of years” belief held by atheistic evolutionists.
On the surface, it may seem like a quick fix to reconcile what are indeed extremely contradictory beliefs about the age of the earth. However, as I will soon demonstrate, it is impossible for the word “day” (Hebrew – “yom”) in Genesis 1 to mean anything other than an actual, literal 24-hour time period; which we commonly refer to as an ordinary day.
One Sunday morning I sat in a church building next to a recently released inmate who I had known relatively well during my previous existence. I raised the question, “Did you ever think that we would be sitting next to each other in a church singing praises together unto the Lord?”
His simple response was much more profound than either of us realized at the time.
“Not in a million years!”
I use this story to remind the readers of the reason why millions and billions of years worth of age are trying to be added to the earth’s history. My friends response conveys the idea that even with millions of years worth of opportunity for such an event to take place, he still would have thought it impossible for us to end up singing praises unto God together in the same pew.
Evolutionists, though, believe just the opposite. They believe that given enough time, the impossible will become possible. Personally, I would believe the opposite of that, since based on accumulative evidence and probability, the impossible would actually become more impossible with the addition of immense periods of time.
Since no one has ever observed one kind of animal changing into another kind of animal over roughly six thousand years of recorded history, evolutionists have created an unobservable time period into which all of their ever-changing speculations can easily fit.
Interestingly enough, none of their theories can be tested by real science anyway, since true science must be testable, repeatable, and observable; none of which are able to be applied to the past, much less the supposed “pre-historic” past.
Now I am completely aware that the Biblical account of creation can also not be scientifically tested, but there are several distinct differences. First of all, the atheistic evolutionists point to Christians as a people of faith and claim that they are trusting in science alone, apart from faith.
To be sure, however, their belief actually requires more faith than believing in the Creator.
The law of cause and effect is one simple way of proving this. We know that no effect can be greater than its cause. If anything is the effect, it is impossible that nothing was the cause. Every effect must not only have a cause, but also requires that the cause be greater than itself. Since all of existence and then some is the effect, the cause must have been greater than everything.
The God of the Bible fits perfectly into the category of awesomeness required to have been the cause for creation, since He alone is all powerful and all knowing.
Additionally, though the scientific method cannot be applied to any past event, we find nothing in the historical or geological evidence we have that contradicts what is revealed in Scripture, nor has there been anything scientifically observed in the present that necessitates ruling out the Biblical account.
This is why we are told “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Biblical faith has both “substance” and “evidence,” at least negating the possibility that it is “blind,” as claimed by some.
So far as I understand, those who believe the Bible are the only ones who have the actual recorded history of the world preserved within a credible source. All others must settle for the unreliable knowledge claims postulated by fallible men. Believing in a trustworthy source preserved by an all-powerful Being just makes more sense to me than hoping man’s guesses are correct.
The only reason to try to accommodate for millions or billions of years within, or around, the timeframe of creation week is to allow for evolution.
What most of the compromised Christians seem to forget is that the main purpose of evolution is to remove God from the picture, which is why atheists love it.
Nothing in Scripture ever contradicts the week long account of creation, so based on the Bible there is no reason to ever think that the word “day” in Genesis has any out of the ordinary meaning.
In fact, the Bible must be completely disregarded according to my understanding if the creation week is anything other than a literal one week period.
One of the most common passages used to logically demonstrate that “creation week” was an actual week comprised of seven actual days comes from the Ten Commandments.
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the LORD made the heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.” (Exodus 20:8-11)
We are clearly told that “in six days the LORD made the heaven and earth… and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day.” Therefore we are to “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work.”
There is no valid reason to believe that the “sabbath day” referred to in this passage is somehow an actual 24 hour day for us while being an incredibly much longer period when referring to the Lord.
In context, both references to the term “sabbath day” clearly have the same meaning, and no honest reason exists to attempt to have a different definition for each mention.
I must point out that based on Scripture and sound reasoning, it is logical to have both mentions refer to a literal 24 hour day, yet it would be unreasonable to have them refer to a much longer period of time, since that would mean that God has commanded us to work for six thousand, six million, or six billion years before we were allowed to take a thousand, million or billion years off!
A literal day is clearly portrayed within the “Law of Moses,” “And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than for one tittle of the law to fail” (Luke 16:17).
As bad as destroying one of the Ten Commandments would be, this more and more commonly accepted compromise in Genesis 1 actually can destroy the entire Bible.
“If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3)
The atheists love to attack God’s account of creation because if God did not make us, then we are not accountable to Him.
Honestly, if the earth has existed for millions of years and evolution has changed one kind of animal into another kind over time, then our Christian faith is all in vain. After all, the Bible says, “All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds” (1 Corinthians 15:39).
If the days of creation week are anything other than actual 24 hour days, then my entire Bible is useless, along with my faith.
Please examine what Jesus Christ said some two thousand years ago.
“And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,” (Matthew 19:4)
“But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife.” (Mark 10:6-7)
Here we have two examples of Jesus stating that “at the beginning” and “from the beginning” mankind was created both “male and female.”
The Bible clearly tells us that Jesus was without sin, and was therefore able to die in our place, since He had no sin of His own to pay for.
“For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15)
“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Based on Jesus’ comment about when mankind was created, if the word “day” in Genesis 1 does not actually mean day as it is commonly understood, then Jesus Christ was a liar.
If one is to believe the salvation message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, one cannot allow for the Christ to have lied, for if He did, He was no Messiah and can save no one, Himself included. If Jesus is telling the truth, however, then all attempts to compromise the biblical account, such as the “Gap Theory” or “Day-Age Theory,” utterly fail. To illustrate this point please examine this proposed timeline, and then continue.
We know historically that Jesus made those statements around two thousand years ago. Evolution teaches that mankind did not evolve until more recently, billions of years after the supposed “Big Bang.” If the “days” of creation week were actually longer periods of time such as millions or billions of years, then mankind was obviously not created “at the beginning.”
Since “...God created man in his own image…” on “…the sixth day” (Genesis 1:27&31), at least five million or five billion years, (depending on the time assigned to the word “day”), would have already passed since “the beginning” prior to the creation of mankind.
Jesus would therefore be a liar.
If it can be shown that Jesus was a liar, then salvation according to the Biblical model has become an impossibility! If one has chosen to become a follower of Jesus Christ and trust in Him alone for salvation, one must not also allow for Jesus to be a sinner, or one’s faith and trust in Him becomes worthless.
Since we can trace the current time period back to Jesus, we know that He lived and died some 2000 years ago. With the record from Luke, we can also trace from Jesus back to Adam.
“And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli, Which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, which was the son of Malchi, which was the son of Janna, which was the son of Joseph, Which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Amos, which was the son of Naum, which was the son of Esli, which was the son of Nagge, Which was the son of Maath, which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Semei, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Juda, Which was the son of Joanna, which was the son of Rhesa, which was the son of Zorobabel, which was the son of Salathiel, which was the son of Neri, Which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Addi, which was the son of Cosam, which was the son of Elmodam, which was the son of Er, Which was the son of Jose, which was the son of Eliezer, which was the son of Jorim, which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, Which was the son of Simeon, which was the son of Juda, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Jonan, which was the son of Eliakim, Which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David, Which was the son of Jesse, which was the son of Obed, which was the son of Boaz, which was the son of Salmon, which was the son of Naasson, Which was the son of Aminadab, which was the son of Aram, which was the son of Esrom, which was the son of Phares, which was the son of Juda, Which was the son of Jacob, which was the son of Isaac, which was the son of Abraham, which was the son of Thara, which was the son of Nachor, which was the son of Saruch, which was the son of Ragau, which was the son of Phalec, which was the son of Heber, which was the son of Sala, Which was the son of Cainan, which was the son of Arphaxad, which was the son of Sem, which was the son of Noe, which was the son of Lamech, Which was the son of Mathusala, which was the son of Enoch, which was the son of Jared, which was the son of Maleleel, which was the son of Cainan, Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.” (Luke 3:23-38)
No gaps are shown within this genealogy and, in fact, it is recorded in such a way as to demonstrate the precise lineage from Jesus to Adam. (This is why some prefer to compromise through the “Gap Theory,” knowing that millions or billions of years could not be added after Adam, due to the documented genealogy.)
Even with a longer life expectancy at the beginning of creation, one does not come up with either millions or billions of years’ worth of time after the creation of Adam. One important aspect to consider comes from the Sabbath rest. If one is to disregard the pattern pointed out in the Ten Commandments as recorded in Exodus 20, then there somehow must be at least a million year time period between the creation of mankind and the fall, which is also illogical. Bear in mind that death did not exist until after sin, since death is part of the curse.
“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” (Romans 5:12)
Even if we took the unbiblical view of this only applying to human death, and not animals, this would mean that both Adam and Eve would have lived through the entire seventh day rest period, which is only reasonable if this time period is an actual day.
“And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” (Genesis 2:2-3)
Though some have pointed to the verse, “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Peter 3:8) as some supposed grounds for a reinterpretation of Genesis 1, I must first point out that this verse, in a sense, cancels itself out. Additionally, in context, the focus of this verse is not on creation week.
As well, if applied literally, this would mean that 5000 years would have occurred before man was created, somewhere within the “sixth day” thousand year period man was made, and then God rested for a thousand years, during which neither Adam or Eve either died or conceived. There then would have passed roughly 4000 years from Adam’s son Seth until Jesus, and an additional 2000 years from Jesus to us. This would mean that about 13,000 years would represent the entire age of the earth, with mankind being created between the 5000th-6000th years.
According to this strained timeline, mankind showed up about half-way, and was still not created “in the beginning,” which still leaves Jesus as a liar.
The various other issues that arise are plentiful.
These issues at least necessitate a reinterpretation of a vast multitude of Scriptures, or even worse, total disregard, if any time period other than an actual day is ascribed to the “days” of Genesis 1.
It is not simply a debate over exactly what the Hebrew word “yom” means, but a subtle attack on the whole of Scripture. Genesis 5:5 tells us “And all of the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.”
Though I’ve heard many questions about the length of his life, I’ve never observed anyone claiming that it was too short, yet, it must be if the original day of rest, through which he lived, took place over a thousand, million, or billion year period. The entire timeline presented in Genesis 1 must also be disregarded. Though there was light on day one, the sun was not created until day four. Those poor plants would have had to survive eons without photosynthesis.
Also, prior to the creation of the winged creatures on day five, no pollination could have occurred, nor would there have been any animals to breathe in the Oxygen being made by the plants and return unto them the necessary Carbon Dioxide. Could these occurrences really wait two thousand, two million, or two billion years without causing the plants to perish?
Additionally, we must remember that death is a result of sin, including animals. No animal is recorded as dying prior to the time when, “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21).
This death was a type of the Old Testament covenant to come, and ultimately of the Redeemer Jesus Christ as well. The fig leaves of mere plants could not cover their sin, so through the death of at least one animal, the Lord provided “coats of skins.”
“For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.” (Levtiticus 17:11)
“And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.” (Hebrews 9:22)
Not only would Adam and his wife Eve have had to live through however long the “seventh day” rest period is proposed to be, but all sky, sea, and earth creatures could not have died prior to either the end of creation week or the fall of man.
Somehow I think that even those Christians who do not seem to have a problem with animals living millions of years ago would still have to protest against them living for millions of years.
When Jesus stated that “…he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,” (Matthew 19:4) and, “But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female” (Mark 10:6), He was pointing to “the beginning”!
This is the same beginning recorded in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” It is also the same beginning that is spoken of in the Gospel of John.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” (John 1:1-3)
To remove any doubt about Whom this “Word” is, John 1:14 elaborates, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
This agrees with what we are told of Jesus in Colossians as well.
“For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.” (Colossians 1:16)
Since Jesus was there at the beginning and actually created all things, His testimony is extremely valid, especially in light of His incapability to lie. Indeed, He made mankind at the beginning, which was neither millions nor billions of years ago. To insert any lengthy period of time between the actual beginning and the creation of mankind makes Jesus Christ a liar!
We are told that “The words of the LORD are pure words:” (Psalm 12:6a), which would also be a lie if the entire account of Genesis 1 must be disregarded.
The fourth Commandment would also be in error, as well as all Scripture relating to death entering because of sin. “All scripture…” would no longer be “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
In short, God the Father would be an untrustworthy liar along with Jesus, there would be no atonement for our sins, and the Bible would become just another book, if indeed the word “day” in Genesis 1 was to take on any other meaning.
I do understand the pressure being put on Christians by the secular world which claims that it is a proven fact that the world is millions of years old, but I cannot support blatant disregard for the clear revelation of Scripture by those claiming Christ, especially when minimal effort can rule out all potential compromises. If backed into a severe corner in my faith I must simply “…let God be true, but every man a liar…” (Romans 3:4), and choose to let God be God, humbling myself in His presence, even if my brethren will not.
After all, my God has already told me, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).
Though I will never be wise enough to grasp any serious amount of knowledge compared to what the Lord knows, it does not take much wisdom to admit that fact, and to simply trust that God knows what He’s talking about. Taking Scripture as written not only avoids foolish compromises, but also erroneous theories about the timing of various events.
If we avoid the chapter interruption between the end of Genesis 1 and the beginning of Genesis 2, just look at what is revealed.
“And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.” (Genesis 1:31-2:1)
Not only was the sixth day finished at this point, but all of creation. Therefore, at this point “every thing that he had made… was very good,” including “all the host of” both “the heavens and the earth.”
This removes the possibility that the fall of Satan and the rebellious angels could have occurred at anytime prior. At least at the end of day six of creation week, there was no sin, no fall of mankind, no fall of Satan and the demons, no death, and no suffering.
Evolution is widely accepted as a way to get rid of God.
Millions and billions of years are ways to discredit the Biblical account.
Christian compromise must end, and those who call themselves by His name should be Bible-believing born again believers.
If you reject and doubt the Word of God (Bible) I find it difficult to believe that you really accept and trust the Word of God (Jesus Christ).
For me, the two have become inseparable, and despite everything that is open to scrutiny, they remain the only things that I cannot and will not doubt, for they are the foundation of the faith.
Even what we know of the Messiah is revealed in the written revelation.
I will not compromise what my God has told me in an attempt to gain the acceptance of wicked men who “Professing themselves to be wise… became fools” (Romans 1:22). Despite whatever the world claims to be wisdom, we must remember that “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding” (Proverbs 9:10).
Always, “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man” (Psalm 118:8).
That is why I would rather trust that the God Who was there, can’t lie, and actually created all has a better understanding of what happened in the beginning than the sinful, God-hating men of today and yesteryear.
Whether in deed or in thought, we are commanded, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14). Despite how wise the evolutionary, atheistic professors and scientists claim to be, “…the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God…” (1 Corinthians 3:19a).
Above all I must warn the parents, grandparents, and parents-to-be.
To allow for the doubting of any Scripture is to allow for the doubting of every Scripture.
If your descendents see that you are “wise enough” to doubt what the Bible teaches here and there, what is going to prevent them from becoming “geniuses” and doubting the whole message of the Bible, salvation included?
If God has entrusted a child unto you to rear, then you are a shepherd and steward of a young soul.
“Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.” (1 Corinthians 4:6)
Therefore, I will “…walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful” (Psalm 1:1).
“For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?” (1 Corinthians 1:19-20)
2+2=4
Thanks, @narrowminded
In case you missed it:
Narrowminded Views #1 : Jesus Christ: Crucified, Drawn & Quartered, or Both?