THE BIBLE'S AGE FOR THE EARTH

CreationMoments ^ | Feb 7, 2014 | CreationMoments et al

[fwdude]

Genesis 1:1
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

Just when was the “beginning” when God created the heavens and the earth, as spoken of in Genesis 1:1? In these days when scientists talk about “billions” of years, the question of what the Bible says on the matter of origins becomes even more important.

Few people doubt that the Bible intends to teach that the creation is young. The genealogies of the Old Testament are actual reproductions of the calendar system used in most ancient times.

While the subject is very complicated, we can share with you the calculations done by some well-known Christians. You are probably familiar with Bishop Ussher’s calculation that creation took place in 4004 B.C. But did you know that no less than the great scientist Kepler calculated that creation took place in 3877? Martin Luther calculated that creation took place in 3961 B.C. The very oldest ages arrived at through calculations based on Scripture say the creation is about 7,500 years old.

For the Christian, the question of the age of the creation can only be answered on the basis of Scripture. There is no question that Scripture gives us more than enough information to conclude that the creation is young and that God wants us to know it. After that, it is simply a matter of whether we accept Scripture’s authority.

Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, help my thinking not to be conformed to this world, but help me to be transformed by Your renewing of my mind so that my faith in Your clear Word is unshakable. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Notes:
Painting: Archbishop James Ussher, painted by Peter Lely (1618–1680).

[Allen In Texas Hill Country]

Its snap your finger time again. :<))))

[DManA]

Thank you for focusing our attention where it belongs. Not on extraneous foolish argumentation.

[fwdude]

You do realize there are historical genealogies in the Bible, complete with total ages of those in a lineage, and many times including how old a subject was when they produced their progeny, right?

There is nothing "spiritualized" about genealogies. This is purported HISTORY.

[DManA]

Well, we’ve learned a lot about His Creation in 150 years.

[DoughtyOne]

Yes it does, and I rank myself as a person who does this more often than I should.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

“Thank you for focusing our attention where it belongs. Not on extraneous foolish argumentation.”

It may be that the OP would be willing to die for this belief, but it strikes me that it is foolish to carry it to that level of stridency.

In the end, He told us what He wants us to know. It isn’t all knowledge. It is enough.

Thanks for your kindness.

[RaceBannon]

It SHOULD matter how much time it was, since believing anything other than a literal 24 hour daya, you make God a liar:
.

Ex 20:1 And God spake all these words, saying,
Ex 20:2 I [am] the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Ex 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Ex 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness [of any thing] that [is] in heaven above, or that [is] in the earth beneath, or that [is] in the water under the earth:
Ex 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God [am] a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth [generation] of them that hate me;
Ex 20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
Ex 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
Ex 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Ex 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
Ex 20:10 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:
Ex 20:11 For [in] six days the Lord made 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.
Ex 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
Ex 20:13 Thou shalt not kill.
Ex 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Ex 20:15 Thou shalt not steal.
Ex 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
Ex 20:17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that [is] thy neighbour’s.

[Dutchboy88]

Really? “There was evening and morning one day” before the sun and moon were available to actually “separate the day from the night” in “day” 4?

How long is the “cool of the day”? If it is 24 hours then God walked through the garden at night.

How long is the “day of the Lord”? If it is 24 hours, then it is going to be one busy period.

How long was the “day of destruction”? If it was 24 hours, someone forgot to tell Isaiah & Jeremiah.

How long was Jesus referring to when He said, “Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day?...” Jn. 11:9

The Hebrew is intentionally vague. The point is that God created these things as He went and He may have taken 4 billion years to create them, but that doesn’t support evolution any more than 24 hours does. I am simply saying that you cannot pound your fist on the table and say this was all done in one of our “weeks”.

[DoughtyOne]

Nobody does, and as much respect as do have for the scientific community, some of this is just silly.

There are theories involving some of Einstein’s work that waver over time. I realize it’s important to study these matters and come up with good guesses, then try to prove them.

It really gets more like a fan-club at times.

[FatherofFive]

When Christ described himself as a door, did he mean that he was made of wood and had hinges?

So the Bible is literal only when you want it to be? Who decides when it is literal or symbolic?

[null and void]

What part of, “there was evening and there was morning, the first day,” is ambiguous about the clear meaning of scripture?

The one day where it isn't used.

Why do you suppose that is, hmmmm?

[aMorePerfectUnion]

“It SHOULD matter how much time it was, since believing anything other than a literal 24 hour day”

You should reread my post. Between Genesis 1:2 and Genesis 1:3, the earth was formless and void and God’s Spirit hovered over the earth. There were no days at that point. There was God and a formless and void earth. Between those two verses could be a trillion years. We simply do not know.

Sometimes, “straining at gnats” leads to “swallowing camels”. Christ says not to do that kind of thing.

[DManA]

since believing anything other than a literal 24 hour daya, you make God a liar:

Strip away all nonsense and this is precisely why it is so important to some people. They are so insecure in their faith that if you pull on one thread, their whole faith will fall apart like dust.

Thank you God my faith is much stronger than that. The thought that the universe is 4.7 billion years in no way threatens my faith in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.

[RIghtwardHo]

I completely disagree on the age issue. Scripture does not define length of day. It does not say day/month and year of when the Creation took place. Etc, etc, etc.

The Earth is simply not “young” by any stretch of the imagination.

[SoConPubbie]

It simply establishes that Scripture is clear on which view it holds, without any equivocation whatsoever.

No, that is your interpretation.

As Peter stated:

2 Peter 3:8
King James Version (KJV)

8 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.

[Tzfat]

Those who want to "partially believe" the Bible have ignored one word in their psedo-scientific view of creation. The word is entropy.

For the earth to have age demands entropy. The Genesis account makes it very clear, there is no death prior to Adam's expulsion. No death no entropy. The age of the earth starts with Adam and Eve's expulsion. The nonsensical days = ages view of creation is trying to find a place in "science" and yet gets tripped up by Newtonian physics.

It is far better to say, "The Bible describes it accurately, and no amount of current observable "science" can explain creation. At all."

[DoughtyOne]

I’m not convinced that the Bible ties the time of creation down tight enough where we can say something for sure. If you disagree, that’s okay. Some people see it differently.

I don’t think you are “saved or not” based on your acceptance of a certain date of Creation or age of the Earth.

For this reason, I don’t get caught up in the discussion. It is of interest to me, but I don’t have a burden to nail it down right. I have never thought you could.

[Drew68]

The only reason it is important is so the Left can label Conservatives as stupid.

It's going to be real important come election season where instead of talking about Obamacare and unemployment, every candidate running with an (R) after their name is going to have to field "gotcha" questions from the media on how old they think the earth is.

[Kackikat]

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=?II+Peter+3:8

With the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day”. II Peter 3:8

Although this refers to the mockers of Jesus delays in coming, it is a timeframe to show God has a different view of time than maybe we have. However it does not say millions or billions of years.

[srmorton]

I agree. The concept of time in the Bible is very fluid. It says that a thousand years in His sight is but an evening gone. The time interval between the days mentioned in Genesis could have been thousands, if not millions, of years. It is not necessary for me to believe the age of the earth as “calculated” from the Bible in order for me to believe in the truth of the Word of God or to believe in the promises He made to his children.